Update | Etsy Sued, Bella Blvd, Operation Write Home, and more!
After a couple of quiet weeks, the news is rolling again with a slew of big announcements and happenings that affect the scrapbook world.
Legal. Etsy is in legal hot water over its recent IPO. A lawsuit was filed in New York on May 13th that is seeking class action status to represent investors who invested in the company between April 16th and May 10th. The suit alleges fraud on Etsy's part, due to the company's failing to disclose "adverse facts" regarding the company's business as required by SEC rules.
The "adverse facts" that got Etsy sued come from a recently released report by stock analysts from Wedbush that alleges that at least 5% of products on the site are counterfeit or violate copyright or trademark laws. Several high profile names, including Beyonce and Taylor Swift, have threatened or taken legal action regarding Etsy product violations in recent months. The Wedbush report detailed an assortment of violations the analysts found against Disney, Star Wars, professional sports teams, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton, among others, in product listings on the site.
Etsy stock, which closed at $30 on it's first day (April 16th) on the NASDAQ, closed at $22.71 on the business day before the release of the Wedbush report. The day the report was made public, the stock dropped to a close of $20.85. It dropped to $19.83 on the day of the suit's filing on May 13th, but by close today (May 18th) it had recovered slightly to a close of $20.56.
A deadline has been set of July 13th for applications from investors who suffered losses to be made to the court to be appointed lead plaintiff in the case.
Jobs. Kelly Purkey is looking for an assistant. Applicants must be from the Portland, Oregon area and willing to travel to the Pearl neighborhood one or two days per week. For more information, visit her website.
New Address. My Mind's Eye has a new blog, and new address to go with it. Update your bookmarks and feed readers to keep the inspiration coming: My Mind's Eye blog.
Partnerships. Bella Blvd has announced that it is partnering with Shanna Noel of Illustrated Faith to create a line of products for Bible journaling. Put simply, Bible journaling is the process of using a journaling Bible as the basis for a faith-based art journal.
Illustrated-Faith
The first kit of products from the Illustrated Faith line, appropriately called Genesis, is currently available for pre-order on the Bella website and will ship on July 1st. The line is also available for wholesale order in individual SKU's.
Bible journaling has taken off recently with the growth of art journaling, to the extent that it has become difficult to get the most popular editions of journaling Bibles, but this product line is the first from a major industry manufacturer to enter this market.
Apps. Rhonna Farrer has announced that her Rhonna Designs App has launched in the Windows App Store for both PC and Windows phone. The App costs $1.99.
Crime. The headline-making motorcycle gang brawl at a sports bar in Waco, Texas that resulted in the shooting deaths of 9 outlaw bikers took place just yards from a Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts store in a brand new shopping center just built last year. The brawl took place at lunchtime on Sunday - prime shopping hours - and the aftermath can be seen in the parking lot of the store (which appeared to be closed in the wake of the shooting) in a news photo on the local NBC affiliate's website.
Sales. If you're in the Apple Valley, Minnesota area and an October Afternoon fan, you'll be excited to learn that they are having a Warehouse Sale. The sale is from May 28th to May 30th. Admission during the hours on May 28th (6pm-9pm) is by donation of a non-perishable food item for the Shepherd of the Valley/Our Daily Bread food shelf.
Events. The National Stationery Show is underway at the Javits Center in New York City this week. An increasing number of paper crafts industry companies have been exhibiting at the show the past few years. For a good overview of happenings at the show, browse hashtag #NSS on Twitter.
Charity. Operation Write Home, a long time industry fixture that is responsible for providing tens of thousands of handmade cards to troops overseas for use in writing home, is closing its doors later this year. The organization's board and Executive Director have determined that troop draw downs overseas have reduced the need for the charity's services to a level that makes maintaining the 501(c)(3) organization financially and practically untenable. The group will continue to accept cards, within certain guidelines, until August 1st.
