Teen owners of ornament company add Newport Beach icons to their holiday lineup

Orange County might not be the first locale people think of when it comes to the holiday season. But it’s top of mind for the Collins brothers — and they recently expanded their stock at Iconic Ornaments to include representations of some of Newport Beach’s most popular landmarks.

Laguna Beach brothers Jackson and Sawyer Collins, today a junior and a freshman, respectively, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, launched their business in October 2021. They found their inspiration from a Leaning Tower of Pisa ornament on their family’s Christmas tree that was a souvenir from a trip to Italy. When the boys looked around, they realized that ornaments representing area locations weren’t very common.

Iconic Ornaments has added a few new ornaments, including the Dad’s Original Frozen Banana sign in Newport Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Much like that Pisa ornament, theirs are glass-blown and coated with the same finish by an overseas manufacturer in China.

In their first year in business, they offered ornaments depicting the Main Beach lifeguard tower and the Laguna Beach trolley. This year they added designs specific to Newport Beach, coming up with ornaments of the frozen banana sign hanging over Dad’s Donut & Bakery Shop on Balboa Island’s Marine Avenue and the Balboa Pavilion. Sales of their ornaments have expanded to include Dad’s Donut & Bakery Shop, the Balboa Island Museum and Hotel Joaquin.

As for Laguna Beach, the Collins have added an ornament featuring the Greeter statue that stands in front of the Old Pottery Place on South Coast Highway.

“We don’t have any designs totally finalized [for next year], but we’re hoping to expand more into Newport Beach and keep designing in Laguna as well,” said Jackson. “I think we’re going to focus on those two cities next year, but nothing specific right now. We’ve got a ton of ideas circulating.”

Iconic Ornaments founders Jackson and Sawyer Collins, from left, ship orders from their home office in Laguna Beach. The brothers have added new ornaments to their company’s inventory, including the Balboa Pavilion and famous Dad’s frozen banana signage from Newport Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The family’s basement has turned into a shipping warehouse of sorts, and the two jokingly call it their “workshop.” Business has been good, they said, with their busiest season really beginning at the end of November and concluding roughly a day after Christmas.

Their biggest orders this year have been for retail shops, though they’ve seen roughly 350 individual orders come in through their website. Jackson said he thinks they’ve shipped to every continent except Antarctica.

About $6,300 generated by sales has been donated to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center since they started the business in 2021.

With high school graduation and college on the not-too-distant horizon for Jackson, the two said they plan on continuing the business indefinitely.

“How that will work remains to be seen, but that’s the plan,” Jackson said, with a laugh.

Iconic Ornaments founders Jackson and Sawyer Collins, from left, ship orders from their home office in Laguna Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)