a.i. paper design

the 2012 designs are here!

This year it's all about flower power... not the hippy kind ~ more of a whimsy flavor with a slight vintage flair. 

I've been having fun hand dying the 'petals', cutting up old books & mixing them with buttons & other findings to create this new flower collection.

I must admit, these new flower frames are my favorite & our catching fireflies customers agree.  They made their debut at our retail store right before Christmas & lots of them got snatched up.

Another great thing about these frames is the option to personalize them with a custom tag.  It's a really sweet & subtle way to celebrate a special date, place or gathering of friends & family.

Five more giant posies joined our collection of wall flowers for the new year.  Adding the larger sizes really added the extra pop to our original summer introduction. 

Sticking with the flower theme... both of these new introductions make great desk accessories & are perfectly priced for a fantastic grab & go gift.  The post it pads are replacable & the vases come with silk flower for display but can hold water & real buds.

I added a couple new styles to our ever popular memory magnets & added fridge flowers to our marvelous magnet collection.  These little guys come with a silk flower for display, but can hold water & a real flower bud.  I have no doubt that fridge flowers will make an awesome little gift for teachers, moms, grandmas, girlfriends & more!

It was time for our ransom quotes to get some fresh words of wisdom so we redesigned 7 of them.  Some of the new quotes include...

The longer you wait for the future, the shorter it will be - Loesje

Those who don't believe in magic will never find it - Roald Dahl

Don't follow your dreams; chase them - Richard Dumb

The secret to having it all is knowing you already do

I also redesigned 3 of our wedding ribbon frames & made 'forever yours' more beach themed intended for those magical get-away weddings.  Plus I added a golden toned portrait frame to the mix.  I think this new color story for is great for vintage anniversary photos.

After I designed the new boy frame, I thought this simple & sweet pennant layout would be perfect for personalizing baby frames.   The pennants show of the baby's birth date & their name is stamped right above.  This is another of my favorite new introductions.

The good boy & good girl frames were such a hit last year, we added those designs to our leash hooks & memory magnets for our furry friends in 2012.

I also added a small handful of new everyday frames.  Hopefully these new goodies will brighten up your shelves & walls in your shop and make the perfect gift or keepsake your customers are searching for.

Cheers to a bright & hopeful 2012!

 

winter trade show special

Headed out to the shows this season?  Stop by & say hi.  We'll be in Atlanta handmade 3-2-213 & New York Gift Fair handmade 9179.  Also, any ASAP orders over $500 will get to pick out two of our flower frames for free ($75 retail value)

We'll also honor this special on any incoming orders that meet this criteria during the months of January & February 2012.  Please note SHOW SPECIAL along with your 4x6 flower frame choices on orders.

give back & get 500 new facebook fans

Looking to grow your facebook fan base & give back to your community?  Instead of throwing your money at traditional advertising, use it to do some good & get guaranteed results.  Here's how it works.

 

1. Find a local charity that has a large & active facebook following.  Contact & tell them that you'd like to create a fundraising campaign that gives their non-profit a $1 for every new facebook like your shop gets during the campaign month.  If they're excited about this opportunity proceed to work with them.

We chose Almost Home Animal Rescue

2.  Create a custom facebook welcome page that lets your future fans know if they like your page, a dollar will be donated to the featured charity. We set a lofty goal of getting 2,000 new fans to let people knew we were serious about raising cash for this great cause. 

Here's an example of our page.  Once a new fan clicked the like button the second 'thank you' image appeared.  Your welcome pages don't have to be this fancy, but it's important to communicate to your future fans that they're helping raise money for a great cause just by clicking like.

 

3.  Spread the word at your shop by creating flyers & including them in all your customer's purchases.

In addition to donating money, we also collected supplies for Almost Home.

 

4.  As the month went on we promoted our campaign in our emails & on facebook.

In addition to our facebook posts, Almost Home also help spread the word to their fans on their page.

After the month was over we gained 613 new facebook fans, collected lots of pet supplies & helped out a great non-profit.

a facebook welcome like no other

Customizing my 'welcome' page on facebook has been on my to-do list for a number of months.  Recently I spent some time visiting other pages to see how they're welcoming their new fans & here's a few examples I found...

 

The above examples are fairly general in requesting likes, but are visually eye catching.

 

 

These examples give a little more information on what their facebook page is about.  Also Moosejaw offers a second image after you click 'like' that has a humorous 'thank you' note which is always fun.

 

 

These two girly sites lure their customers in with a bit of curiosity which gives good reason to take action & like their page.

 

 

Rewarding your customers with coupons & contests is another option.  These pages are more sophisticated and you would likely have to use a company like North Social to implement. 

 

 

This independent toy store partnered with a non-profit to gain LOTS of likes.  You can read all about thier amazing marketing skills in Gifts & Dec Magazine as they were an REA finalist this past year.

Inspired by their story, I chose a similar format for my first custom facebook welcome page for catching fireflies ...

 

Since October is Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog month & we have a rescued Basset Hound that comes to the office everyday with us, it made sense to partner with an animal shelter.  We plan on lauching this campaign with a press release as well as through our enews, blog & bag stuffers.

The beauty of it is we're spending 'advertising' money on a good cause while growing our facebook fan base by leaps & bounds. 

For sister store's page I crafted a more informative layout that highlights some of the benefits of being a fan of Yellow Door Art Market. This concept is really simple & easy... just grab a few of your team members, a frame or chalkboard & shoot away.  You can size your photo & add words at picnik.com in a snap!

So how do you get started creating your very own welcome page?

It's really easy! 

1. Create two 520 x 520 pixel images.  One for your new fans & one for fans that already like your page. You can do this by using photoshop elements or this free photo editing site, picnik.com

2. Like Wildfire's iframe for pages on facebook & download the application.

 

3. Follow these simple instructions on how to upload your images & change your settings.

And Viola... you got a snazzy welcome page!

introducing poetry posies

Add a little whimsy to your wall with these cheerful poetry posies. With over seven layers of wood, paper, wire, ribbon & findings, these posies really pop with prettiness. Each flower looks lovely on it's own, however when they are grouped in larger quantities, they really make a spectacular statement.

We've started by introducing ten different designs and two different color stories... berry declicious & cool cottage.  This makes it easy for putting together a grouping that looks great.

On the back of each posy you'll find a delightful engraved poem about flowers.  Each posy design has a different poem.

A fun addition to our current mix of handmade paper goodies.

Goodies for Moms, Dads, Teachers & Grads

Tis the season for moms, dads, teachers & grads! We've cooked up some special frames & collections that will give your customers a great selection of memorable gifts this spring season...

Family Favorites Recipe Book (great gift from a mom to her daughter... filled with recipes), Latest Masterpiece Brag Magnet (to showcase your kiddos latest art)  Queen of the Kitchen Recipe Stand (for the mom that makes marvelous meals)  We love You Mom Memory Magnet,  Happiness is not perfected... Ransom Quote, & Super Mom Memory Magnet

See all our special event frames HERE.

The Grandkids Brag Book (filled with all her favorite photos)  Family Frame, Cute Clip Frame, Greatest Grandma Memory Magnet, Home Happy Hook & Grandma Cookie Memory Magnet

Cute Clip Frame (for that classic senior photo)  Friends Frame, Friends Happy Hook, Dream Big Memory Magnet,  Follow your Dreams Ransom Quote & Places You Will Go Memory Magnet

A great grab-n-go gift for the teachers that you appreciate! 

With an assortment of these goodies, you're sure to have something lovely on hand to suit this season's shopping needs.

Top 10 for 2011

Now that we've settled in after our little trade show tour - the numbers are in & these guys gained the status of most popular for 2011 so far.

A Week's Worth of Facebook Posts

So you have a facebook page for your store, but have trouble coming up with a variety of updates that your fans will find interesting.  We've found a mix of the following topics to be a good balance that engage, inform & add value to your fan's day.

1.  Customer Quotes

Word of mouth has always been the form of best advertising so when you hear people raving about how awesome your shop is... take note - and continue to spread the good news.

2. Just In!

Don't you love when you get fresh goods in?  Let your customers in on the excitement by sharing photos of what your UPS man just dropped off. You could also craft a photo album showcasing an assortment of seasonal goods.

3. Giveaways

Build goodwill, gain new fans & showcase popular products by hosting giveaways. 

4.  Fan Photos

Capture your customers... bringing in donations for a store campaign, wearing one of your accessories, coming in to pick up their giveaway gift and so on. (as long as they agree to be on your facebook page)

5. Favorite Tunes

Gotta a favorite song that's playing in the store?  Look it up in on YouTube & share the good vibrations.

6. Team Photos

 
Capture your team in action... having fun in the store, working on new displays, purchasing their favorite items, modeling new accessories, exhausted after a big sale and so on.

7. Cards, Books & Recipes

If you offer cards, select inspiring or humorous styles to share.  And depending on your selection of books - you can also find recipes, tips, trivia, quotes or jokes to post.

These seven ideas will help build your store's brand and build credibility with your fans. Stay tuned for other helpful resources that will set your facebook page above the rest.

Feel free to follow us at Yellow Door Art Market or catchingfireflies.com to see our practices in action.

2011 winter trade show special

Headed out to the shows this season?  Stop by & say hi.  We'll be in Atlanta handmade 3-2-213 & New York Gift Fair handmade 9118.  Also, any ASAP orders over $500 will get to pick out two of our happy hooks for free ($59 retail value)

We'll also honor this special on any incoming orders that meet this criteria during the months of January & February 2011.  Please note SHOW SPECIAL along with your happy hook choices on orders.

who do you love?

Looking for a few goodies to fill up your Valentine's Day display?  Here are a few that will work great for the 14th...

Fun pinks & oranges warm up the dull winter months and the saying "The heart that gives, gathers" is a perfect motto to live by year round.

Classic quotes by John Lennon & Audrey Hebburn make timeless gifts.  Fun photos of memories made together are also a great choice.

For those who have a love affair with their fury friends, these sweeties are hard to resist.

 

4 Ways to Give Back & Get in the News

Instead of spending loads of money on traditional advertising, invest your time & energy into creating quarterly charity projects that give back to the community as well as get you in the news

1. Share Some Love

 
Put the call out to your customers & community to bring in 3 or more handmade Valentine cards to your store & in return give them a free gift with purchase as a thank you for participating in this project.  Once all the cards are collected, visit nearby senior living homes & pass them out on Valentine's Day.

We received a handful of articles & mentions about our efforts in our local papers & even an appearance on Fox 2.

We ended up collecting over 1,000 cards & spent the Friday before Valentine's Day passing them out to nearby senior living communities.

We documented our stops on facebook & our blog so our card makers could see the smiles they helped bring to the seniors' faces.

This event was a grand success because it brought new people through our doors, gave our current customers another reason to come visit us during the cold months of January & February, got us all over the local news & made a bunch of seniors smile.

Helpful links: Press Release, Coloring Sheet, Heart Memory Magnet

2. Taking Care of Our Troops

In honor of Military Appreciation Month in May, put the call out to your customers & community to bring in 3 or more requested items for our troops to your store & in return give them a free gift with purchase as a thank you for participating in this project.  Once all the items are collected, visit anysoldier.com & select different troops to send your care packages.

We shared stories & photos from the troops on our blog so our community could see who their goodies benefited.

This event was a success because it brought new people through our doors, gave our current customers an opportunity to make a difference, got us some mentions in our local papers & made a bunch of our service men & women smile.

Helpful Links: Press Release, Coloring Sheet

3. Equipping Kids For School

During the doldrums of August have your customers & community bring in 5 or more basic school supplies to your store & in return give them a free gift with purchase as a thank you for participating in this project.  Once all the supplies are collected, partner with a local non-profit to distribute them to kids in need.

Our school supple drive was featured in a couple of our local papers and we also got on Fox news.

We ended up collecting enough supplies to FILL 14 backpacks for kids returning to the classrooms in September.

We documented our collections on our blog & facebook page so our customers & community that participated in our project could see how lots of little donations equals LOTS of stuffed back packs.

This event was a grand success because it brought new people through our doors, gave our current customers & their kids an opportunity to give back to their community, got us all over the local news & helped out kids get a great start to their school year.

Helpful Links: Press Release, Smencils

4. Holiday Open House Food Drive

Instead of just passing out cocoa & cookies at your Holiday Open House, ask your customers to bring in 3 or more non perishable food items to your store & in return give them a free ornament with purchase as a thank you for participating in this project.  Afterwards, partner with a local food bank & drop off the donations.

We didn't even have time to send out a press release for this event & just marketed it through our enews, blog, facebook & in-store flyers. 

We weighed & documented what we collected & thanked everyone who participated through our blog & enews.

This event was successful because it gave our current customers an easy opportunity to really get in the giving holiday mood plus it benefited many families who don't have the many luxuries we often take for granted.

These are just a few ideas on how your store can really shine in your town.  And the best part is the benefits are tri-fold.

1. Your shop becomes branded as a place who cares about their community,  gains new customers & gets in the news regularly.

2. Your customers get an easy opportunity to give back to the community & receive a small reward for their participation.

3. Your local charities benefit from your efforts.