Update | Martha Stewart, Craftsy, Snap, Jobs, Dave Grohl, and More!
Support. A Gofundme campaign has been established to help Bella Blvd founder Stephanie Smokovich with medical expenses. Stephanie, for those who haven't heard, was diagnosed with brain cancer after experiencing a seizure shortly after Creativation. She has already undergone surgery (and a lengthy hospital stay) to remove the tumor and is now facing radiation and chemotherapy treatment. You can keep up with Stephanie's progress on her Caring Bridge site.
[Sending you hugs and wishing you a speedy return to running marathons, Steph!]
Video. Craftsy Unlimited is now available for subscribers in the U.S. to watch on Roku streaming devices. At a cost of $14.95/month or $120/year, the channel is similar in price to other premium channels available on the device like HBO.
Moving On. SNAP! Conference founder Tauni Everett announced at the annual conference last weekend that she has sold the event and will be moving on to other projects. Mandy Beyeler of Sugar Bee Crafts and Kim West of A Girl & A Glue Gun are the event's new owners.
Contests. Duck Brand has launched its annual Stuck At Prom contest awarding prizes for prom clothes made out of Duck Tape. This year, instead of awarding prizes to couples, Duck is awarding two grand prizes - one for a tux and one for a dress.
Revamp. Stampin' Up! has announced their annual update to their color palette - and it's a big one. In addition to announcing a new In Color palette, that company has completely revamped their core color palette as well. The palette still has four color groups with ten colors in them, but a new group of Basics has been created to hold the colors basic black, whisper white and vanilla. Thirteen core colors are being retired along with the In Color group that is due for retirement. Because of this, there are 21 new colors being added to the Stampin' Up! color palette in the revamp. (Flirty Flamingo actually appears on both the retirement and new color lists. It is being retired as an In Color and added to the core collection.)
Along with the color revamp, Stampin' Up! is also refreshing their iconic ink pads. The new cases are slightly smaller, stackable, open more easily, and close tighter. But the changes aren't just cosmetic. Stampin' Up! has also made a change to their ink formulation that they say will reduce bubbling in the ink and give better stamp impressions. For more details on all of these changes, visit Stamp Your Art Out.
Martha, Martha, Martha. Lifestyle icon Martha Stewart has several big new products rolling out at Michaels. Ten new themed collections are being added to the Martha Stewart Celebration line of party supplies. There's classics like gold, or black & white, along with trendy Meyer Lemon and even Iridescent (complete with the requisite unicorns).
In addition to the party collection. Martha and Cricut are pairing up for a Martha Stewart special edition Cricut Explore Air 2 machine. The machine's bundle includes a special Martha Stewart tool set and 25 free Ready to Make Martha Stewart projects. Currently available for order for $279.99 on the Michaels website, the machine bundle will be available in-store at Michaels on May 4th.
Martha Stewart Cricut Explore Air 2
Martha Stewart had previously partnered with Cricut for a Martha Stewart-branded version of the Cricut Cake machine.
Shopping. Bella Blvd has joined the ranks of manufacturers who are selling direct-to-consumer online. Their newly-launched retail store can be reached at www.bellablvd.net
Crime. A JOANN store in Lansing, Michigan was the site of a murder-suicide on March 26th. Store employee Rachel Renee Duncan's ex-boyfriend, against whom she had recently secured a protective order, murdered her with a gun stolen from a local gun range before turning the gun on himself. At least 15 people were inside the store at the time of the murder, according to police. An unidentified store employee told the Lansing State Journal that counseling services were being made available to store employees by JOANN.
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Books. Designer Amy Tan's publisher has republished her 2017 book Craft A Life You Love: Infusing Creativity, Fun And Intention Into Your Everyday. The new edition hit stores earlier this month.
Lia Griffith Cutting Machine Crafts
Lia Griffith's new book on digital die cutting will be available on May 1st. Cutting Machine Crafts with Your Cricut, Sizzix or Silhouette includes instructions for 50 projects and 60 downloadable SVG files for readers to use to create the projects.
Careers. Have you ever wondered how you could turn your career into a craft career? Brittany Luiz talked to PR Daily about how she turned a career as a journalist into a position as the PR and media relations manager at Tombow.
Cool Crafters. You never know who you might run into at your favorite craft store. ICYMI earlier this year, apparently when Dave Grohl isn't busy being a rock star he hangs out at Michaels in his spare time. (Definitely worth clicking the link just for the crafty Foo Fighter lyric puns.)
Jobs. The following industry jobs are currently listed as available:
