Brands We're Watching  /  January 2025

Mark Roberts

A Santa Ana, California collectible figurine maker, in business since 1984, known for handmade limited-edition fairies, elves, Santas, and witches that have become anchor pieces in many specialty Christmas retailers.

Founded
1984
Headquarters
Santa Ana, California
Legal entity
Celmol, Inc. (dba Mark Roberts)
Categories
Fairies, elves, Santas, witches, seasonal décor
Production
Handmade in Santa Ana
Edition format
Limited edition with serial numbers and certificates
Newest line
Maison du Soleil — European-influenced
Wholesale minimum
$200 opening order

The story

Mark Roberts launched in Santa Ana, California, in 1984 as a small operation focused on handmade collectible figurines. The Christmas-fairy line introduced in the late 1980s grew into the company's defining product — a wire-and-cloth construction that lets each fairy be bent, posed, and arranged into seasonal displays. The figurines come in multiple sizes, ranging from desktop ornaments to nearly-life-sized floor pieces, and are produced as limited editions with individual serial numbers and certificates of authenticity.

The company has remained focused on collectible figurines and seasonal décor for four decades. New designs are released annually across multiple categories, with the most recent extension being Maison du Soleil — a more sophisticated, European-influenced line aimed at the contemporary luxury collector.

What they make

The catalog is built around four character categories that recur seasonally. Fairies cover the broadest range, from holiday-themed (Holly Berry Fairy, Easter Egg Fairy, Mistress of the Pumpkin Fairy) to year-round inspirational characters. Elves include Christmas Party Elf, Jack O' Lantern Elf, and a deep library of seasonal characters. Santas range from traditional figures to themed pieces (Coastal Mrs. Claus, African American Holly and Ivy Santa). Witches appear in fall and Halloween collections.

Beyond the figurines, Mark Roberts produces an extensive décor catalog — angels, garlands, finials, picks and sprays, ornaments, nativity sets, stocking holders, nutcrackers, vases, candle holders, lamps, and tabletop accessories. The product is positioned at the elegant, stylish end of holiday décor rather than the mass-market category.

How they sell

Distribution is wholesale through specialty gift, Christmas, and home-décor retailers. Mark Roberts maintains permanent showrooms at AmericasMart Atlanta (#17-E15) and the World Trade Center Dallas (#470). The wholesale minimum opening order is $200; reorders work through the markrobertswholesale.com retailer portal.

The brand has a meaningful collector following, with retired pieces trading actively in secondary markets — a useful signal of brand strength for retailers thinking about which lines have ongoing customer pull beyond the immediate season.

Why they're worth knowing

For Christmas-focused specialty retailers, Mark Roberts is a category that few competitors occupy convincingly. The combination of handmade construction, limited-edition pricing, and consistent visual brand language has created a collector-grade product line at price points that work for serious gift retailers ($50-500 typical retail). The fairy line in particular is a destination product — customers travel to specific stores to see and acquire specific pieces.

For broader gift shops, the Mark Roberts décor catalog provides a consistent brand-led merchandising story for the holiday season that anchors a section in a way that mixed-vendor merchandising cannot. The Maison du Soleil line gives an additional positioning option for retailers serving a more contemporary luxury customer.

Where to find them

  • Wholesale site: markrobertswholesale.com
  • Consumer site: markrobertsmarketplace.com
  • Atlanta showroom: Merchandise Mart #17-E15, 240 Peachtree St, Atlanta, GA 30303
  • Dallas showroom: World Trade Center #470, 2050 N Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207
  • Headquarters: Santa Ana, California

Profile based on public information from Mark Roberts's official wholesale and consumer sites and trade press coverage. Updated January 2025. Return to all profiles →