Editor’s Notes

A do-it-yourself project at my house recently turned into a re-do-it-yourself project, but fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to un-do the mistake and start over. No one was hurt in the process, though perhaps pride took a bit of a hit. No worry, though. Now that it’s back on track, it’s looking good and the end result will be fantastic and will add re-sale value to the house.

While this tiling project may not be considered crafting, the sense of accomplishment and self-fulfillment are the same one gets when one works on and completes something in the world of crafts. And in today’s economy, people need to feel good about their selves. Whether it’s felting, making jewelry, paper crafting, knitting, crocheting, painting, or whatever, we’ve got the goods to help people escape from the worries of their lives.

Editor Bill Gardner

Hopefully, you’re doing all you can to teach and motivate your customers to explore their creativity and to open their hearts and minds to this wonderful world we call crafts. Times are tough, so as the old adage goes, it’s time for the tough to get going. How you do that is up to you. You know your customers; you know your market. Explore your own creativity to welcome customers into your world.

In this issue of Craftrends E-News, we offer a recap of the Winter CHA show that might help you in your quest. Our experts scoured the floor for trends and products and here we offer a sampling of what caught our attention.

We also are bringing to our e-newsletter Consumer View, a column we once featured in Craftrends magazine. In this installment, our ultimate consumer discusses the joy of rediscovering painting. Perhaps it will provide you with a little inspiration to fire up your team and your customers.

And we also offer you Kizer & Bender’s “6 Steps to Great Customer Service” to help in your mission to motivate your customers and staff.

So, right here in this newsletter, you’ve got the tools to help your business thrive. So get out there and light the fire! And be sure to check out the latest issue of Craftrends magazine, which should be arriving in your mailboxes any day now.

Bill Gardner

Editorial Director

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CHA Winter Highlights

Staff Report

Buzz Words

Green: products that are friendly to our environment and a considerable number of manufacturers are letting us know it’s time to go green. Society is going green, are you?

Hybrid: changing up and interaction between two different art and craft techniques, like digital scrapbooking is a hybrid of traditional scrapbooking. The products and promotion is growing.

License & Design: A mini show within the big show, but might have been confusing since there was a Designer Showcase, too. This is the most exposure for designers we’ve seen in years. It might be time to really categorize the different types of designers we have working within our industry.

Crafting: Crafting is back! We sensed a renewed interest in old favorites like painting, clay, bead, jewelry, ribbon, and needlearts. And the color! Bold, rich, sassy, and clean.

Fashion Show Stand-Outs

Manufacturers and designers showcased some serious fashion in the New Exhibitors area of the CHA show floor. Fashion is important to crafting. Here’s what caught our attention, in no particular order:

C&T Publishing Felted Bags

Watson-Guptill Flower Necklace
Rupert, Gibbon, & Spider Colorful Shoes
Search Press Wild Women Art Brooches
Princess Mirah Rag Punch Bag

The industry’s designers also had a fabulous showcase of fashion in various themes like Girl’s Night Out, Baby Boutique, and Welcome to Afternoon Ladies Tea at the Zoo. Many designers have participated showing off their best designs. It’s hard to just name a few, but these designers really caught our eye with innovative and fresh designs: Jen Funk Webber (embroidered barrettes), Elaine Schmidt (apron, oven mitts, shoes, and tablecloth), Helen Bradley (polymer clay cutlery), and Michele Emerson-Roberts (black-and-white jewelry). Bravo to all the designers and sponsoring companies. The program was a wealth of great contact information.

Stand Out Products

We walk the show floor as members of the craft industry, but we take the time to look at the products as the craft consumer would too. Here are some of the products we feel the consumer would consider as “Must Haves”:

Katy Sue Designs, Ltd Flower Soft, Card Toppers, & Accessories: Awesome cardmaking techniques and so easy

KandCompany Light Ideas: Dimensional stickers that light up adding the cool factor to paper craft projects

MuseAbles: Artsy fiber kits that make it fun

Beacon’s Felt Glue: Felt is popular and deserves its own glue, loved the new precision bottle top

DMC Satin Floss and new colors of Light Effects: Soft to touch and the look is unique

Clover Felting Pen & Felting Shape Templates: Precision and great shapes

JHB Buttonware Jewelry Kits: The most eye catching fashion design created with buttons

Dimensions Felt Blanks and Shapes. Makes getting that hand-made felted look a breeze and you don’t have to make the purse or bag from scratch

Art Institute Glitter Barbara Trombley’s Elements: Texture, depth, and interest added to many craft media with the bonus of great scents

Creative Options Portable Ribbon Dispenser and Total Tote: Very smart and sharp design in trendy, but classic colors

American Crafts Metal Rub On Embossing Tool: What a great design and the perfect tool for rub-ons and so much more

Art Impressions Watercolor Technique DVD: It was nice to see this rubber stamp company back on the show floor and the watercolor technique is to die for

Pentel Arts FabricFun Pastel Dye Sticks and Gel Roller for Fabric: Painting and drawing on fabric and wearables just got easy and results are awesome, the dye sticks don’t need to be heat set either!

LuminArte Twinkling H20s: A touch of sparkle that can be added with water and a brush

Provo Craft Needlepunch Tool and Frame: You can have up to five bobbins of color on the needlepunch tool and the frame design is so much safer than other frames.

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6 Steps to Great Customer Service

By Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender

The holidays are over and spring has sprung. It’s the perfect time to get everyone refocused and back on track. Great – and consistent – customer service is a given these days. Product knowledge is too, yet we’ve all been in stores where we knew more about a product or its application than the store associate. Don’t let this happen in your store!

1. Buddy up. Pair each new hire with a veteran associate who can mentor them throughout their first weeks of employment.

2. Hands-on. Make product knowledge an important part of your monthly training program. It’s dangerous to assume that every associate knows every line inside and out. Focus each meeting on a new product line, but don’t forget about new applications for old favorites and basics. Choose one particular category per meeting and discuss what’s important about the product, its application and technique. Make these meetings hands-on training sessions; it’s much easier to sell a product once you’ve tried it.

3. Sales floor seminars. During slow times conduct your product training right on the sales floor. It’s easy to point out important parts of a product category when it’s right in front of you. You’re sure to attract shoppers – let them in on the fun. Your crafty customers might even have a trick or two to share.

4. Daily 10. Gather your team on the sales floor each morning before you open the doors for business. For 10 minutes talk about product, customer requests, policies, trade shows, industry news, upcoming events – whatever makes sense that particular morning. Clear and consistent communication keeps everyone in the loop and on their toes.

5. Gimme 5! Here’s a daily exercise that will increase sales. Hold up an item and ask your team to call out five items that could be added on to it. Add-on selling is good for you and it’s good for your customers. You’ll increase your average sale and customers won’t have to return to the store to pick up the additional items they need to complete a project.

6. Let your stars shine! Why do all the training yourself when your associates can help out? You have people on staff who excel at particular crafts – let them do the hands-on training for that category or product line. Post a sign-up sheet in the break room asking for volunteers.

Implement these six easy steps and training will become second nature!

For more great information from Kizer & Bender, visit their Web site and blog:

www.kizerandbender.com

www.kizerandbender.blogspot.com

COPYRIGHT KIZER & BENDER . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Consumer View: Got Paint?

By Pat Johns

I can’t believe it! For the first time in over five years I picked up a paintbrush to paint! I haven’t seriously painted in so long that the only supplies I have in my craft studio are paintbrushes. Paintbrushes that have been used for anything but painting! I can’t believe I forgot how satisfying painting could be. And part of me can’t believe that finally something exciting is happening in the paint department!

I spent over 12 years painting. I was a craft painter with limited skills in shading and highlighting, but a brilliant basecoating connoisseur. I painted home decor pieces, dolls, and even a few T-shirts. I loved painting for the color. Basically, I prefer (or maybe I’m just comfortable with) plainness and painting helped me step out of my bland beige world into a vibrant place where I felt energy and excitement.

I would never wear any of the colors I was attracted to in paint, but I did feel comfortable displaying my painted objects in my home. Granny Smith green made my mouth water. Hot Red made my heart beat faster. Tranquil Blue made me think I was on a tropical island dangling my feet in cool water while drinking a Pina Colada. Hundreds of colors just waiting to be a part of my life.

I’m not sure what happened, but I stopped painting. I might have gotten a little burned out, but if I am honest with myself I think my lack of enthusiasm coincided with the overwhelming trend of scrapbooking. It seemed like less and less new and tempting painting products and projects were displayed at my local craft stores and without that inspiration I just lost my motivation.

As I said, I was a craft painter, not an artist. I needed constant help creating with paint. Plus the fact that I have the attention span of a gnat meant I had to have plenty of patterns, books, and projects to re-create so that I could add my own personal style here and there within the designed piece.

As I remember, I became inspired by soap and candles helping me get my daily dose of color with the new benefit of wonderful scents of vanilla, rose, and citrus. Paint isn’t exactly the perfect product for aromatherapy if you know what I mean. But something must have told me not to give up on painting since I kept all my brushes in prime condition.

And now for my final, “I can’t believe it”. I can’t believe that my return to painting was stimulated by of all things an icon of crafting called, Paint By Numbers! I wasn’t even in the paint aisle when I spied the front of some painting kits so colorful that I couldn’t help but investigate! The kits were hung on the side of an end cap in the yarn aisle of all places. But the bright pop flowers and whimsical cup of coffee were so appealing that I couldn’t help myself. I don’t even drink coffee, but I knew some friends who would appreciate a little kitchen decor.

At first I felt a little childish, but you know what? Feeling like a kid at my age isn’t always a bad thing. I took one of my kits out into the backyard and set up an easel. As I painted my bright and bold cup of coffee I dreamed of being a famous artist on travel in Paris. Make-believe is rather childish, too, but it felt really really good! I didn’t really need instructions, but the instructions were well written and the end result of a pretty afternoon in the backyard was a great birthday surprise for a friend of mine.

This experience made me realize a few things. It’s nice to revisit an older craft technique especially if the technique is presented in a modern, trendy way. It’s a good idea to intermix displays of craft supplies to appeal to a broader consumer traffic pattern within a store. And finally, crafting should be a fun experience and part of that is tempting adults to enjoy the thrills of being a kid again!

Pat Johns has been crafting for decades and still gets a kick out of strolling the aisles of creative retailers. Johns also enjoys travel, libraries, and rearranging the living room furniture.

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Daisy D’s 4 in 1 Stamp Kit Wonder Years

Product Pick

By Maria Nerius

Daisy D’s 4 in 1 Stamp Kit Wonder Years

www.daisydspaper.com
Salt Lake City, UT

The 4 in 1 includes a set of clear alphabet stamps, digital font, digital scrapbook kit, and a storage case for all of it. The digital aspect is set up for both Mac and PC users. The instructions for installing the font are easy to follow. The digital scrapbook kit includes embellishments and papers. Embellishments include words like adventure, celebrate, wonder, imagine, plus shapes like flowers, butterflies, photo corners, arrow, and heart. The papers coordinate with the embellishments, font, and clear stamp alphabet. The colors are bright yet subtle and very much on top of current color trends. The overall motif is light, airy, and joyful. Everyone who tested the product enjoyed being able to combine some traditional scrapbooking techniques with digital scrapbooking techniques, but the testing team did take some different avenues.

“I went totally digital when I used this kit. I created a slide show using the papers and embellishments with my own photos. I’ve been using my computer to scrapbook from the very beginning and it’s nice to have some fresh designs,” said our scrapbook expert. “However, I am also a stamper at heart so I loved the clear stamp alphabet. You can never have too many alphabet stamps. I make cards, too, so I did combine some of the digital artwork with the stamps for Easter cards.”

“The storage case was such a brilliant idea. I loved it. How nice to be able to keep all of it in a DVD case. This was my first try at digital scrapbooking and it was easier than I thought it would be. But I have to be honest, my husband added the embellishments to the pages I selected and printed it all out for me. I enjoyed that it was a team effort. We made an eight-page scrapbook about our grandson’s 13th birthday party,” said another tester.

The testing team gave the 4 in 1 Stamp Kit a crafty thumbs up. The kit was well thought out and coordinated so well that even a digital or stamping novice could enjoy creating with it. The theme was general enough that it could be used for many different events and page designs. Also available: Bambino and Sweet Baby Jane.

A team of seven craft experts and hobbyists try the product(s) and their views are compiled into a review by Maria Nerius for the Product Pick column. Do you have a product you’d like reviewed for Craftrends E-News? Contact Maria Nerius at 321-951-3929 or Mnerius@cfl.rr.com.

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Book Review

By Maria Nerius

Watercolor the Art Impressions Way! (DVD)
Watercolor the Art Impressions Way! (Book series)

Bonnie Krebs
Art Impressions
DVD: $22.95
Booklets (1-5): $3.25

P.O. Box 20085
Salem, OR 97307
Orders: 800-393-2014
Fax: 503-393-7956
www.artimpressions.com

Bonnie Krebs makes it all look so easy. Her art instruction has an easy flow and is very inspiring. Inside every rubberstamper is an artist just waiting to evolve and Krebs helps build the skill and confidence needed to become that artist. The DVD and book series use stamps manufactured by Krebs’s company, Art Impressions, however, one can use the same techniques with any rubberstamp or clear stamp. The rubberstamp artist can build wonderful scenes using rubberstamps, water based markers and paintbrush. The DVD and book series introduces Krebs’s easy techniques for creating a thrilling watercolor effect. I say “easy”, but there is skill involved and the DVD and books allow for the artist to grow while still being able to have plenty to show off quickly. It’s Krebs’s easygoing, friendly style of teaching that makes you want to pick up a rubberstamp and brush. Although Art Impressions stamps and Marvy-Uchida markers and inkpads are used exclusively for the DVD and book series, one can create using similar supplies with the same brilliant effect. This is one of the best watercolor teaching tools for rubberstamping I’ve ever read or watched. The instructions are clear and strong. There is enough variety of motif and flair for anyone’s taste.

Do you have a book you’d like reviewed for Craftrends E-News or Craftrends Magazine? Send your book(s) to: Maria Nerius, 141 Salmon Drive, Palm Bay, FL 32907. You can contact Maria by phone: 321-951-3929 or e-mail: MNerius@cfl.rr.com

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Industry News

For up-to-date news, visit Craftrends‘ Web site at www.craftrends.com/industry-news. To receive e-mail News Updates, e-mail your name, e-mail address, and company name to bgardner@ckmedia.com.

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