We just had a pretty remarkable experience at the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) trade show in Anaheim, California. So many of you followed our adventures via social media (facebook, twitter, instagram) but if you’re not on any of those … you don’t have to miss out. Just click on any of those links for some glimpses of the past week in our little Project Life world.

As a quick re-cap of what led to CHA … David and I started our company in 2009. We were very small in numbers, and very inexperienced in the business and manufacturing world. But we were completely determined to get this memory-keeping system in the hands of anyone who wanted it. For the past few years, we’ve been able to sell direct-to-consumer and the demand has exploded. During that time, as much as I wanted to make Project Life available to retailers, we weren’t capable. We didn’t have the infrastructure that really needs to be in place in order to do it right.

Hence the recent partnership with American Crafts, a long-time industry favorite (personally and worldwide). They have opened up the wholesale division of our company and they are responsible for making Project Life available in the retail scene now. It’s a beautiful thing. Everyone wins. And now we have a reason to exhibit at a trade show such as CHA.

Everyone that had anything to do with this effort worked their tails off the past 2-3 months. I worked with several talented designers to bust out 7 brand-new and gorgeous editions of Project life, including several new Mini Kits as well. American Crafts pulled together the booth design, catalogs, prototypes, and everything necessary to make our presence at CHA possible in such a short time. I can not even begin to express how grateful we are for this partnership, our own little team (who seriously rocked it at the show), everyone who stopped by our booth to learn more.

Would you like a tour through our booth, and a closer look at each of the new editions that are coming in May? Are you brand-new to Project Life and curious about what it even is, and why so much buzz? Thanks to Paperclipping Roundtable, here’s a full look at the experience.

…..

And some pictures. Of course.

Seriously could not have done this without David, Laurie, Kari, and Brandi.

I truly loved talking to retailers about Project Life. Never got tired of it.

Our first-ever catalog. You can see the whole thing in this post.

Jeff, Dave, and Wayne Mitchell from American Crafts. Don’t let the suits fool you. They’re the coolest, nicest guys – and we love working with them.

…..

A million, trillion thanks to everyone who was cheering us on during this adventure. To everyone who encouraged their local store to come by our booth at CHA. To every retailer who made a point to stop by and listen to my story (and place an order). To American Crafts (giant shout-out to Grant Madsen who orchestrated many miracles to make this happen). To our own little team. And to each of you for your continued support and enthusiasm. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed in the very best way, and I can’t believe that our products will actually be sitting on store shelves across the world come May.