Update | Endings and Beginnings...Designer Edition
This week has brought some endings and some beginnings to the industry...
Endings
Tim Holtz has announced that he is ending the experiment of sharing his blog with a creative team of bloggers. The media team had been in place for about five months, creating content for the Tim Holtz blog, and was packed with some of the industry's best talent:
In explaining the move, Tim wrote that he missed having his blog as a personal communication tool with his fans.
throughout all of this creativity however, something went missing for me – personally connecting with all of you. even though i loved the idea of having a team feature projects and inspiration on the blog, i didn’t realize that meant giving up the personal connection i have with all of you. i miss sharing my own ideas, the day to day goings on around the studio, and taking you along the many adventures of our endless travel schedule. it’s simply the everyday life i miss writing about on my own blog…
For the future, Tim promises that the timholtz.com blog will return to a mixture of personal and creative updates.
Jenni Bowlin has also ended her design team, as part of a larger ending. Jenni announced the day before Thanksgiving that she is ending her long-running scrapbook themed kit subscriptions (the Papercrafting, Artisan, & Antiquarian kits) at the end of 2014. The JBS Mercantile site is holding a sale on JBS scrapbook product and past kits in December, and most of those products will subsequently be retired from the site.
The Crafted Kit membership offered through JBS Mercantile will continue, and Jenni is also promising a new monthly addition to the store in 2015 that she hints will appeal to fans of the Antiquarian kits. And she won't entirely be disappearing from the scrapbook scene, as she promises that JBS will be at a few conventions on the east coast area in 2015.
Why all of the change from one of the industry's biggest names? According to Jenni, her passion just isn't in it anymore:
I spent more than 12 years in the scrapbooking industry, 6+ building my own brands and retail website. I saw and experienced a lot of passion and excitement in this industry, but I've also seen a lot of changes. Change isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when those changes move in a different direction than you are feeling led, it just doesn't work anymore.
In recent years, Jenni has been increasingly focusing on her antiques-related crafting business, expanding her online store's offerings in that direction and making appearances at Country Living Fairs.
Beginnings
While one kit club is ending, another is beginning. Ali Edwards has announced the long-awaited debut of her Story Kit Club will happen on December 15th.
Ali Edwards Story Kit
The monthly kit will retail for between $19.99 and $24.99, depending on the length of commitment to the club, including free shipping in the United States.
Ali is also offering a monthly "Story Stamp" subscription that gets subscribers a 4x6 stamp set each month, and a digital kit club will launch on December 15th. Subscribers to both the stamp and paper story kits will receive the digital kit subscription for free.
