Holiday Shoot 2019

It’s the season for sharing love, charity, and sentiment, and the Sundance design and photography teams happily channel this spirit into the annual photoshoot of our Holiday Catalog. Here’s a sneak peek at how it all comes together.

The Inspiration

Our Holiday Catalog is always built around several design concepts. This year’s holiday themes include Global Nomads, St. Petersburg, Northern Lights and the warm, cabin-like feel of our Men’s Almanac. Our designers and our fashion team use these themes to collaborate on style boards, creating exactly the looks we want.

The Location

To support the design team’s inspiration, we look for epic snowy backdrops in areas of great natural beauty.  Our VP of Creative researches a variety of locations that are breathtaking and aspirational. This year’s locations are in the mountains of Utah and at a local ranch in Colorado. Once our VP decides on these spots, she creates inspirational packets that help define the styling, landmarks and photography direction for each location.

The Execution

Our VP brings in expert stylists who can design and build inspiring sets and props for each location. This year the team created an entire greenhouse and a drawbridge specifically for the Holiday Catalog shoot! Once the sets are complete photographers capture the magic of the season. Most of this talented crew has worked with us for years and know precisely how to make these beautiful images come to life.

The Comradery

Our teams work together beautifully. “The fun thing,” reflects our VP of Creative, “is the comradery. The people on our crew share the same sense of wonder and the joy of traveling.” She adds, “We love researching places at our shoots, such as ‘what are the best stores’ or ‘what are the best restaurants.’ We really try to make our photoshoots an exploration of the location we are shooting in, finding fun things to do and see. It’s a joy to work with all these people who are on board with me and have a history at Sundance and are as passionate about the brand as I am.”

At Sundance, charitable giving is never far from our thoughts.

At Sundance, charitable giving is never far from our thoughts.

It all started in 1989 with our founder, Robert Redford. Following his vision, Sundance Catalog and our employees have in the last decade contributed more than one million dollars’ worth of cash and in-kind merchandise to deserving nonprofits. We’re enthusiastic supporters of art and educational charities, as well as humanitarian organizations.

“Sundance is truly making a positive difference for our community members and others throughout the world,” says our community relations coordinator. “Being an employee of a generous company like Sundance gives me a sense of pride.”

In many ways, we receive as much as we give. “Along with being a great team building project for Sundance employees, charitable giving increases employment involvement, camaraderie and morale.”

Corporate Charity Initiatives

We’re pleased to report that 2019 has been another banner year for the Sundance charitable giving program. Here’s a look at a few of the charities we were proud to sponsor this year:

Click on the links below to learn more about these inspiring organizations.

• 7th Street Treatment received clothing to help low-income Utahns who struggle with mental illness and substance abuse with their return to healthy, meaningful lives.
• Our clothing donation to Soles4Souls assists them in their mission to provide shoes and clothing to those living in poverty and recovering from disasters all over the world.
• Catholic Community Services received a donation that helped enable them to provide clothing to the homeless and refugees who are starting new lives in our community.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah received a clothing and footwear donation in support of their mentoring programs, which help kids achieve success in school and make positive life choices.
• We donated clothing to Odyssey House that helped their clients dealing with addiction or mental health issues gain a sense of comfort and support, enabling them to live healthier lives.
• Our donation to Family Promise Salt Lake provided clothing to families experiencing homelessness, giving them a sense of pride and belonging.
• We also provided nonprofits with in-kind donations of quilts in support of their fundraising events. These worthy groups include the Utah Arts Festival, Utah Open Lands, Utah Metropolitan Ballet, The Sharing Place and People Helping People.

In addition, Sundance employees make a difference with hands-on giving:

• During the summer, our corporate team donated their time and efforts to the NeighborWorks organization. NeighborWorks is focused on restoring and reviving neighborhoods and creating affordable housing one block at a time. This year we participated in this effort through “Paint Your Heart Out”, an event where local businesses, community organizations, and corporations come together to paint the homes of the elderly, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and limited-income homeowners.

• Each year during the holidays we donate time to a different organization. Our employees annually provide gifts to an organization during the holiday season through the Angel Tree Project. This year, we worked with RISE Services, which assists children and young adults with disabilities in their after-school programs. We went to their location to decorate mini Christmas trees with the children and open their Angel Tree gifts with them. The spirit of giving was strong during this entire experience!

Retail Charity Support

Whenever a new Sundance store opens its doors, we donate part of the store’s proceeds to a local nonprofit that shares our vision of cultivating creativity through the arts.

Here are our new stores and their charities for 2019:

• Store: Alamo Quarry Village in San Antonio, TX. Charity: San Anto Cultural Arts

• Store: Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati, OH. Charity: ArtsWave

• Store: University Village in Seattle, WA. Charity: Coyote Central

The Dogs of Sundance

Dogs have long enjoyed a favored status at Sundance. Our offices are dog friendly, and we love to see them sniffing around the halls or curled up under a desk. Their fuzzy faces regularly grace the pages of our catalogs and we even have a pet shop for our pets and pet lovers.

Meet The Furry Ambassadors Of Sundance

Now we’re proud to introduce to you our latest Holiday Catalog models, Veronica and Jack. These amazingly friendly and gorgeous Siberian huskies both hail from here in Utah. They serve as ambassadors for their breed with Arctic Rescue, a Utah-based nonprofit animal rescue group.


We love and respect the work of Arctic Rescue and are happy for this chance to promote them. For more than 25 years, they have been saving the lives of homeless animals with an Arctic heritage, including Veronica and Jack. Their snow-loving dog menagerie includes other Siberian huskies, Alaskan huskies and Alaskan malamutes.

The good people of Arctic Rescue give these rescue dogs the love and care they deserve, which includes finding welcoming foster homes and forever homes for them. They also provide potential dog owners with important education about foster dog care and adoption.


Arctic Rescue ambassador dogs have been invited to represent to the public an Arctic dog’s playful love of snow, people and fun. They can be seen in the Utah Office of Tourism’s promotional videos, Sundance Film Festival promotions, school programs and, of course, the Sundance 2019 Holiday Catalog, where their love for winter comes shining through.


Veronica and Jack currently live in Utah County and have a spectacular view of Mount Timpanogos, which is also home to the breathtaking Sundance Mountain Resort.

We can’t get enough of our fur babies and welcome Jack and Veronica to the mix. Look for them, along with Sundance family dogs, sharing the spotlight with our models throughout this year’s Holiday Catalog and online.

What's New In Velvet? Just About Everything

Tops

Blazers, Coats and Jackets

There are a variety of options for velvet in your wardrobe, especially during this time of year. You can truly wear velvet anytime of day and on any day of the week!

Who is Polly Wales?

British-born jewelry artist, Polly Wales, wanted her pieces to tell a story about real life – with all its truths and imperfections – that would serve to enhance a person’s beauty. She worked for nearly 13 years to develop her unique “Cast-Not-Set” technique. The result is a colorful and delightfully fun take on precious gems and metals.

Polly’s innovative technique casts gemstones directly into molten gold before the gold has formed, a process that is the reverse of conventional jewelry making. Typically, fine jewelry is made in gold and, as a final step, the gemstones are put into their setting. The Cast-Not-Set process helps to bring out the organic shapes, slight variations and the essential character of each piece. Like people and snowflakes, no two are exactly alike.

“I have always been drawn to the idea of ‘imperfect beauty’,” explains Polly, “and am intrigued by the ways we develop relationships with the objects we treasure—how the marks of wear and tear make pieces more precious to us as we journey through life with them.”

Holiday Collection 2019

Here she describes a few pieces from her latest Sundance collection:

One classic style is the Sapphire Swallow's Wing Necklace. It clearly showcases the Cast-Not-Set technique with its gemstones embedded in gold. Polly says, “I love the elegance of the slender silhouette and the way the stones look unearthed.”

With her Soiree Earrings, Polly wanted to make a funky version of the iconic safety pin. “I love these earrings because you can live in them. You can wear them every day and never worry about needing to change them out.”

The bejeweled surface of the Pont Des Artes Necklace is a reimagining of a classic, romantic form of jewelry. Polly explains, “Padlock jewelry has featured prominently throughout history, so it was really exciting to put our own spin on that. What I love about our collection is that the lock mechanism is functional and serves as the catch for the other end of the chain.”

Polly created the Dawnris Diamond Ring to wear as a crown on an existing stack of rings. “Building a ring stack over time is a really beautiful way to tell a visual story about your life and your style. I love the frosty white diamonds and the way they shimmer in the rich 18k yellow gold.”

Her Aphrodite Sapphire Ring was inspired in part by archer’s rings from 17th century India. These rings were used to protect an archer’s thumb from the bowstring. Notes Polly, “Our neilda shield has a beautiful gemmy pallet of peach and mauve that triggers images of crushed berries, lush velvet, and glowing autumnal light.”

Be sure to check out our entire collection of Polly Wales’s artisan jewelry here.

Polly Wales

We also love Polly Wales, who describes her stunning pieces as “slightly unpredictable” thanks to her eclectic influences and ability to find beauty in imperfections. Find more of her story featured on our 2019 holiday jewelry artisan blog here!

Jes MaHarry

Jes MaHarry, a free-spirited artist who has been a customer favorite for years, is back with her latest inspirational designs made exclusively for Sundance.

Dana Kellin

The signature style of Dana Kellin is also a Sundance favorite. She combines intricate twists of fine-gauge wire with gemstones to impart a refined femininity.




Handcrafted pieces of this painstaking quality are exceedingly hard to find. With each of these artists, your special someone gets the joy one feels when possessing a true work of art.

Congratulations To Our 30th Anniversary Sweepstakes Winner

Our congratulations go out to the lucky Cunningham family from Michigan, winners of the Sundance 30th anniversary sweepstakes!

Since our founding in the fall of 1989, Sundance Catalog has been dedicated to enriching the American experience. The Sundance lifestyle is one of authenticity, freedom and creativity, bolstered by a rich heritage and a love of storytelling.

The Cunningham's are invited to experience the Sundance vision first hand with a four-day/three-night retreat at the picturesque Sundance Resort in Utah.

In addition to airfare and rental-car transportation to and from the resort, our winning couple enjoys three nights’ lodging at one of the resort’s “Mountain Suites,” dinner at the four-star Tree Room restaurant, an aromatherapy massage in the spa, dinner at the Foundry Grill, two days of breakfasts, a chance to explore creatively in our art studio and one-day lift tickets for the mountain. The prize is valued at $4,999.

We appreciate all of you who entered our sweepstakes and made this anniversary celebration so special. We would not be celebrating 30 amazing years without your continued support.

Thank you for your trust in the Sundance vision and the privilege to bring you unique collections inspired by our mountain lifestyle and the beauty that surrounds us all.