Pipka Story
Artist Pipka Ulvilden
Pipka was born in Slovakia and raised in Germany. After World War II, her family emigrated to a small town in North Dakota. Later, her
annual visits to see family in Germany kept the old world traditions alive and inspired Pipka's artistic talent. She explored the Bavarian
painting style known as Bauernmalerei, "Peasant Painting." Soon she opened her first workshop in Minneapolis, teaching Bauernmalerei classes
and painting furniture for clients. Later, Pipka married and moved to Door County, Wisconsin.
In this creative community, she opened Pipka's Gallery, a studio and shop which flourished. One snowy day, she created an old world Santa as a gift for her mother. Her study and research into the many cultural traditions of Father Christmas inspired more highly detailed and ornately costumed Santas. These charming spirits of Christmas have become uniquely Pipka's.
In 1994, Pipka met Michele Johnson and Gary Meidinger who wanted to start their own gift company. They loved Pipka's Christmas designs and shared her vision to express the magic, joy, and holiness of Christmas in her work. They formed a company, Prizm, Inc. and introduced Pipka's designs as limited edition collectible figurines. Since the line's introduction in 1995, collectors throughout the country and the world have enthusiastically embraced Pipka's work. Today, Pipka spends her days traveling, designing, researching, and painting her wonderful, richly detailed Santas.
