"With A Little Help From Above."

On November 4th, 2004 Eugene Freedman, founding chairman of Enesco Group, Inc. visited the Dutch Village in Holland, MI from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to conduct a personal signing session. Freedman was on a 15 city signing tour across the country, and his visit to the Dutch Village was the only stop in the West Michigan area. As Mr. Freedman retired on March 1st, 2005, this was one of the last opportunities for a signing event with him!

Mr. Freedman is one of the three founding fathers of the Precious Moments Collection, and signed an exclusive tour figurine. The figurine is titled "With A Little Help From Above," and was available only at Dutch Village on November 4th, 2004.

"I'm so thrilled to be traveling the country and meeting collectors" said Eugene Freedman. "They are the heart and soul of the Precious Moments Collection, and are the reason for the success of the line for the past 26 years. Nothing gives me more joy than to hear the personal stories from these people about how Precious Moments has touched their lives and has given them inspiration."

It was in 1978 that Freedman first saw artist Sam Butcher's drawings of the children with teardrop-shaped eyes. He envisioned the drawings as three-dimensional figurines and convinced Butcher to let him take the artwork to his friend, Master Sculptor Yasuhei Fujioka, in Japan. Fujioka-san transformed the illustration into an adorable and uplifting figurine, and Butcher was overwhelmed with the quality of the craftsmanship.

In the fall of 1978, the first 21 porcelain bisque Precious Moments figurines were introduced. Today, the Precious Moments Collection by Enesco continues to be one of the world's most popular lines of collectibles.