Advantus Buys Cosmo Cricket

Advantus Corp. announced yesterday that they have acquired Cosmo Cricket from owners Eric & Julie Comstock and Lindsay Moore.

Cosmo Cricket was founded by artists Eric & Julie Comstock in 2006. Moore joined the company a short time later, taking charge of its sales operations. The company is known for its bright, graphic designs with a retro influence, a departure from Advantus's current design portfolio.

Among its diverse portfolio of brands, Jacksonville, Florida-based Advantus is the parent company of craft lines Tim Holtz idea-ology, Cropper Hopper, and Sulyn. Their Vituri tote brand is also familiar to many crafters by its former name of All My Memories. The company has embarked on many crafts ventures in recent years - it also briefly had the Margie Romney-Aslett signature line The Girls Paperie in 2010-2011, and was also the home of Heidi Swapp's now-defunct signature line for several years. Advantus has only been involved in the craft industry since 2004, but the company has been in existence since 1913.

This addition will be a great compliment to our existing craft and hobby brands,” said Kevin Carpenter, President of Advantus Corp. “We have always admired Cosmo Cricket’s design and commitment to their customers and we look forward to developing new products with Julie and Eric.”

Julie Comstock said, “The three of us are super  excited to partner with Advantus. We can’t wait to work with their talented staff so that we can focus on what we’re best at - creating more products for our customers to love.”

Cosmo Cricket's operations will be moving from Utah to Advantus headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida in early September. The Comstocks and Lindsay Moore will remain with Cosmo Cricket as part of its Advantus operations.

All wholesale orders and inquiries for Cosmo Cricket can be directed to Advantus Customer Satisfaction by email to crafts@advantus.com or by calling (904) 482-0092.