Quite a few popular companies have names that start with the letter “p”: Paper Salon, Piggy Tales, Prima, and Prism. And then there are some new companies to examine as well, like Plano’s Creative Options. So let’s take a look at the “p”opular “P”‘s!
This company, in addition to their own continuing line of products, added a new name to their line-up at CHA 2007: Karen Neuburger. The KN lifestyle brand is the perfect complement to the the Paper Salon collections and was introduced in the form of 3 licensed collections that include paper and embellishments as well as Tailored Tins rubber stamps. The new collections, named “Chesapeake”, “Serenity”, and “Celebrate”, bring the beautiful pastels and ornate cottage prints that Karen Neuburger is known for to Paper Salon.
In addition to the 3 Karen Neuburger collections, Paper Salon introduced three new collections under their own name: “Pristine”, “Rugged”, and “Blossom”. The 12 accompanying Tailored Tin sets of die-cut, unmounted stamps include an alphabet, invitation builder, and flower and critter builder sets. Stretchy ribbon called “Scrap-elastic”, die-cut chipboard alphabets and shapes, and chipboard books round out the new offerings.
Relative newcomer Piggy Tales has made quite a splash with their graphic collections named for various fairy tales. At CHA-Winter 2007, they debuted three new collections, as well as introducing collection packs of all their lines for the first time.
The collection packs include two of each double-sided cardstock sheet in a collection, for 12 total sheets, plus the coordinating double-sided Tag-lets sheet. The collections have an MSRP of $11.50 and are a great way for Piggy Tales fans to acquire an entire line for creating coordinated projects. I love that they include two sheets of each of the double-sided cardstocks so that scrapbookers don’t have to choose which side to use!
Of the three new collections, two are definitely gender-specific: “Hansel” and “Gretel” and complementary collections in blue/orange and pink/green, respectively. The “Jack and Jill” collection is more gender neutral, in trendy blue and brown with red for highlights.
All three collections, designed in graphic stripes, dots and floral, are a refreshing change of pace from the current domination of shabby chic if those are not your style. Another great touch are the double-sided Tag-lets sheets, a rare feature in die-cut embellishments that opens many possibilities for their usage.
This company lives by one rule: packaging moves product. And the company that sold thousands of mulberry flowers and sparked a floral revolution in scrapbooking by packaging them in milk bottles, created another package for CHA-Winter that everyone is talking about. This time the buzz is all about the things mama doesn’t want anyone to see, but scrapbookers are buying them in droves: patterned flowers packaged in containers shaped like bras and panties! Available in 12 different color and design assortments, the bras hold 1″ flowers, while the panties hold 1.25″ flowers. (We won’t go into the societal implications of those measurements here…)
For years, resourceful scrapbookers have been venturing into sporting goods and hardware stores looking for storage and totes for their tools and supplies. Now one of those companies is finally bringing their products to the crafts market. Plano Molding has created the Creative Options by Plano line just for crafters.
The form of many of the line’s products may look familiar to many crafters, because Plano has simply redone some of their classic cases in more feminine colors like purple, lime green and turquoise. While the result is visually appealing, there is one downside to these products: their price. The feminine products come with a significant price premium over the more utilitarian versions previously produced by the company. Only time will tell if scrapbookers are willing to pay this premium for the feminine looks.
Creative Options also has a collection of soft-sided craft totes that are designed for a wide range of craft usages. With a few exceptions, however, it looks that they would be more useful for crafts other than scrapbooking. The company’s paper satchel definitely fits the scrapbook market but faces stiff competition, and the Craftician Bag appears to be a knock-off of the All My Memories totes and will have to compete with that established product.
This manufacturer of beautiful cardstock is still sticking with its core business and not branching out the way other competitors have. At CHA-Winter they introduced some new colors, new collection packs and a new marketing tool for stores.
Nine new colors debuted at CHA-Winter, bringing the total Prism line to 90 colors. Six of them are what Prism calls “classics” – bright or deep basic colors like blue, green, red, orange and yellow. The other three colors are varying shades of cream.
Prism’s other introductions were aimed at the convenience scrapper, who likes coordinates and kits. Their new “quick pages” packs come in four designer color palettes. The packs come in four sizes: a 12″ x 12″ page base, two sizes of mats that will mat 4″ x 6″ photos and 5″ x 7″ photos (or provide a double mat on the smaller photo size when used together), and a pack of 2″ x 12″ strips for embellishing.
Another introduction aimed at the quick scrapper is their Prismatics Accent Packs. These accent packs contain twelve 6″ x 12″ sheets of coordinating colors for a specific Prismatics pack, for quick coordination of layouts. Each accent pack contains four different accent color options.
For scrapbookers that just can’t decide on a color scheme to go with their photo, Prism has introduced a sales tool that will let customers lay their photo on a selection of color schemes (one per page) in a spiral-bound book to see which complements it the best. The “Picture This” color selection tool features a 4″ x 6″ area, a background, and four circles of accent colors to create a whole color scheme and make sure the customer is happy with their selection when they leave the store.
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