First, a quick note to say HELLO!! to all newbies here on my site. I know most of you are long-time readers but we’re seeing a huge influx of blog visitors recently so welcome, welcome to all of you who are new to my site, my products, my brand. Please note that right now on my blog it’s so much about product, product, product because of everything going on with new releases. With a little time, that will calm back down and I’ll be right back to more “content-rich” blogging that I hope you will find to be useful and inspiring. : )
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On Monday I announced all the new stuff we’ve been working on that is being released at the CHA trade show this weekend. So many new Project Life editions, Mini Kits, a full line of Classic Albums, even Project Life pens for journaling! Thank you for SO much for your enthusiasm about the products, the designs, the catalog, everything. We love our customers so much and are super grateful for your support. And holy moly, you guys did some serious shopping this week on Amazon!
I know you want a closer look at more of the cards from each of the editions in that catalog from Monday’s post. Below are some links to the designers behind each edition. As a reminder these are all newly-announced and we are launching them at CHA this weekend. These editions will actually become available for purchase (online + in stores) May 2013. Until then, we have plenty of editions available and you can see everything on our Products page.
Check out more of the Honey Edition on Lori’s blog.
Check out more of the Cinnamon Edition on Kerri’s blog.
Check out more of the Rain Edition on Nisa’s blog.
Check out more of the Midnight Edition on Liz’s blog.
Check out more of the Wedding Mini Kit on Kimberly’s blog.
There aren’t specific blog posts for every single edition, but here are a few more graphics to show you more from a few others:
Seasons Mini Kit by Lili Niclass
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Jade Edition by Lili Niclass
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Kraft Edition by Tiffani Smith
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questions | answers
Along with any announcements and introductions, come many questions.
Q: Oh wow! I love them all. Will any of them be available in digital format? Including your new coordinating 12×12 designer paper?
A: Everything we release as physical products will also be made available in digital format, yes! This is what we’ve always done and what we will continue to do. All of our digi designs can be found on ACDigitals.com. The timing of when these newly-announced editions will become available in digi format is not yet confirmed but I don’t think you’ll have to wait until May. : )
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Q: Will your catalog be available in physical format?
A: We will have printed catalogs at the Craft + Hobby Association (CHA) trade show this weekend. Our booth is #2628 for anyone who happens to be there. Sorry, we don’t have printed catalogs that go out to consumers. But you can view the catalog anytime online, and that will be on our Products page soon.
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Q: Will your new products only be available in stores or Amazon too?
A: The new stuff is heading to retail stores AND it will be available online as well. Most products will be available through both avenues but there may be a few items that are exclusively online or exclusively in stores. For example, the Olive Edition and Seafoam Edition will not be in stores. Online only.
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Q: Will any of these new designs be available on Shutterfly?
A: Shutterfly picks and chooses which editions to include on their site. Around May, the Olive Edition and 2 of the Childhood Editions will become available on Shutterfly in the form of a pre-designed photo book. They do not have plans at this point to add more editions in 2013 beyond that because of their huge line-up of design options across the Shutterfly website. However, here’s a tip: You can certainly whip up digital pages in Photoshop (Don’t know how? Check out this class from Jessica Sprague.) and then import those into a Shutterfly photo book for printing. That way you can use any designs you want!
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Q: What stores will carry your products? I don’t live by a scrapbook store.
A: Our products will be carried by most independent scrapbook retailers as well as larger chain stores. It’s too soon to confirm exactly which stores will carry what, but as we get closer to May, that information will become more available. Anyone who wants their local shop to carry Project Life should definitely encourage them to contact us.
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Q: How often will new core kits be released?
A: To be determined. We started this company 3.5 years ago thinking we would offer 2 editions of Project Life per year. Boy, has that idea evolved! And clearly we continue to evolve in order to meet the demands while still maintaining integrity with the ultra-simple, solution-based system. That said, I really can’t say for sure but after the editions that come out in May, it’s still possible we’ll release a couple more toward the end of the year. But even if we don’t there are SO many editions to choose from!
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Q: You only have 1 Childhood kit and no Neutral Baby kit in your catalog. Does this mean they will be discontinued once they sell out?
A: The reason for that is because American Crafts, who is making it possible for our products to go into the retail scene, has decided to only offer the Wellington Edition (of the 3 Childhood Mini Kit options) for retailers at this time. Likewise, they have chosen to not make full Baby Core Kits available for retailers right now, but just do a couple of the Mini Kit options (For Him + For Her). Don’t worry though, because we are still offering those online, direct-to-consumer.
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Q: For the 12×12 Classic Albums it says the colors are Cherry, Cobalt, Clementine, etc. Does this mean these will match your existing 5 kits?
A: Yes, color names will obviously coordinate with Project Life editions. But they are not limited by any means. We are launching with 12 yummy colors (available in May) and no matter which edition of Project Life you’re using, there will be a few album color options that will be just perfect for that edition’s color palette.
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Q: Do you still have a 3×4 punch in the works?
A: Quite a while back, I asked We R Memory Keepers to develop a 3×4 punch for Project Life, to which they agreed. The development period was so much longer than we were all hoping, but they now are officially launching that 3×4 punch at CHA, in fact. It’s under their name – not Becky Higgins or Project Life. It’s our idea, but technically it’s their product. From what I understand, the punch is coming to stores this Spring but I really don’t more than that.
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Q: Will you be including ‘idea pages’ for combining multiple kits into 1 album?
A: I know it’s so hard to choose between so many fun editions! Our amazing Creative Team will be sharing lots and lots and lots of page ideas throughout the year and I’m confident you’ll be inspired by their simple use of product … and the way they document life.
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Q: How much will everything cost?
A: Wholesale prices are available for retailers but actual retail prices for customers will become known closer to the time the products are in stores and online.
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Q: Are these albums made by American Crafts? Why did you switch from We R Memory Keepers?
A: Everything we produce from now on is made by us and/or American Crafts. In the very, very first run of Project Life (2009) we were in a mad dash to get production done in time so we weren’t able to focus on making the album really amazing because all of our focus went to the “innards”. From that we learned some hard but valuable lessons. For our next run, we decided to go straight to someone who had way more experience making quality albums. American Crafts and WRMK both came to mind. Both are top manufacturers in this industry.
Because I had more personal experience with WRMK albums, I flipped a coin and went that direction. They’ve done a terrific job with our Project Life albums. As of October 2012, we have chosen to partner up with American Crafts to open the wholesale division of our company (read about that here). They are making it possible to get Project Life in stores, and we love working together! American Crafts has been a very loved scrapbooking manufacturer for many, many reasons and there’s no mystery about that. They’re awesome.
As we move forward and make products together, we are thrilled that American Crafts is making our albums. In fact, they were the first ones to introduce the interlocking rings that prevent snagging (thank goodness for that feature!).
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loving your enthusiasm
These are a few of our favorite comments after Monday’s big announcement. : )
Sweet fancy Moses, I might need to go lay down. These are phenomenal. – Marie
Oh I am so glad to see a catalog with all the neat stuff. The collections are wonderful. Love the mini collections, love the mini albums, love everything. – Sue
I am dying! Love all these new editions. I was expecting a few mini kits, maybe some albums, but this is over the top. Can’t wait to get my hands on so much of this stuff. – Jennifer L.
Amazing! Just Amazing! Once again you’ve hit it out of the ballpark, Becky! So excited for you and your little company (which isn’t going to stay little for long). – Tiffany H.
New pens, albums & kits – OH MY! – Erin
I see how much thought your team has put into our (the customers’ feedback). There are several things I have seen mentioned multiple times (holiday, wedding, seasons, neutrals) that you are debuting this year. Thank you for always taking the time to listen. – Jacquline
