History of Larry Fraga Designs

On Feb 14th 1995 (Valentine's Day), Larry was spending the day with a very good friend, Juana, an actress who came up from Hollywood to visit, Larry saw a commercial on TV about Christmas and it hit him, Larry said, I'm going to design ornaments!" He remembers Juana laughing. I'm sure she's not laughing now. Larry has always been a man of many varied talents with an extensive modeling and acting background. His print work led to his being on the cover of eight different national magazines in one year for which he was awarded "Cover Man of the Year". As much as print work brought fame into Larry's life he still spent his off days working on his ornament collection. As a young boy, when all his friends where collecting baseball cards, Larry was working on his true love, collecting Christmas ornaments. All of the neighbors knew of his obsession with Christmas ornaments so they gave him their old ornaments and he lovingly decorated all of their Christmas trees. The creation of Christmas ornaments was his great love and eventually led to the founding of Dresden Dove in 1995. Now living his dream of owning a Christmas ornament company, Larry sat contentedly behind his desk each day working with the magic of colors to bring his ornaments to life. As he had no formal training in art, his talent was purely instinctive. While growing up, he was always out of step with the standard: "Do what's expected of you." Larry always marched to the beat of his own drummer and his creations are an example of his out of box thinking. With his innovative style and originality he created a fabulous glass line. With so much originality and imagination in his creations, it was only a short time before he was recognized as one of the top designers in the world. Putting his dream in motion, Larry flew to Germany and met with some ornament manufacturers. He slected the antique molds he liked, using his childhood memories as a guide. One of the manufacturers gave Larry a room with paints and glitter and he went to work creating his colorful visions of how he thought ornaments should look. Being a collector himself for many years, he liked to collect the different and the unusual. Anyone can have a red and white Santa, so Larry created his Santa's in bright colors which added a new and completely different look to the market, bringing new collectors to the world of ornaments! From day one in 1995, Larry's designs were a hit. In early 1997 Larry changed the name to Larry Fraga Designs and at the same time he began using his own original designs and molds. In 1997, being ordered by retailers throughout the USA, the line became so popular that the original Larry Fraga Designs production using Larry's molds had to be doubled. Larry creates his visions by drawing the design on paper with pencil working out the dynamics of the mold and how the glass can be stretched in the mold without breaking when the mold is opened. After the mold is made, and the glass is blown into an ornament, Larry creates his magic bringing the ornament to life with bold bright colors and glitters that Larry mixes himself. In the beginning, Larry ordered blank ornament blown from his molds. They were delivered to Larry's workshop silvered and then Larry, and his oldest son Raul, would paint all day to fill orders. Larry's dedication to creating a quality product, has made his hand-painted ornaments very highly collectable and hard to find in the secondary markets today. Larry is a very hands-on artist giving attention to the details of every ornament from start to finish. With an exceptionally creative imagination, a fine eye and a flair for colors, Larry takes special pride in his work. He mixes all of his glitter by hand to make own unique creation and look. Larry designs a traditional look with a European style and with a Victorian charm. They will continue to bring great joy to many future generations. Larry Fraga Designs ornaments are all mouth blown, as they were 100 years ago and are hand- painted by crafts people in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Italy. Each of the factories hand-picks the best painters to work on Larry's line so each painter is a skilled craftsman of the trade. Known as one of the most approachable artists, Larry is even known to sit on the floor and entertain his collectors. He sometimes turns down limousines preferring to drive himself to events. He will sign all ornaments brought to a signing event even if it takes hours over his booked time. One time Larry's personal assistant Rita, who Larry said is God sent, told Larry he needed to be on a plane to arrive on time for another signing across the country. Larry said "Never will I leave my supporters till everyone is happy and all their ornaments are signed! I can take a later red eye flight". This publicized him as one of the most approachable and nicest artist in the industry. Larry still creates a number of his own Glitter colorations for Charity. He hand paints each one, numbers them and signs them. Today Larry lives in the country leaving behind the scene of a world renowned famous artist. Rarely making a public appearance, some say he is the hardest artist with whom get an interview. As Larry said , "I still have a deep love for all Christmas Ornaments and always will, but now I'm enjoying life with my Grandchildren. They are just growing up too fast!!"