FALL 2014
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May your Crafts be
MERRY & BRIGHT Brighten the holidays with beautiful Gelatos® Colors! Choose the perfect gift from our wide assortment of Gelatos® Kits and Gift Sets. For a wide range of colors, choose the 34-piece Gelatos® Colors Gift Set. Learn how to use Gelatos® with other mediums in the Designing with Gelatos® Kit, the Mixed Media with Gelatos® Kit, and the Card Making with Gelatos® Kit. For the ultimate collection of mediums, choose the Studio Caddy Premium Gift Set!
Gelatos® are creamy pigment sticks that blend with or without water, and can be applied to virtually any porous surface!
Get Inspired! Join our online community.
www.DesignMemoryCraft.com . www.DesignMemoryCraft.Typepad.com
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contents
Fall 2014
12 Successfully Inspired
In Every Issue
Spotlight on Teresa Collins
Designer, educator and entrepreneur Teresa Collins finds inspiration central to keeping business successful.
16 PeaceLove & Creativity PeaceLove Studios partners with CRE8TIME to help
4 The Buzz
20
6 Industry News
promote the health benefits of crafting.
Inspiration With a Touch of Whimsey
Using the power of technology, Whimseybox inspires DIYers to get crafting with supplies, project ideas and more.
24
The Next Step for Social Media CHA 2015 MEGA Show, Webinar Wednesdays, CHA Board Candidates and more.
8 Chit Chat
Rachel Shechtman’s STORY
Q & A with Lion Brand Yarn Co.
15 Index of Advertisers 26 Do-It-Yourself
Inspirational Wall Art by Marjie Kemper
28 New Products 30 Creativity is Our Business Designer Directory
10 Trend Report Metallic is the New Black
26
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12 Fall 2014 Volume 3 No. 4
Craft
Industry THE CRAFT & HOBBY ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE
Editorial Maureen Walsh mwalsh@craftandhobby.org Keri Cunningham kcunningham@craftandhobby.org Jason Baum jbaum@craftandhobby.org Catherine Martell cmartell@craftandhobby.org
Advertising Tim Braden tbraden@fwpi.com Darlene (Roberts) Ryan darlene@fwpi.com
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Publisher
Fahy-Williams Publishing PO Box 1080, 171 Reed St. Geneva, NY 14456 800-344-0559 Fax: 315-789-4263 fwpi.com Craft Industry Today is distributed to CHA members on a complimentary basis. Subscription fee for nonCHA members is $25 a year. Craft Industry Today is published quarterly for members of the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA). CHA is an international not-for-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution, and retail sales of craft products worldwide. For more about CHA, the value of membership, or its award-winning Conference & Trade Show, please visit craftandhobby.org.
The Craft & Hobby Association 319 East 54th St. Elmwood Park, NJ 07407 201-835-1200 Fax: 201-797-0657 craftandhobby.org facebook.com/CraftandHobby twitter.com/CraftandHobby youtube.com/user/CraftandHobby pinterest.com/craftandhobby/ linkedin.com/groups/Craft-Hobby-Association-1565337 CRE8TIME.org Additional copies are available upon request pending availability. To order, contact CHA at 201-835-1207. Copyright © 2014 The Craft & Hobby Association. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher.
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The Buzz The Next
Step
for Social Media by Lynn Switanowski-Barrett
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By now you’re all aware that social media is helping retailers connect with more customers every day. Well, hold on to your hats, because now connecting is heading to yet another (deeper) level. Customers – and by that, we mean yours – are not only engaging with brands they love on social media, but they are buying directly from those same brands’ social media sites via social commerce. That’s right, “see it, like it, buy it” is now happening all over the Internet. Are you ready?
online immediately. This new method of sales will be a game changer for retailers of all sizes. Let’s start with the numbers. With 48
next five years. That’s a lot of people, spending a lot of money, making purchases via a platform they already trust (social media) and where they
How can you use social commerce for your business?
“See it, like it, buy it!”
What is social commerce? It’s actually pretty simple. Social commerce takes the social media relationship one step further by engaging the customer to buy something while they are on the site. Retailers are using the connection they have formed with a customer via social media and getting them so engaged with brands and products that they are motivated to purchase
online store environment because the customer has chosen to seek your brand out on social media and feels comfortable making a purchase there.
percent of the U.S. population being “always-on consumers” – meaning they go online multiple times a day from multiple devices and multiple locations – social commerce already generates sales to the tune of $15 billion (Booz & Co). That number is projected to grow annually by large double digits over each of the
already spend a considerable amount of time.
Why does social commerce work so well? Simply put, this connection with customers, in a way that they are comfortable with, makes the sales process easier. There is no need to “hard-sell” in an
Retailers should use their social media channels to create opportunities for customers to seamlessly browse and buy, turning nearly any interaction into a point of purchase. Here are some ways you can start to adopt social commerce for your business today: • Set up a Facebook store for the key products that you sell – the items that customers always come in for. Make it easy for them to purchase when they are searching your Facebook page. • S tart to engage in Twitter Commerce. These are branded tweets, which look just like normal
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tweets, but they can have a “Buy” button that allows consumers to make a purchase from within the Twitter app. • Add the “Buy it” button on your social media sites as it becomes available. • If you’re using Pinterest, add the “Gifts feed.” This features product pins with pricing, availability and buy links. • Make a conscious effort to get your customers to write reviews of products/services that you offer and get them posted on your social media sites. (The number of reviews and average rating
on a product correlate closely with conversion to purchase.) • Bonus idea: If you’re currently using Instagram, try a sponsored post campaign with some of your key products. This tool is new but is already creating significant social commerce for those who are early adapters. Don’t forget the rules of engagement. No matter what stage of the social commerce process you are in, you must always keep in mind that the first step to engaging a customer is to present your products and services in a compelling manner that enhances the
customer experience in ways that they want. As with all social media, you can’t jump straight into social commerce and making money for your business without establishing a genuine relationship with the customer beforehand. The key to monetization is to build a credible relationship with customers and prove to them the value proposition that your company provides. Now what? If you’re
still skeptical about social commerce and the opportunities it might have for your business, we suggest talking to your customers about their purchasing habits. While you, as a retail store owner (and consumer yourself), might not be comfortable making purchases via social media, you may find that your customers have a completely different reaction to the idea.
Lynn Switanowski-Barrett is the founder of Creative Business Consulting Group, a retail consulting firm based in Boston. CBCG works with retailers to create profit improving sales, social media, marketing and open to buy programs. For more information, please contact CBCG directly at 617-437-9191 or lynn@cbc-group.net.
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Industry News The CHA 2015 Conference & Trade Show (CHA MEGA Show), taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim,CA, is just around the corner and the exhibit floor is filling up fast! This action-packed and exciting five-day event offers many opportunities designed to help your business excel. Badge registration is now open at craftandhobby.org/chashow, and you’ll be able to register for the Conference Program’s workshops, seminars and events starting September 30. The Show’s keynote speaker, Rachel Shechtman, will deliver an inspiring presentation entitled Rewriting Retail: from Making Sales to Creating an Experience. The entrepreneur and
owner of STORY boutique in New York City created an alternative retail dialog by throwing out the dated, sales-per-square-foot store model, and replacing it with a new model where the primary deliverable is an experience. Whether you’re a designer, manufacturer, brick-and-mortar store owner or an e-retailer you’ll be inspired by the way STORY injects newness and relevance into consumer shopping. It transforms a mere sales transaction into an energetic, engaging and innovative event. To read more about Rachel and STORY, see page 24. Travel Planners Inc. is the ONLY official housing company partnered with CHA, and the ONLY one that
If your business is located in Southern California and you would like to participate in future chapter events or receive an informational brochure, email socal@craftandhobby.org or visit craftandhobby.org/socal. Don’t forget to “like” the SoCal Chapter Facebook page – a great resource for up-to-date industry and chapter information.
can guarantee your reservation. It offers you the lowest rates at the best hotels. All of the hotels within CHA’s official block will have shuttle service to the convention center. Beware of other “housing” companies soliciting for CHA’s event. We advise all participants to not book through them, and to email tmercardo@craftandhobby.org if you are solicited by someone other than Travel Planners. Remember: if the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. For up-to-date Show information visit craftandhobby.org/chashow and follow the #CHAShow hashtag on Twitter.
The North American Bead Association /CHA Bead Section (NABA), represents the bead industry segment of CHA. It is the link that connects bead industry designers, manufacturers, distributors, publishers, vendors and brick-and-mortar retail stores. Join us online at facebook.com/CHANABASection. Interested in becoming involved? Email naba@craftandhobby.org.
CHA’s inaugural, one-of-a-kind wholesale buying event focused on the paper crafts industry was a great success. Participants at the CHA 2014 Paper Arts Show, held in Atlanta, July 29 through 31, enjoyed the small intimate setting that allowed them unique networking opportunities. The new Open Market trade-only cash-and-carry event offered buyers huge savings and products, and provided all attendees additional face time with exhibitors and an all-around great experience. Daily Show recaps and photos can be found on the CHA Blog at craftandhobby.wordpress. com and the CHA Facebook page, facebook.com/ CraftandHobby.
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Announcing the UPS® Savings Program for CHA Members Register for these upcoming webinars at craftandhobby.org/ webinars! They are conveniently scheduled, recorded and archived for you to access anytime, anywhere. October 1: “Build a Huge Customer Database and Create Raving Fans Using the World’s Best (and Simplest) Frequent Buyer Program” Presenter: Bob Negen, WhizBang! October 8: “Copyrights 101” Presenter: Tammy Browning-Smith, Browning-Smith P.C. October 21: “Developing Online Content That Sells” Presenter: Joe Rotella, Delphia Consulting November 5: “Time for a Change! How to Jumpstart Your Sales with Crossover Products & Categories” Presenters: Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender, KIZER & BENDER Speaking! November 12: “Writing Marketing Copy That Gets Results” Presenter: Tony Ford, Artfire.com
Follow Eileen Hull’s Paper Trail Accompanied by her vintage trailer, Scotty, CHA designer member Eileen Hull travelled this summer from Virginia to New England via Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana before heading back home. Along the entire journey she stopped to craft in various retail stores and spread the word about creativity! From now until October 13, #Paprtrail3 will take her down the East Coast from Virginia to Florida where she will stay for a week before heading to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. You can follow her on her blog at eileenhull.com.
CHA is excited to announce that members and their businesses can now save up to 34 percent on the broad portfolio of shipping services UPS provides, including air, international, ground and freight. Plus, the more you ship, the more you can save. You can receive these discounts even if you already have a UPS account. Whether you need your shipments to arrive the next day or are looking for an affordable shipping option, UPS understands the importance of speed, reliability and cost. To enroll and start saving, visit savewithups.com/cha or call 1-800-MEMBERS (1-800-636-2377), M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
2015 Board Candidates Announced The CHA Nominating Committee presents the following candidates for the CHA Board of Directors: Michael Popson (Wilton Brands), Valerie Marderosian (iLovetoCreate), Frank Rizzo (McCalls Pattern) and Mark Lee (DreamSolutions Marketing Corp). Nora Abousteit (Kollabora) was nominated for a second term; all of the nominees are running for three-year terms.
Small Business Saturday Saturday, November 29 is dedicated to supporting small businesses across the country. Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is open to everyone from business owners to shoppers to government officials. To get involved, visit smallbusinesssaturday.com. CIT
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Chit Chat Lion Brand Yarn Co. by Nancy Nally
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Since 1983, Vanna White has been famous for turning letters on “Wheel of Fortune” with beauty, grace and poise. But over the years, she’s also become famous for her love of crochet. Vanna’s passion for the craft is just one of the many things that has turned her into one of America’s most beloved TV personalities. In 1992, Vanna’s habit
of crocheting during breaks on the “Wheel of Fortune” set came to the attention of Lion Brand Yarn Co., and a partnership was born. Vanna first became the company’s spokesperson, bringing glamour to the world of knit and crochet. Eventually, the collaboration created Vanna’s Choice, the first celebrity yarn brand, in 2007. A portion of the revenue from
Vanna’s Choice (and from the numerous later additions to the line) goes to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In early 2013, Lion Brand reached a milestone of $1 million in charitable donations to the hospital. This year, in honor of the contributions that Lion Brand Yarn Co. and Vanna’s Choice have made together to St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, Lion Brand was honored with the Craft & Hobby Association’s Special Recognition Award. Each year, this award recognizes an individual or group for an outstanding contribution that reflects positively on the crafts industry. We spoke with Lion Brand to learn more about what receiving the award meant to the company, about how the Vanna’s Choice project came about, and about the importance of the mission of St. Jude.
What did it mean to your company when you received the CHA Special Recognition Award? It was wonderful to be recognized for donating a portion of our sales to charity. It’s important to our family and to everyone who works at Lion Brand that we help contribute to a greater cause.
Why did you start the Vanna’s Choice Yarn line? We’ve been working with Vanna, who loves to crochet and emcees our fashion show at CHA, for over 20 years. In 2007, we found a
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yarn that Vanna and we felt was perfect to be her signature line. She was thrilled to be involved, and we decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. Since we launched Vanna’s Choice, it’s been one of our most popular yarns and we’ve expanded to many other Vanna lines of yarn. We’re very thankful to be able to have this partnership with her. Vanna’s signature yarns are beautiful quality yarns that knitters and crocheters love and trust to create projects for themselves and loved ones that will last a lifetime.
Vanna's Choice supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Can you share what its mission is, and how the donations help? Vanna and David Blumenthal, our CEO, went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and saw the children who need help. They saw the care that goes into healing, finding cures and the extensive research conducted at the hospital. The experience of seeing the devotion of the doctors, and all the employees at St. Jude, for fulfilling their mission with the children was extremely important in our decision to choose this charity. St. Jude’s mission is to lead the way in treating and
advancing the cures, as well as methods of prevention, for pediatric cancer and diseases through research and treatment. When they opened, just two out of every 10 kids with cancer survived. Today, eight out of 10 will survive. No child treated at the center will have to pay for treatment.
Over $1 million has been donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 2007. Where do you go from here? We are still donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with proceeds from all of the Vanna lines: Vanna’s Choice, Vanna’s Glamour, Vanna’s Tapestry, Vanna’s Palettes and Vanna’s Sequins. We’ve reached over $1.3 million to date and the sky’s the limit.
Your efforts will inspire other businesses within the Association to support charitable causes. How would you recommend they get started? It’s great to think that Vanna and Lion Brand can inspire others to devote a portion of their sales to charity as well. It’s important to start with a charity that has meaning to the people in the organization. It’s also important to research the charity and to understand how donations are used. CIT
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Trend Report Metallic is the New Black! It’s metallic mania for fall! Here are some products that will add a little glitter and glamour to your crafts.
by Catherine Martell
Folk Art Metallics
Use this shimmering metallic acrylic paint to cover an entire project or to simply add shimmering accents. FolkArt Metallics come in a wide array of beautiful iridescent colors in metals, pearls and gemstone finishes.
plaidonline.com
Berwick Offray Ribbon Offray Luxe is a high-quality metallic ribbon line that combines sparkly metallic on the front of the ribbon with Berwick Offray’s signature satin on the back.
berwickoffraywholesale.com
Metallic Mixatives
Martha Stewart Metallic Wedding
Ranger’s Tim Holtz Metallic Mixatives are luminous, fast-drying, and acid-free. They are specially formulated to create metallic highlights when combined with Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Use them on all nonporous surfaces including light or dark gloss paper, dominoes, glass and other slick surfaces.
You’ll find an awesome collection of wedding ideas using metallics at marthastewartweddings.com. Polish, shimmer and sparkle suggestions range from invitations and seating charts to a metallic cake and bridal bouquet. Photography by Laurie Frankel
Rangerink.com
Enchant Yarn
Imported Enchant yarn features a metallic thread with payettes to add sparkle and flash. Combine Enchant with your favorite Premier yarn for your next knitting or crocheting project to create a real showstopper.
premieryarns.com
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Metallic Album Set
Bring classy shine to you cherished memories with a Metallic Album Set, available in a range of flashy colors. Also available is washi tape in gold, silver and copper.
Teresa Collins and We R Memory Keepers
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Your product was shipped to the store, now what? Is it on the shelf? Is it in stock? Has your space been lost to a competitor? Is your messaging lost? Lost sales due to out of stock product in the United States is an $89 billion problem.* Baker & Taylor Field Merchandising is an experienced, award winning, and reputable retail merchandising service focused on ensuring your product is where you expect it to be — when you expect it! Let us be your in-store eyes, ears and hands. ✚ Visual Merchandising Seasonal and promotional product placement and management
✚ Inventory Management
MICHAELS ARTS & CRAFTS 2012 OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT
Physical inventory/cycle counts and vendor managed inventory assistance for greater product visibility
✚ Demo Events/Product Demostration New product customer engagement/ introduction, seasonal support and in-store retail associate training
✚ Real Time Retail Insight Visit validation, in-store visibility with photo capture capability and detailed data collection and analysis Our North American coverage includes all of the U.S. and Canadian provinces Customized service schedules available in Michaels, Joanns, AC Moore, Walmart, Shopko and many more retailers!
*source: IHL Worldwide, 2012 Inventory Distortion Survey
LEARN MORE ABOUT FIELD MERCHANDISING SERVICES: Contact Andy Stavros at 469-475-2720 or email Andy.Stavros@baker-taylor.com Craft Industry
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Successfully Inspired Spotlight on
Teresa Collins
Designer, educator and entrepreneur Teresa Collins finds inspiration central to keeping business successful.
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by Jennafer Martin
B
Becoming a successful craft industry designer and educator wasn’t on Teresa Collins’ mind when she began creating her first scrapbook in 2002. What Teresa wanted then was to come to terms with her mother’s sudden passing by honoring her life in a memory book. At the time, she didn’t consider herself a crafter – an interior designer, a wife and mother, but not a crafter. Despite what she thought when she set out to create that first scrapbook, Teresa spent the next 12 years becoming a consistently successful powerhouse in the craft and hobby industry, inspiring others through her creatively classic product lines, stylish projects, and her approachable-yet-empowering classes and workshops. She both values and epitomizes inspiration, something which she credits for her continued success. Getting to know this amazing entrepreneur will help you get inspired to grow your sales and see even more successful results for your business.
A Stylish Start There are many core aspects that make up who Teresa Collins is as a person – being a native of North Carolina, her deep religious convictions; being a wife, mother and grandmother – but her interior design background is the most core aspect of her creativity. Pairing that interior design training with a natural talent for arranging colors, patterns and more in a way that beautifies a space, Teresa has always been a proponent of style and self expression. While she may not have considered herself a crafter when she made that first memory book, her skills as an interior designer were useful for its creation, and she found that she very much enjoyed
the process of crafting. It didn’t take long before she was struck by the possibilities that crafting held to express people’s style and tell their stories. What drove her to create then is what still drives her now: the thrill of telling stories and making creativity part of life. “When I started out in this hobby,” she says, “I came to it like many people do – through a birth or death. But what keeps me crafting is the possibilities for expression and creation.”
From Crafter to Designer It was keeping her mind open to possibilities that allowed Teresa to start using her talents to design craft products. Although she’d been a crafter for a while, when a scrapbook manufacturer approached her to design her own line of products, she doubted her qualifications. Her background was in interior design and not graphic design, so she wondered how that could work. Although she’d always had an entrepreneurial spirit, previously making and selling handmade items in local boutiques, she had yet to truly realize her talents in creating craft products. But Teresa kept her mind open, and, using her sense of style as well as her understanding as a crafter, she created lovely products that people could use for their creative pursuits. Her stylish yet classic designs were a big hit, and since then, she’s been a sought after designer in the craft industry. She creates her own products as well as partners with several companies (including Canon, Craftwell, Fiskars, Pixma, We R Memory Keepers, and Xyron) to create not only scrapbooking products, but those for card making, paper crafting, home décor creation and mixed media designs.
Get Inspired... ...to make your products, packaging and displays fresh and inspiring, says Teresa. Absorb your surroundings
Inspiration is all around, so pay attention to your surroundings to find inspiration in everyday things. Utensils, book covers, vases – everything can be inspiring!
Look at architecture
Whether it’s the columns of a building or the design of a woven indoor rug, the way homes and buildings are put together can be a source of great inspiration.
Check out colors
Take in the colors around you in fashion and home décor. Whether they are vibrant, pastel, muted, metallic or a combination thereof, they can give you ideas for your business.
Notice patterns and motifs
Sometimes seemingly ordinary patterns like polka dots or plaids can become an amazing source of inspiration. Challenge yourself to think about how to use them for your products in new and unique ways.
Travel
Whether you go camping, travel overseas or just get out of a trade show for an hour to take in the city sights, getting out of your routine and in new surroundings can help you see what’s unique about different places and inspire you.
Go shopping
Go to local marketplaces, malls and shops, especially those off the beaten path. Notice not only products, but signage, displays, packaging and more for creative inspiration.
Pay attention to popular culture
Notice what’s popular in television, movies, music and fashion and look for inspiring aspects that are already resonating with your customers.
Online Inspiration Connect with Teresa online for more inspiration. • Website: TeresaCollinsDesigns.com • Blog: TeresaCollinsDesignsBlog.com • Facebook: /tcdesigns • Twitter: @TERESACOLLINS1 • Pinterest: /teresacollins88
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Teresa’s Top Tips for Success Be authentic. Customers can tell if you’re excited about your products – and they can tell if you’re just lukewarm or going through the motions. Your excitement for your products is contagious. Through her website and blog, in her creative use of products for projects and in her teaching others how to use them, Teresa’s excitement for her products shines through so others can feel it. If the people in your organization believe in your products, then their excitement comes though so customers “catch” it.
Educate yourself. Whether it’s on the latest crafting techniques or products, or it’s about promotion or teaching, making time for continuous education is important to keep your business growing. “You may have a marketing degree, but the way people promote and market products changes, so taking a class to learn about new ways is important,” Collins says. “I’m always reading articles, taking online classes and learning new ways to do things.”
Embrace change. “You cannot be afraid of failure,” Teresa says. “Trying new things is the only way to grow.” Whether you finally start that Pinterest page, take a corner of your store to expand your product offerings, or try new ways to connect with your audience, you’ve got to adjust to stay afloat in an ever-changing market. You don’t have to change your entire business model but modifying one little thing can make a big difference in profits.
Connect with your audience. Knowing what your customers want is the main key to keeping your business strong. Make sure to interact with your customers often, on online discussions, in test groups of crafters trying your new products out, in surveys, and more so you can give them what they want. Think like a consumer. Once you’ve connected with your audience, think like them when planning your promotions and products. “Most crafters are inspired to craft for their families and to be remembered,” Teresa notes. Some are motivated to purchase because products are trendy but most want classic designs so they can use them again and again. Everyone wants products that look great but
“I design products thinking like an end consumer because I’m a crafter,” Teresa says. “I’m always thinking, ‘What can I make with this?’, ‘What would make crafting faster or easier?’, ‘How can we do it differently?’” This approach allows her to design products that are not just inspiring but useable while still reflecting Teresa’s signature style. If you’ve ever used her products, checked out her website or stopped by the Teresa Collins Designs booth at a Craft & Hobby
Association Conference & Trade Show, you know her style. It’s bold, beautiful and blingy, all the while being classy and classic. “I want my products to help people tell their stories in whatever way reflects their lifestyle,” Collins notes. “And I always want them to be products I’m passionate about. I have a rule of thumb: if I don’t love it, then I’m not going to do it. If you’re real and authentic, people pick up on that. I want to be just as excited about the creative possibilities of my new products as consumers are.”
are simple to use. Keep their motivation and needs in mind so you make products that they will use and buy.
Make trends your own. Get a feel for colors, patterns, motifs, etc. in home décor, architecture, fashion and more. Geographical places to watch for emerging trends are Europe, New York City and Atlanta. “The US is usually about two years behind the European market, so watching their trends is a great way to see what’s coming,” Teresa says. But then, she cautions, don’t just follow the trends – make sure you make them your own. “I just knew gold was coming back in style, but I wanted to pair it with something classic,” Teresa notes. “So I paired gold with white for my Studio Gold line.” And it is a hit with consumers.
Keep it simple. Collins notes a tendency that can hurt the industry: going overboard with pricing and the volume of new products. She recommends keeping products affordable to consumers, and keeping retailers in mind when creating products. “It can hurt the industry when we overwhelm retailers with a lot of products in a release. They don’t always have room for everything so they need to pick and choose. That’s why I still only release 9 papers in a new line,” Teresa says. Keeping things simple helps customers get behind products and keeps the industry from getting too overwhelmed with new products. Be a leader, not a follower. Make decisions that help you be a leader in the industry rather than a follower. This will ensure your business stays out front and keeps growing. You don’t always have to come out with the newest thing to be a leader. Sometimes it’s about breathing new life into older trends. “Stickers went away for a while, and they came back stronger. So did eyelets and rub-ons,” Teresa notes. “It’s fun to see ‘old’ things become new again,” she notes. Leaders are the ones that make that happen. Trends change, consumer spending habits change, and the industry itself changes as the years pass. But Teresa Collins has consistently proven that she can create inspiring products and educate consumers in inspiring ways. Following her lead to value and make time for inspiration can make a large difference in your bottom line.
That passion fuels not just her product design but her approach to classes, blogging and more. Her motto – “create a beautiful life” – reflects her belief that creativity should both be a vehicle to share your stories and make life beautiful and inspirational. Whether her customers are creating a scrapbook, a card, a gift or home décor project,
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Craft
Industry Tell our advertisers you saw their ad here.
American Orthopedic.................. 27 Baker & Taylor Field Merchandising............................... 11 Beth Watson Design Studio....... 30 Carol Foldvary-Anderson............ 30 Chameleon Art Products...............5 Chase Products Co........................ 23 Dare2BArtzy.................................... 19 Eileen Hull Creative Design Studio................................. 30 Teresa wants it to reflect the individual’s creativity and life. “I design simply enough that people can see the versatility of a product. One of the things that I make sure I never do is limit myself,” she notes. “Maybe my story is best told in a home décor piece and maybe in a scrapbook project. I push to design what hasn’t been done before and follow my creativity where it leads.”
Riding Waves of Change Throughout the years that Teresa has been designing and selling inspirational products, the crafting industry has undergone many changes. Yet one thing has remained constant: she has done more sales each year than the previous one. She attributes this enviable success to several factors, the biggest one being inspiration. Getting and staying inspired is the key to success for Collins. “Customers get inspired when you’re inspired,” she notes. And the more inspired you are, the better your sales can be. Teresa finds inspiration in many different places. “I’m always absorbing my surroundings to find something interesting. I look in marketplaces and shops off the beaten
track. I look at homes to get a feel for patterns, tiles, etc. There’s always something inspiring me. It can be as simple as a light switch or lamp. Then I take it and make it my own.” Teaching workshops to connect with customers also inspires her, as it allows her to see their creativity firsthand. Crafters use her products in ways she never would have thought of, and that inspires her to think beyond what she’s done in the past for new and inventive ways to design in the future. Crafters love Teresa’s workshops and events, which consistently sell out quickly because of her inspiring teaching style and products. Collins understands that it’s often time consuming enough to run a business, but making time for inspiration is one of the most important things you can do to stay engaged and inspired. When inspiration is your main tool for success, amazing things happen to expand your business. You make inspiring products that people want, create inspiring displays that draw customers in or showcase inspiring promotional campaigns that pique people’s interests. All this leads to better sales. CIT
Ellison/Sizzix................... Back Cover Erin Rose Design............................ 30 Faber-Castell......................................2 Gail Green Licensing & Design........................................... 30 LBO Studio....................................... 30 Lee Products.................................... 27 Lineco/University Products........ 19 Ranger Industries.......................... 29 Rose & Meyer.................................. 30 Sakura of America............................9 Sha&Co.............................................. 30 Staedtler North America............. 31 Tricots-Edley Associates.............. 30 WireKnitZ.......................................... 30 Craft Industry
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PeaceLove
& Creativity
PeaceLove Studios partners with CRE8TIME to help promote the health benefits of crafting. 16 Fall 2014 • Craft Industry today 2014_Fall_CIT.indd 16
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by Jennafer Martin
A
unifying symbol that has no stigma and As craft and hobby industry members, promotes understanding. you devote your career to helping others While PeaceLove Studios has embrace creativity because you know many partners in its efforts, its main the power creativity has to enhance funding comes from the sale of merlives, build connections between people chandise at PeaceLoveStudios.com. and more. To help your efforts, the Craft & Purchasing tees, jewelry, prints, journals, Hobby Association launched the CRE8TIME stationery and more allows PeaceLove Studios movement in 2013, encouraging people to to continue spreading creativity, peace and unincrease the time they spend on creative purderstanding. Stop by PeaceLoveStudios.com to join suits. One partner of CRE8TIME started encouraging this amazing movement. others to create in 2009, and its efforts have brought peace of mind to many suffering from mental illness. Part art Creative Power experience provider, part creative work As a CRE8TIME partner, Peaceshop, part creative community and part Love Studios has definitely enhanced movement, PeaceLove Studios shows many lives, but the benefits of creativity Website the power of making time for creativity don’t stop there. Making regular time PeaceLoveStudios.com – and the benefits that brings. for creative pursuits enhances lives in
Connect to PeaceLove Studios
many ways, offering numerous benefits. Encouraging your friends, family members, customers, coworkers and yourself It was almost an accident. Jeffrey to participate in CRE8TIME will help Sparr, a self-proclaimed “regular guy” Twitter you to do the following: who also suffers from a mental illness @PeaceLoveRI called obsessive-compulsive disorder Enjoy self expression. The free(OCD), picked up a paintbrush one day. dom that you enjoy expressing yourself in Pinterest He quickly discovered that creating art creative pursuits allows you to put a piece /PeaceLoveRI gave him a sense of control and peace of yourself out there onto the canvas, into of mind that his illness often disrupted. the music, etc. It puts you more in touch Instagram Jeff realized that if it worked for him, with your feelings and you can discover /PeaceLove maybe it would work for others affected new ways to convey your feelings and by mental illness, and the beginnings of points of view in the process. PeaceLove Studios were hatched (read Become a better problem Jeff’s firsthand account on page 18). solver. Creative pursuits give you the opportunity to envision something and bring it to life, working through Spreading Peace any obstacles to that vision you may Through Art Website: CRE8TIME.org encounter. Working in this manner What began as one man’s expecan give you confidence to work rience with creativity has been spread Facebook: /CRE8TIME through obstacles in life. Additionto thousands of people through Peaceally, creative pursuits often shut out Love Studios, an organization that has Twitter: @CRE8TIME the noise of life, and the focus they provided more than 15,000 art programs require can be almost meditative, alto schools, senior care centers, hospitals Instagram: /CRE8TIME lowing you to work through problems and more since 2009. What started out in the back of your mind when your as an experience of peace through crehands are engaged. Some people have ativity has expanded to helping create a had brilliant ideas in the middle of positive symbol of hope and acceptance sewing, assembling models, crocheting, etc. because their for mental health overall. “Mental illness is both invisible and brains are able to process more freely. misunderstood,” Jeff says, “One in four people in the United Embrace mistakes. Creativity allows us to take risks as States has a diagnosable mental illness, and two thirds of us we attempt to make our creative visions come to life. We try won’t get the help we need or deserve due to stigma.” Peacenew things, free from judgment and constraint, and that often Love Studios sets out to create more understanding and kindleads to errors, mistakes and dead ends. But we continue on, ness for these illnesses as well as bring peace and meaningful and we often find the best parts of our creativity in the percreative experiences to those affected by them. ceived “mistakes” we make, leading to wonderful discoveries. The symbol for PeaceLove Studios – a combined peace Embracing mistakes in our creative pursuits allows us to go sign and heart – is something founder Jeff created as a
A Quest for Peace
Facebook /PeaceLoveStudios
Connect to CRE8TIME
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easier on ourselves – and possibly find wonderful new discoveries – when we make mistakes in other areas of our lives.
Reduce stress. There’s an element of play in creative pursuits, and, let’s face it: they’re fun. Having fun engaged in enjoyable activities reduces stress and allows us to relax more. So creativity helps us breathe easier. Connects you with those you love. Our lives are very busy, and sharing creative pursuits with family members and friends allows us to slow down and spend time together in enjoyable activities where we can have quality interactions. Additionally, giving handmade gifts you’ve created to family and friends connects you to them in meaningful ways, as those gifts become keepsakes that store-bought items can never be. Expand your social circle. Engaging in crafts and hobbies allows you to make new friends with similar interests.
Whether you engage in creative pursuits with other people or you share your creations online with others, you can expand your social circle with people who are just as passionate as you are. Get inspired for more! There’s something contagious about crafts and hobbies - doing them just makes you want to do more. In the middle of a project, you get inspired for additional ones. Seeing other people’s projects inspires you to want to do more as well. The act of creating begets more creating: a wonderful, beneficial cycle.
Get Involved As craft industry professionals, you can help others avail themselves of the benefits of creative pursuits by letting them know about and encouraging them to participate in CRE8TIME. There are many ways your company can participate! • Host in-store CRE8TIME themed crafting events or contests • Promote the #CRE8TIME hashtag on all of your creative social media posts and encourage your customers to do the same.
Jeffrey Sparr’s
Inspiring Story
from PeaceLoveStudios.com My name is Jeffrey Sparr. I am a father, husband, businessman and artist who has also suffered for 25 years from mental illness. But in other ways, I’m just a regular guy who has a story to tell, that I hope can be an inspiration and proof that you can get better and that there truly is a better tomorrow for us all. It’s impossible to really convey what it is like having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but I sometimes explain that it is like being at the airport with your 2-year old daughter, turning your back for a second to grab your bag and turning around to discover that your daughter is gone. Now imagine feeling that level of anxiety continually and about things not nearly as critical as a missing child. It wasn’t always like this. In 1986 it all looked so perfect: I was 23 and an ex-collegiate athlete with a bright business future ahead. The world was seemingly at my feet. Except that my brain and life were being taken over by completely irrational thoughts and behaviors that I was powerless to fight and that consumed my life with anxiety. To top it off, I had a disorder that was so invisible and misunderstood that even those closest to me didn’t really believe I had something that serious. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones; I got a proper di-
agnosis of OCD, and help in the form of medication and treatment. This, along with a lot of love and support, has allowed me to enjoy a full life with a beautiful wife, three incredible children, and a successful textiles business. But even after treatment, the OCD and anxiety were still there, so I handled it as best I possibly could, though always with the hope and a prayer that I might find some miraculous way to get better. One day I decided on a whim coming home from work that I would buy some art supplies and try my hand at painting. To my amazement, not only did I like it but it provided me a peace of mind and sense of control that my illness deprived me of. Most unexpectedly, my self-taught, nontraditional style, highlighted by faceless characters (don’t tell anyone I can’t draw a face), bold movements and thought-provoking titles connected with people on an emotional level and surprisingly created a loyal following of people collecting my work. My cousin Matthew Kaplan (PeaceLove Cofounder) and I thought that if painting made me feel better, maybe it could help others, so we did the only logical thing – we bought some supplies, packed up a bag and headed out to my hospital, Butler Hospital, one of the leading psychiatric hospitals in the country. We showed up on the children’s intensive treatment
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Made in the U.S.A.
• Open up your classroom on the 8th of every month so the community can use the space to work on their creative projects. • Use the CRE8TIME logo on your product packaging. • Create CRE8TIME branded store coupons or gift cards. • Use the CRE8TIME customizable marketing materials from the member toolkit available at: craftandhobby.org/eWeb/Cre8timeToolKit.pdf
Your Customers will LOVE
Dare 2B Artzy Clear Stamps & Die Cuts.
• Add the CRE8TIME logo to your newsletters and link to CRE8TIME.org. • Feature CRE8TIME branded crafting projects on your website. • Follow and share CRE8TIME social media posts over your social media: • facebook.com/CRE8TIME, twitter.com/cre8time, pinterest.com/CRE8ORS, youtube.com/user/cre8time Encouraging others to participate in CRE8TIME means they’ll experience the benefits of creativity first-hand, enhancing their lives and strengthening the craft and hobby industry as a whole. CIT
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unit without a clue, but with the desire and vision to help people like me find peace of mind through art. I cried in the parking lot after class because I knew we had something that was very special. We called it “Paint4Peace.” For many years I have unrealistically dreamed, and sometimes prayed, for a lightning bolt to hit me and cure my illness, and when it came to that “something more,” it was almost just that. It was 2009 and the Discovery Health Channel had done a documentary that featured my story, for which we gave them complete access to my life and family for two days. While watching the playback of the documentary, I got hit by the lightning bolt that led to the creation of PeaceLove. My “something more” would be to create a positive symbol of hope and acceptance for mental health. Every cause has their “ribbon,” but tens of millions of people like me and their friends and families had nothing to rally and celebrate behind. I knew it had to be, for lack of a better word, cool, as people would need to wear it, share it and experience it. No one is going to walk out of a psychiatric hospital with a t-shirt that says, “I’m mentally ill,” but I knew they would with a cool symbol with no stigma attached. Years ago I had created an image that had deep personal meaning for me – the simple combination of the peace symbol and a heart, signifying peace of mind and love in your heart. I called it “PeaceLove.” Matt and I set out to share a message of hope and a vision for breaking down stigma that negatively impacts so many. Craft Industry
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Inspiration
with a Touch of
Whimsey
Using the power of technology, Whimseybox inspires DIYers to get crafting with supplies, project ideas and more.
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Inspiration in Everything by Jennafer Martin
O
One of the best things technology does for those involved in crafts and hobbies is help further inspiration’s reach. Technology makes it easy for your customers to share inspiration, and gives them new tools to make their inspirations become reality. Just think about how many of your customers share photos of their crafts and hobbies with friends and family via email, blogs or social media. Or, think about the inspiring fashion, gift and home décor projects that thousands of people involved in the maker movement create using their software or 3D printers. Technology and inspiration can be a powerful combination. Technology’s influence can sometimes be overwhelming, too. Although countless people pin thousands of images of inspiring ideas for home décor, fashion and creative do-it-yourself (DIY) projects to virtual bulletin boards every day on Pinterest, only a fraction of those people are actually creating. Whimseybox, a company launched by DIYer Alicia DiRago in 2011, is working to change that. Using technology to inspire DIYers to “stop pinning and start making,” Whimseybox offers inspiring projects and tutorials, trend reporting and sharing a monthly craft box of supplies. This unique company is using the best of technology to inspire DIYers in new and exciting ways.
From Process Engineer to DIY CEO It was a lifelong fascination with how things are made that led Alicia DiRago to study engineering in college. “In my first job right out of college, I traveled to different plants and got to see how lots of things were made, from tires to pharmaceuticals to light bulbs, which I really enjoyed,” she says. But all along, her creative pursuits revolved around DIY home décor and fashion. Alicia received the opportunity for a new career after her now-husband’s job relocated them to a different state. She began looking for a way to use her creativity more. “I started my blog and began hosting fun craft classes in local bars and restaurants, where groups of girls could all come after work and make some jewelry together while enjoying a glass of wine.” Her blog, DismountCreative.com, showcased Alicia’s own DIY projects, and its popularity grew quickly. But with that popularity came two distinct problems. The first was that most of her blog readers lived outside of her local area, making their attendance
Join the Fun!
Here’s two ways to move from browsing at Whimseybox.com to participating. It’s easy! • Post a project Share a DIY project or tutorial you’ve created to inspire other Whimeseybox visitors. • Become a Whimseybox Influencer Are you a blogger? You can earn revenue by sharing the materials you use in your projects. Visit Whimseybox.com/Influencer for details.
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What inspires Alicia DiRago, CEO of the inspiring site, Whimseybox.com? “Oh gosh, what doesn’t?!” she says. “I’m constantly tearing pages out of my magazines, snapping pictures of inspiration when I’m walking around Boulder, Colorado (it’s a really creative and inspiring place to live) and pinning secret projects to our Pinterest board. Right now I’m pregnant with our first child (a boy due in October!), so I’m really excited about baby and kid DIYs.” Take a cue from Alicia to help your customers find inspiration in items common in their lives, teaching classes and offering inspiration from which to create. Search out and share items such as: • Advertisements and billboards • Children’s toys and outfits • Decorative pillows and tiles • Fabric and gift wrap motifs • Accessories such as jewelry and watches
at her classes difficult if not impossible. The second was that she was often without an answer when blog readers emailed to ask where they could find particular supplies to re-create the projects she shared on her blog. “I really wanted it to be easier for them to act on their inspiration and get making, but I wasn’t sure how I could do that for every project. I decided to start by putting together just one new product a month: a Whimseybox. At the time, Birchbox, a popular monthly subscription for beauty products, was just starting to take off, and I remember reading that someone saved her empty Birchboxes each month and used them to store craft supplies. I thought ‘what if there was a box that came with craft supplies already in it?!’ and got really excited.” Not one to rest on a good idea, Alicia decided to make her idea into a business within eight weeks. In December 2011, Whimseybox went live with the intent to send the projects for Alicia’s classes to interested customers, wherever they lived. “I launched Whimseybox entirely on my own,” she says, “Everything from the name to the website to the product. In hindsight, that’s crazy, but I did it.” She quickly realized that she had started something amazing. The Whimseybox demand created a few production hiccups that first month. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into by launching in December,” she muses. “Everyone wanted to buy it as a holiday gift, and we ran a waitlist for months!” She quickly learned to adjust to the growing demand of the inspiration and motivation that Whimseyboxes provided, and the company’s customer base continued to grow with fewer production problems each month.
Inspirationally Creative Boxes On Whimseybox.com, you will find a plethora of inspiration at the click of a mouse. There’s the store that enables customers to purchase more than 75,000 craft supplies to go from inspiration to creation, a gallery full of hundreds of inventive projects that DIYers share to inspire others, and a blog for the staff to highlight trends and projects, that keep the inspiration going. Through the technology of their site, Craft Industry
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they’ve created a one-stop destination for DIYers. “We’re always working to design the kind of experience that will inspire more people to embrace DIY and craft,” Alicia says. But that’s not all they are working towards. With the mission to “stop pinning and start making,” Whimseybox works hard to “help people turn inspiration into creation by making the best DIY and craft products and technology,” Alicia says. “We’re obsessed with creating products that make it easier for people to express their creativity through DIY and craft.” The central part of Whimseybox’s mission is the monthly craft box full of project supplies and instructions that subscribers recieve. Unlike other kit clubs in the industry, however, Whimseyboxes do not
always center around a single craft type or technique. Each month’s box offers a different craft medium, so one month a customer can get a project to create with yarn, while another month she’ll receive supplies for paper crafting, clay, felt, beads, ink, dye and more. Customers can subscribe to get a box each month or purchase the boxes individually, depending on their preferences. Whether they subscribe monthly (a cost of $13.75 to $15 each, depending on how many months one signs up for) or purchase the boxes individually (at a cost averaging $20) Whimseybox is affordably inspiring. The contents of each box are introduced in a video on Whimseybox’s blog by Alicia and other staffers, stirring up excitement each month and
With more than 75,000 craft supplies in its store, Whimseybox offers a huge selection of products for DIY customers.
Whimseybox craft boxes contain different projects and craft mediums, from clay to paper to cement, for DIYers to try.
inspiring customers. The process of concepting and deciding on each month’s craft box is an inspiring process for the Whimseybox team. “Our team is made up of creative DIYers, and we’ve always got lots of ideas!” Alicia says. With no shortage of ideas, the craft boxes continue to be unique, inventive and fun for customers. Executing those ideas, however, brings a lot of challenges that the Whimseybox team is up for. “Planning the boxes each month is actually a pretty big job!” Alicia says. “The challenge is figuring out the logistics of sourcing all the materials, including making sure they fit in the box, are safe and legal to ship, can be broken down into the right quantities… and that we can get them all here, processed and packaged and out the door each month. Our Director of Operations, Michelle, is amazing and, as you might imagine, very detail-oriented!” When customers receive Whimseyboxes, their creativity with the supplies and the projects they share on the site inspires Alicia. She also loves that the boxes help people make time to be creative. Many groups
get together each month to work on their Whimseybox projects, making it a social event as well as a crafty one. “One of the things I love to hear is that Whimseybox makes it easy for people to spend some time making. It’s so easy to get busy with our day-to-day lives, and it’s hard to make time to express your creativity, but it’s so important!” It seems as though putting the supplies in the hands of customers is one of the ways that’s able to be a reality.
Inspiring Growth Whimseybox has come a long way and grown a great deal in the nearly three years since its founding. Between the creative Whimseyboxes, site upgrades, employee numbers increasing and customers coming in droves, it’s a far cry from where it started in 2011. “For the first couple of months, we packed and shipped every box out of my house!” Alicia declares. “Now there’s an entire crew dedicated to packing and shipping the boxes each month. We still do it out of our office because we’re obsessed with the presentation – every box is wrapped in tissue and tied with ribbon!
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Now Trending on Whimseybox
If you’re looking to spot trends, Whimseybox is an excellent resource! “I wouldn’t say that we look to follow trends as much as we seek to spot them right as they are emerging,” says founder and CEO Alicia DiRago. “Our audience and customers are mainly 20- to 40-year-old women and, like us, they are inspired by the latest trends in fashion, design and décor. We try to incorporate that into our site and our products.” Click the “trends” tab on Whimseybox.com and you’ll find emerging trends at your fingertips, such as: • Trendy motifs: pineapples and ice cream cones • Trendy looks: marbled and constellation-inspired • Trendy projects: creative planters and handmade games • Trendy textures: felt and tassels
We have a talented team of people programming, designing, sourcing and working to create the best creative experience for our users.” And as Whimseybox grows, so does its ability to inspire others to get them crafting. In order to spread the word about this inspiring company and working A Whimseybox Trend Column is also featured in every spread its mission, Whimseybox reto grow CHA E-newsletter! cently started a new program called the and imWhimseybox Influencer network. An incenprove the extivized affiliate program, this technology “gives perience on our bloggers and publishers a new way to earn revenue website, especially by sharing the materials they used in their projects,” on mobile and tablet says Alicia. Whimseybox Influencer participants can earn devices,” Alicia says.”In addition, eight percent of each sale their readers purchase on Whimthere are some exciting changes and improvements coming seybox.com through links on their blog posts and other up for our monthly subscription boxes.” content. In addition to being able to generate revenue, the At a time when technology and creativity converge in Whimseybox Influencer network participants help their amazing and often overwhelming ways, Whimseybox helps readers more easily go from being inspired to creating, customers not only get inspired but embrace their creativity and spreading Whimseybox’s mission even further. get started making. Follow their lead and start developing ways The future looks bright for Whimseybox. “We’re always to get your customers creating and help your business grow. CIT
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Rachel Shechtman’s
STORY.
by Nancy Nally
T
The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) is pleased to announce that Rachel Shechtman will be the official keynote speaker for the CHA 2015 Conference & Trade Show (CHA MEGA Show) in Anaheim. “Two years ago, I set out to prove that brick and mortar retail could be about more than just sales. I wanted it to connect people – whether an independent maker, a 5-year old, or a multimillion-dollar consumer brand. That single idea led me to found STORY, a retail store in New York City that changes like a gallery, takes the point of view of a magazine, and sells stuff like a traditional retailer. At its heart, STORY is about making an idea come to life and inspiring others to do the same. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my personal story as well as some of the stories I’ve seen that continue to inspire me every day,” she told us. Shechtman will present “Rewriting Retail: From Making Sales to Creating An Experience” at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 9 a.m., prior to the opening of the CHA MEGA Show. Here’s her story.
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T
Technology. The economy. Changing consumer attitudes. All of these things have drastically changed the retail world in the past decade. Many retailers once thought invincible by the marketplace have closed their doors for good. Many of the remainder are struggling, and scrambling to adapt to a market – and consumer – they no longer even recognize. Where others saw calamity, Rachel Shechtman saw an opportunity to think outside the box, or more accurately, the traditional four walls of a retail store and its business model. Shechtman fell in love with retail early in her life. She comes from a long line, three previous generations in fact, of entrepreneurs. When she was 12 years old, her mother took her to the New York Gift Show to shop wholesale for Bar Mitzvah favors. That was when she realized it was possible to shop for a living! So began the journey that led to the opening of STORY. STORY is housed in a 2,000-square-foot space located on 10th Avenue in Manhattan’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood. The store bills itself as “a new retail concept that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery and sells things like a store.” The entire place – inventory, merchandising, and in-store events – revolves around a single theme that changes every four to six weeks. During the switch, the store closes for approximately two weeks to be entirely reset and redesigned for a new theme concept. (continued on page 27)
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Look at what we have in store for you! 3,000+
Attendees
65 Hands-on Workshops
1,000+ New SKUs
59 Hours of
Education
9 20+ Networking Designer Exclusive Workshops Events
400+
140+
100
56+
55+ International
44 Business
Exhibitors
Countries
Represented
5 Days
Distributors
Exhibitors
1 7 Demos
Global Community
New Products Showcased
Sessions
Endless Opportunities
The numbers all add up to CHA 2015 being a truly MEGA Show! Don’t miss it!
*Education Program begins January 9, Marketplace opens January 10 today • Fall 2014 Craft Industry
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Do-It-Yourself by Marjie Kemper
Inspirational
Wall Art
Step 1 Gather supplies u 1 collage frame u Ranger Distress Inks u Black archival ink u Ink blending tools u Manilla card u Stamps u Water mister u Washi tapes u Joint tape or punchinella (Ranger, Stampers Anonymous, PaperArtsy, Donna Downey, Prima, Idea-ology)
Create a quick piece of wall art to give your home or store a burst of color as well as visual inspiration.
Step 6
Step 2
Using a piece of joint tape or a punchinella as a stencil, apply Distress Ink with the ink blending tool. Varying the ink colors through the stencil creates a pleasing look.
Measure the openings of your frames and plan your design leaving the edges untouched. This set has 4X6 frames, but 1/4 inch all the way around is hidden when the pieces are placed behind the glass. Plan your stamping accordingly so nothing is hidden.
Step 3 Using an ink blending tool, apply Distress Inks to the card in a soft circular motion.
Step 7 Step 4 Ink stamps with black Archival Ink. You’ll have a clean image if you ink your stamp this way, as the picture shows, rather than pushing the stamp down into the inkpad.
Step 5 Stamp sentiments with Archival Ink and spritz water droplets onto each card. It’s easiest to do this by spritzing water into your hand and then flicking it onto the card; let dry.
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Add washi tapes in a variety of patterns and widths and place finished pieces in the frame.
Marjie Kemper is a Certified Ranger Educator and mixed media workshop instructor. She enjoys teaching in stores and at retreats across the country, and has been published in many industry publications. Marjie lives in New York with her husband and teenage sons, and she maintains an active blog with frequent tutorials. At the CHA 2015 MEGA Show, Marjie will teach a workshop based on Creating Vibrant Backgrounds with Ranger’s Distress Inks & Distress Stains. To learn more, visit marjiekemper.com or find Marjie on your favorite social media platform. CIT
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Rachel Shechtman’s
STORY. (continued from page 24)
Some of STORY’s previous themes were “Making Things,” “Cool,” “Wellness,” “Made in America,” “Home for the Holidays” and “Love,” a theme that’s been portrayed multiple times. True to the STORY concept, though, even a repeated theme is completely reinvented from its previous incarnation. Shechtman sees opportunities to bring innovation to retail from myriad other industries. For instance, as STORY’s opening date approached, the company was still waiting for the finalization of its trademark, among other details. Nonetheless, the storefront was in her possession. It occurred to her, she says, that tech projects get beta launches. Why not do one for a retail project? So STORY launched in late 2011 as “A Startup Store” featuring products from other startups, of course. The beta preview gave the company a chance to test some of its new retail concepts before the store’s official debut on February 1, 2012. Publishing is another industry from which Shechtman translates innovative concepts. She describes STORY as a magazine, or “retail media”: marketing through experience and content. To her, the store’s editorial content is its retail and merchandise operation, and its publishing side is its relationships with sponsors. Some of the brands that have partnered with STORY include TOMS, Benjamin Moore, GE, Nerve.com, Home Depot and American Express. Content marketing is a familiar concept online, but Shechtman is the first person to try to translate it to brick-and-mortar retail. At STORY, the experience of the shop is primary in Shechtman’s mind. She describes the store in terms of “experience per square foot” instead of the traditional retail standard of “sales per square foot.” Borrowing ideas from other industries and translating them into retail is not without its challenges. While consumers expect a magazine to reinvent itself every issue, for instance, they also expect retail stores to have a more constant content and identity. The question Shechtman posed in her TED talk last year was, “If you are going to change all the time, how do you have an identity?” Shechtman’s innovations at STORY have brought her a lot of recognition in the business media. In the past two years she’s been named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” (2012), made Fortune’s “40 under 40” list of the hottest young stars in business (2013), and been named to Business Insider’s “Most Innovative People Under 40” (2013). She’s become a wellknown keynote speaker; sharing her ideas with audiences at a variety of events including TedxHollywood last year. STORY has received accolades, too. Most recently, it was named one of Time Out New York’s “15 Best Shops in NYC” for 2014. Is Shechtman’s unique vision and operating model profitable? The answer is a resounding “yes.” STORY, which reportedly charges between $75,000 and
$300,000 for sponsorship deals for its themes and events, was profitable in its first year. That’s an astounding achievement in retail, where the average startup isn’t profitable for three years. For more information about the 2015 CHA MEGA Show, visit craftandhobby.org/chashow. CIT Craft Industry
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New Products The new Distress Spray Stains are a great
The Sizzix Eclips2 DIY Electronic Cutter is a great tool for card making, scrapbooking and other crafts. Crafters can use the Eclips2 for precision cutting (with a Laser Cut Preview) and true scoring. It cuts and scores quickly and quietly, and requires no cartridges.
addition to the Distress product line from Tim Holtz and Ranger. Featuring 25 colors and three metallics from the nostalgic Distress color palette, Distress Spray Stains are available open stock and in a display assortment.
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Champion SprayonÂŽ Finishing Sprays are available in Clear Glaze, a durable high-gloss lacquer, and in Acrylic Matte Finish and Acrylic Clear Coat, which are fast-drying, non-yellowing and appropriate for indoor/outdoor use. Use as a protective coating on painted surfaces, sealed wood, metal, wicker, glass, plaster, pottery and more.
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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the invention of gel ink, Sakura of America introduced Gelly Roll Moonlight 06, a new fine point pen in the bestselling Moonlight series. The ten bright, opaque colors work on dark and light papers. The Moonlight 06 fine line allows the ink to dry quicker, minimizing the risk of smearing.
Chameleon Color Tones is an innovative alcohol-based marker system that gives you the ability to change the color tone of your pen. The 20 vibrant colors produce over 100 color tones to create stunning highlights, dimensions, shades, seamless blends and gradations with the use of just one pen. Available in Deluxe 20 pack, 5 packs and single pens.
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Peel-Stik Polypockets from Lineco let you identify, protect and organize using clear archival polypropylene adhesive back pockets. They are available in many sizes for different applications, including index cards, photos, sports cards, business cards or adding a pocket to the inside of a binder, album or journal. Application is easy and the polypropylene is safe and durable. lineco.com
28 Fall 2014 • Craft Industry today 2014_Fall_CIT.indd 28
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Crafter’s Essentials™ Easy Clean wipes are formulated to help crafters tackle any messy job. These eco-friendly 3 inch wipes come in a re-sealable bag to prevent drying out. They remove ink, paint and permanent marker from your hands, and can also be used to clean work surface and tools. The wipes also come with two moisturizers to keep skin from drying out.
FIMO air air-drying modeling clay is perfect for mixed media artists. It dries in the air with no mess and no odor, and can be textured, sanded or painted for multiple applications. It is also easy to use in molds and with shape cutters, and is available in white and flesh.
staedtler.ca
Leeproducts.com Dare 2B Artzy designs
high quality stamps and matching dies with a Add a touch of vintage elegance to holiday crafting with these
Embossed Paper Dresdens by Rose & Meyer. These wonderful pressed
paper metallic designs are made on antique molds in hundreds of shapes, from arrows, butterflies and moons to borders and stars. They can be used to decorate greeting cards and ornaments, or even a cake.
wide range of fresh new styles. Each set includes multiple images and words, giving the sets versatility. Each set is made in the USA. Custom school sets are available.
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roseandmeyer.com
CIT
Craft Industry
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Creativity Is Our Business
Contact a designer today to schedule a class, arrange for a consultation, improve your social media or solve your design dilemmas.
beth | watson
design studio CHA Designer • Instructor Mixed Media Artist
METAL TEXTILES
bwdesignstudio.blogspot.com
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Carol Foldvary-Anderson
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AWARD WINNING
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OIL PASTEL
SMUDGE
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Reserve your space in the Designer Showcase of Craft Industry Today magazine by calling Darlene (Roberts) Ryan at 800-344-0559. CIT
The Right Tulle for the Job
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www.TulleSpools.com Edley Fabrics, Inc. 1-800- TRICOTS 30 Fall 2014 • Craft Industry today
The
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New colorful options for the holidays
Introducing a new collection of craft room favorites for traditional and mixed-media artists Soft pastel chalk and oil pastel colors lay down smoothly to allow for beautiful blending and layering techniques. Color and watercolor woodcased pencils have easy-to-grip triangular barrels. Highly intense colors are perfect for filling in stamped images. Available in sets of 12 and 24 brilliant colors.
your inspiration!
Illustr ation:
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David
eman
Berrid
: Ariel Fre
ge
Illustration
www.staedtler.ca email: info@staedtler.ca
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Fall for the Perfect Snowflake ’Tis the season for decorating with the Sizzix® Big Shot™ Machine and steel-rule dies.
These amazing holiday helpers cut almost any shape and material your customers can think of…and even a few that they can’t!
With Sizzix, you can promote a �lurry of possibilities – everything from merry cards and scrapbook pages to festive gifts and home décor. For more information, call 877-355-4766 or visit ellisonretailers.com today.
Canvas • Cork • Craft Metal Corrugated Paper • Fabric • Felt • Foil Leather • Sandpaper • Sponge Textured Paper • Wood and so much more
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LEATHER
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