Year of the Partnership?

Since Summer CHA in July, lots of interesting things are happening. Just this week, two partnerships were announced in the paper crafting industry that have me feeling some really varied emotions at difference with each other.

websterpgOA

The first is the partnership with Webster's Pages and October Afternoon. In essence, it seems Webster's Page will be a distributor for OA: taking orders, fulfilling, and shipping orders. Yay! Because to be honest, what always deterred me from ordering from OA was the tales of their terrible customer service and shipping issues I heard from retailers, kit club owners, and instructors alike. LOVE the product but not enough for the headache. NOW Webster's Pages has always been phenomenal, on top of their game – I love ordering from them. So this is a WIN in my book! Get on over there to enter their contest they're doing to celebrate!

1267894_10151731822939317_1968071230_o

The next partnership is WE R Memory Keepers and Lifestyle Crafts (formerly Quickutz). The details are here: http://wermemorykeepers.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/great-news-we-r-memory-keepers-purchased-lifestyle-crafts/

This seems like a great fit – WE R has been around forever in papercrafts and they make tools- Lifestyle makestools — cool deal!

Now on the other end of the spectrum. I have a kind of sadness/concern about this. Are we going to have even FEWER companies? Will they just be absorbed and fade away? What does this mean for our industry – does it make it stronger, weaker, leaner, or something else? What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by!

 

Author: Jennifer Priest

It started with jewelry, beading, sewing, home decor, painting, basket weaving, pottery, and cross-stitch. Marry that to an entrepreneurial spirit & at 9 years old a girl is selling her wares at craft fairs as far as her parents and grandparents would drive her. These days, Jennifer enjoys crafts of all genres from sewing to scrapbooking to jewelry with a little dabbling in the mixed media world. Her style is approachable and she wants everyone who sees her work to feel that they too can embrace creativity and make their home and life beautiful.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 thoughts on “Year of the Partnership?”

  1. Seth http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com

    So much seems to be changing lately in terms of both supply/product-oriented and book/magazine print-oriented companies Jennifer. I am also very curious what changes are to come and what effect the changes will have on artists, designers and the consumers.

    Posted on September 8, 2013 at 3:45 pm
    Reply
  2. Candice Elliott http://[email protected]

    I would say with everything there comes the pros and cons. All and all it is exciting but I too had the same question in mind. Will this mean fewer companies and is this a sign of great difficulty for those out there who hope too one day have a brand of their very own? Things to ponder…

    Posted on September 9, 2013 at 2:48 pm
    Reply