Posted by loricraig : 1 Comment

Vickie Garrett here with Hanna Stamps owner, Kristi Ferro are ready to face the day at CHA. Vickie, the Hanna DT Coordinator, is always available and helping Kristi get things done.

I ‘met’ Kristi several years ago when we were both active in an awesome swap group. I remember Kristi telling me about her vision and plans for Hanna Stamps, and being in awe of her determination. The concept images from the Hanna Stamps! line are based on Kristi’s daughter, Hanna, herself!

Hanna Stamps! was ready for CHA action with plenty of darling hand-stamped samples.

Many thanks to Hanna for setting us up with a double ended pen. One end is filled with lip balm and the other with binaca breath spray. What a cute, fun favor. That Kristi thinks of everything! Make sure to take the booth tour along with us in our video!

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Posted by Jenn : 1 Comment

We missed another group of friends this trip - the lovely ladies of Flourishes. They stayed back home in Pensacola, Florida and we look forward to seeing them in Orlando this July.

Meet Jan Marie, Sharon and Nancy. . .the three Flourishes. Jan Marie’s husband Mike is the fourth Flourish and cameraman. Together, they do all of the daily business of Flourishes, everything from working with set design to shipping each package out. Jan Marie was a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! for over seven years and that is how she meet both Sharon and Nancy. They were all looking for new ways to grow their love of stamping and forged a plan to work together. Flourishes has certainly taken on a life of it own and is growing by leaps and bounds.

Marcella Hawley and Lauren Pope are also integral parts of the Flourishes team. Both of these very talented illustrators simply fell into their lives. Jan Marie said, “Marcella was found by pure happenstance when I saw her name on a company website as designer on the bottom in tiny letters. I simply contacted her to work with us to develop the Flourishes branding and webstore 18 months ago. Since that time she has bounded onto the scene developing wonderful images for us. Attending CHA last summer was a highlight that brought her into the craft and happy world and truly gave her that extra insight to the world of stamping.” Lauren was a dinner guest at Jan Marie & Mike’s home and talk of art resulted and the rest is history . . .well, brief as Flourishes just introduced her and her fresh look to their classic and timeless agenda. Look for great new things from them this year.

Flourishes focuses on timeless images for today’s papercrafters. In today’s world of instant and quick, they saw a real need existed in a beautiful alternative to that concept. They strive to produce images that crafters can use now that will still be in style next year and in the years to come, all the while keeping the art of calligraphy alive. These standards that have made Flourishes a company with lots of potential and growth.

Their quick rise in popularity over the last eighteen months has moved them from a room in the house to a larger shipping department. This area (like all of our craft areas!) is still a work in progress with lots of area to grow and work comfortably.

Jan Marie told us that the new slat walls are a great improvement over the previous situation. The ladies have a great working system to this process and use the white baskets to pull orders and ready them for shipping.

This new wall holds all the stamp sets and other products, too.

Ribbons on the shelves, waiting for their permanent home and all the new ones that are en route!

We hope that you have enjoyed the little introductory tour of Flourishes.  Jan Marie, Sharon, and Nancy, thank you for the visit and for bringing such wonderfully romantic images and products to the ’stamper’s community’.

Posted by Jenn : 4 Comments

Way back at the end of the CHA hall, in booth 2885 we found our friends at Unity Stamp Company. What a pick-me-up after a long, long day of walking the show floor. There is always so much energy and a ton of laughter when you hang out with the Unity peeps. Anyone who has ever dropped by HIP HOP Thursday gets just a tiny, tiny taste of the fun that happens when they are working, working, working.

We’ve got a few videos to show you from the Unity booth. They’ve been shaking things up and making lots and lots of changes to their packaging and releases. We think you’ll like what you see:

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Here’s Brooke giving you a little sample of the Unity Make & Takes.

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It’s hard for us to believe that the fun-loving Unity team has been around for less than a year. We’ve had so much fun getting to know them at the last several shows and watching their company evolve. Chris and Angela, thank you for planting Unity right here in the middle of Splitcoast. We’re so glad you are here!