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Creative Leisure News
2677 Ashley Ct.
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Phone: 309-925-5593
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Email: mike@clnonline.com
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Date:
December 17, 2001 TABLE OF CONTENTSCOMMENTARY: THE LESSONS OF 2001This issue includes my annual review of the biggest news stories of the year. It was a strange piece to write, because it felt like two completely different periods -- before and after September 11. Each year I then re-read the report to see what we could learn from the year's events.Guess what? Turns out they're mostly the same lessons as last year's, and the year before that and .... Be flexible so you can adapt to changes in the marketplace ... Do what you do best ... Really listen to your customers ... Never stop marketing ... Don't let your ego interfere with sound judgment ... Don't rest on your laurels ... In this modern world, change is constant, but not all of it is good. But there are a few new lessons to learn, too, thanks to September 11: Your work is not your life ... Tell your loved ones how you feel ... Be thankful for your health, your family, your job -- and your country.
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RAG SHOPS' PROFITS DROPNet income for the fiscal year ended Sept.1 was $46,000 ($.01/share), down from $1.4 million ($.29) the prior year. Officials blamed the decline on the fiscal calendar, a decrease in gross profit, rising store expenses, and an "unsuccessful change in promotional strategy." Annual sales rose only 0.7% to $100.9 million, due in part to a calendar oddity -- 53 weeks in the previous year, only 52 in this past year. On a week for week basis, sales rose 2.2%.The fourth quarter showed a loss of $1.3 million ($.27) compared to a loss of $550,000 ($.11) a year ago. The 52-week calendar affected the quarter's sales and profits, too. During the year, the company installed its new inventory system, resumed opening new stores, and opened its new prototype.
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SALES STRONG IN NOVEMBERThe industry continues to thrive. Independents are reporting good sales, and Michaels' same-store sales rose a whopping 20%.Since our last issue, Michaels' stock has moved from NASDAQ to the N.Y. Stock Exchange. The new symbol is MIK. The stock split last month and continues to receive strong support from analysts. Michaels went public in 1984 with 10 stores, and is now up to 840 Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores. It looks like the expansion isn't over yet. DSN Retailing Today named Michaels one of its "Super Growth Leaders", predicting sales would climb from $2+ billion now to $4.6 billion in 2005. CEO Michael Rouleau told Dow Jones News that September 11th hadn't been that big a boost, although store traffic increased. He attributed Michaels' strong performance to better merchandise assortments systems that boost the chain's in-stock positions, despite less price-cutting and advertising. "We made a lot of significant investments in infrastructure over the past few years," Rouleau said. "They're just starting to play out now." Because of those improvements, Rouleau thinks improved infrastructure will support a growth of 15% for the next 4-5 years, which should mean annual earnings growth of 20%. Rouleau also said Michaels is increasing store staffing and doesn't expect any major changes in the types of merchandise. Stores are averaging $3.7 million in sales, and Rouleau is pushing to reach $5 million in four years and increasing the store count from 834 to 1,100. Jo-Ann's same-store sales rose only 1.3%, due, officials said, to the month being less promotional than it was the prior year. That improved margins. Overall sales rose 12.9% to $180.5 million. Year to date, sales have risen 9.2% to $1.25 billion. When the results were announced, Jo-Ann's officials sent vendors a copy of a new report on the company by McDonald Investments which upgrades its recommendation to Aggressive Buy. Jo-Ann's also announced hiring Bill Dandy as Sr. VP, Marketing. Dandy had been a Sr. VP at Famous Footwear and from 1993 to 1997 served as VP, Marketing/Advertising for Michaels. He has also worked at Ames. As reported earlier, Hancock's November same-store sales rose a solid 9% and the stock reached a 52-week high recently. Other same-store figures: Wal-Mart, +4.3% ... Duckwall-ALCO, +2.1% with crafts mentioned as a strong category ... ShopKo, + 7.7% ... Kmart, -2.6%.
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ACCI NAMES NOMINEES, OFFICERSNominees to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors are Gail Czech, The Creative Network; Leigh Edwards, Limited Edition Rubberstamps; Dotty Grexa, Jo-Ann's; Mike Hartnett, Creative Leisure Communications; and Erik Mandelberg, Natural Science Industries. Continuing their board terms are Gwen Edwards; Lisa Oscarson, Crafty Productions; Marla O'Dell, Syndicate Sales; and Tony LaSpada.The Executive Officers are Chair Lynda Musante, Reynolds Consumer Products; 1st Vice Chair James Scatena, FloraCraft; 2nd Vice Chair Emma Gebo, Crafts & Frames; Treasurer Steve Graham, Toner Plastics; and Secretary Craig Zimmerman, Zim's. The terms begin next month.
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HIA SHOW NEWS UPDATEBuyer pre-registration is running way ahead of last year. Exhibitor numbers are "fairly flat", officials say, due in part to consolidation (one vendor acquiring another), but the average exhibitor booth size is up slightly. New exhibitors are coming in more slowly than usual -- possibly due to uncertainty caused by the September 11 attacks.Pre-registration for classes has been "tremendous", with at least 40 workshops and SuperShops sold out. There is still space in the 11th annual golf tournament Friday, January 25, with proceeds donated to the School and Home Office Products Assn. (SHOPA) Kids in Need Resource Centers, and to the American Red Cross. Exhibit space is still available, too. For info, visit www.hiashow.org or call 201-794-1133. A crew from the The Carol Duvall Show on HGTV will attend the show to tape an hour-long special to air a number of times in March -- National Craft Month. The crew will scout the booths on Sunday and tape on Monday and Tuesday. Carol and the group will also be looking for new ideas and guests for the regular series (65 new segments will be taped in April). To have your products considered, send info/press kits to Kelly Ehrlich, The Carol Duvall Show, 820 West Ave., H-4, Lancaster, CA 93534. (No calls, please.)
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AMES CUTS ANOTHER 54 STORESThe Ames' bankruptcy bloodbath continues. Fifty-four stores will begin liquidation sales on December 30th, and close in February or March. The closures will bring the company back down approximately to the size right before it bought the Hills chain.Chair/CEO Joseph Ettore explains: "To achieve that goal [of prompt reorganization], and provide continued opportunity for more than 24,000 associates moving forward, we have to demonstrate performance that will ensure Ames access to capital. This last round of closings gives us the financial profile we need." Closing these underperforming stores would increase the chain's sales/sq. ft. by 22%. Officials say they will offer impacted employees an opportunity to work in a nearby store. Stores closing include 1 each in Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; 2 in Maine; 3 in Maryland; 4 each in New York and Virginia; 6 in West Virginia; 14 in Ohio, and 17 in Pennsylvania. The store count will then be down to about 385.
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HIA PRODUCT PREVIEWACCU-CUT. (#6525). New international die cuts for consumers wishing to commemorate their travels include the Syndey Opera House, London's Tower Bridge, a Chinese Dragon, etc. Visit www.accucut.com.BLUMENTHAL/LANSING. (#3404/3505) Favorite Findings is an assortment of embellishments -- buttons, charms, flatbacks, etc. -- packaged by theme. There are 20+ themes, including baby, bridal, Christmas, and garden. Can be used for crafts, home dec, sewing, scrapbooks, dollmaking, gifts and more. DEE GRUENIG. The star of rubber stamping will have her imprint on a number of exhibitors. Dee's Diamond Dust papers will be at the Paper Adventures booth ... Plaid's (#4524) All Night Media division will have military-themed stamps ... Ranger Industries (#9513) is unveiling Dee's Poshtels -- pastel Inkabilities for the Rainbow Sponges -- and a copper pen to accompany gold and silver pens ... Also look for her Dee-lightful print and solid papers and her Dee's Desktop imprintable papers. See all of the new items at www.poshimpressions.com. DESTINATION STICKERS AND STAMPS. (#422) Offering a wide variety of state and city stickers and Journey stamps (states, cities, and countries). (Comment: This company is a classic example of the type of company that has grown our industry over the years: two entrepreneurs filling a niche in the market.) HOT OFF THE PRESS. (#8534) Making Marvelous Scrapbook Pages is a 144-page book organized into classes so retailers can teach from it. Also: What Can I Do With Vellum? and For the Busy Bride on a Budget. Plus, kits and paper packs in the Paper Flair line, along with Making Great Handmade Cards. There's also Annie Lang's 202 Paper Piecing Patterns. JUNE TAILOR. (#7205). Quick Fuse Inkjet Fabric Sheets enable consumers to print or copy photos, graphics, or text directly onto fabric, instantly. Simply print, trim and fuse onto surfaces such as fabric, wood, paper, lampshades, cork, and chalk boards. Also, an entire line of Do-It-Yourself No-Sew Home Decor Products, including kits for a cornice board, a lampshade, a headboard, and reupholstery -- all no-sew. KRAUSE PUBLICATIONS. (#3310) Be-Dazzled! is 50+ projects using the Bedazzler, and United We Craft is 25+ patriotic projects, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Red Cross. There are also new books on French beading, weddings, knitting (a reference guide), paper casting, wreaths, pursemaking, baskets, kid's crafts, wire, Halloween and Christmas ornaments -- even a book with kid's projects using duct tape! LION BRAND YARN. A Newborn Learn-To-Knit-Kit, with yarn, needles and an instruction booklet ... Bella Rosa and Bargello Tapestry Totes ... and a variety of new booklets with patterns and instructions for creating clothing and afghans using Lion yarns. WALLIES. The divison of McCall Pattern introduced Wallies Ribbons, packaged with three different coordinated designs of pre-pasted, vinyl-coated wallpaper in widths of 4 1/2", 1 3/8", and 1 1/8" -- all 15' long. The varying widths make it possible to frame a door or window, put a band around a lampshade, embellish a wastebasket, or create a custom picture frame. Visit www.wallies.com. Note: Do you have something new you're unveiling at HIA or one of the other January shows? Email info to mike@clnonline.com for inclusion in one of our next two issues. (Don't forget to include your booth number!)
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NEW HIA EXHIBITORS, PT. IISince our trade shows are so darn big, we thought we'd give you a chance to do a little homework before the show. Here are the web addresses of some of the first-time exhibitors:HILTL Bastelideen: www.hobby-hiltl.com ... A large diverse craft site -- in German. Holly's Heart Designs: www.wildrosecottage.com ... Decorative painting patterns and tips. Impulse Craft: www.impulsewear.com ... Many types and styles of transfers. Johnson & Haward: www.jhinc.com ... International mail services: catalogs, brochures, etc. Kits Publishing: www.hands-on.com ... Educational art books and kits. Mustard Moon: www.mustardmoon.com ... Scrapbook papers. Pages In A Snap by Two Busy Moms: www.pagesinasnap.com ... Scrapbooking. Paper House Productions: www.paperhouseproductions.com ... Cards, magnets, stickers, etc. Santa's Workshop: www.plainjaneinc.com ... Gifts, home decor. Scrapbook Premier: www.Scrapbookpremier.com ... Trade-only scrapbook publication. Scrapbooks! Inc: www.scrappinsports.com ... Sports-theme scrapbook papers. Simplicity Sewing Machine: www.tacony.com ... Sewing products, embroidery designs. Sizzix: www.Provocraft.com ... Garden decor (ceramic and wood). Stamp Studio: www.stampstudioinc.com ... Stamps and supplies. Sweetwater: www.farmyard-creations.com ... Doll and quilt patterns. Versatex Art Products: www.versatex.net ... Inks, paints, and art materials for textiles. Vetro Mosaico S.A.: www.vetromosaico.com ... Mosaic products and projects.
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THE TOP NEWS STORIES OF 2001January to September 10 was pretty flat. Memory, stamping, beads, candles/candlemaking, and yarn were strong, but the rest of the industry was so-so as the country slipped into recession.After September 11, consumers turned to our industry to express their patriotism, find comfort, and save money. With some exceptions, sales have been strong ever since. The post-September-11 surge in needlework demonstrated how the repetitive actions required by needlework are relaxing in these stressful times. The industry responded to September 11 with appropriate products and projects, and with countless programs that would aid the victims and their families. INDEPENDENTS. Most independents were flat until September 11. Meanwhile Sierra Pacific Crafts expanded to 58 stores, and now reaches from Hawaii to Vermont. MEMORY. Continued to grow, although not as fast as previous years, and the numerous new independent memory stores have siphoned off some sales from traditional craft stores. CHAINS, I. Michaels' improvements in its infrastructure helped the company to continue to expand and achieve record sales and earnings. Wall Street took notice and boosted the stock to a number of 52-week highs. Finally the stock split, then moved from NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange. All this happened despite the departure of some key execs. A.C. Moore followed a similar path. Larry Fine, formerly of Michaels, became president (Jack Parker remains CEO), and led the company through a year of careful expansion and record-breaking sales, profits, and stock prices. Hancock Fabrics continued its transition beyond apparel sewing to encompass more home dec, bridal, and quilting. The sales and profit figures indicate consumers approved of the changes. Hobby Lobby continued its successful, quiet ways, but it is not as big a factor in the industry as its size and success might suggest. The company continues to expand its readymade home dec inventory and to assume more importing and manufacturing duties. Wal-Mart maintained its policy of adding more stores, pressuring vendors, and trying to reduce SKU's. The discounter survived various public relations blunders and again achieved record profits and earnings. CHAINS, II. Jo-Ann's struggled all year implementing its turnaround plan and improving its distribution system. There were layoffs, store closings, and losses, but officials said they were making progress. The company closed out tens of millions of dollars of merchandise, which boosted sales but hurt margins, and so the company reported losses through the year. Officials also promised that the fourth quarter (which does not end until the end of January) would show that the turnaround had been successful. Ames showed history does repeat itself by filing for bankruptcy. Buying the Zayre chain in the late 1980's pushed Ames into bankruptcy, and buying the Hills chain did it again. By year's end Ames was closing most of the Hills stores and struggling with a reorganization plan. Zany Brainy's acquisition of Noodle Kidoodle proved disastrous. The company filed for bankruptcy and was eventually sold to The Right Store chain. Frank's Nursery & Crafts' plan of de-emphasizing crafts apparently didn't work and the company also filed for bankruptcy. Other retailers had troubles, too. HomePlace of America went bankrupt and closed ... House2Home, an offshoot of HomePlace, filed for Chapter 11, as did Tandycrafts. And as we were going to "press", we heard unconfirmed but reliable information that Crafts Canada had filed for bankruptcy. TRADE SHOWS. Most shows declined slightly, even before the September 11th-generated travel scares. The drop was due in part to consolidation at the vendor and buyer levels, and companies and retailers cutting expenses due to the flat January-September period. CONDOLENCES. The industry lost some wonderful people in 2001, including painters Bette Byrd and Dorothy Mullins ... Jane Cannon Meyers from ASN ... Independent retailer Ken Griffin ... Ginnie Thompson's husband, Ken, and Tom Yaley's daughter, Mia Hill ... Canadian sales rep Fred Head ... Sallie Strauss of Activa, who lost her battle with cancer ... Connie Platt of Crop-In-Style, who died in a car accident. Also, fire devastated the manufacturing facilities of Walnut Hill, one of the industry's true pioneers. COPYRIGHTS. The industry was hurt, probably badly, by consumers posting copyrighted projects on the Internet. But the industry began to fight back, led by Jim Hedgepath of Pegasus Originals and a committee of industry professionals. Krause Publications published A Celebration of Stitching, with profits going to a legal fund to sue the miscreants. PUBLICITY. The industry benefitted from an extraordinary amount of publicity in the national media. Hardly a month would go by without various famous people telling national magazines how much they enjoy knitting, crochet, or crafts. Yarn, paint by numbers, and the Bedazzler were the major beneficiaries. After September 11th, there was more publicity as the national media and major newspapers reported on Americans flocking to our stores. SOLD. David Larson Productions, to employee Peter Pfankuch ... MPR Associates to DMD Industries ... Deep Flex to Yaley Ent. ... Some of Back Street's product lines to Duncan ... Fond Memories to Daniel Enterprises ... Dal-Craft to Prym-Dritz ... Dimensions to Capital Partners and Dimensions' management team ... Memory Makers to F&W Pubs. ... Heritage Trimming to Novtex ... American Design Group to Janlynn ... McCall's and Butterick merged.
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TURNING YOUR WEBSITE INTO PORNORemember to pay up when it's time to renew your website's domain registration. Apparently a company in Russia buys up lapsed domain URL's and links them to porn sites. Then they will charge the original owner as much as $5,000 to relinquish the name.This has already happened to one of our industry's top designers, and even happened to the Pittsburgh Penquins of the National Hockey League. It can affect you indirectly, too. One of our largest industry's top manufacturers told us, "We listed an educational website on one of our product's packages. We received a consumer complaint telling us that it led to an adult site. When we investigated, we found that it really did. The domain ownership had lapsed." The company in Russia then offered to resell the domain for $1,000. End result? The company had to obliterate the site's address on its current labels.
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RANDOM NOTES, RANDOM THOUGHTS1. F&W Publications is distributing a wonderful book, New York September Eleven Two Thousand One. It's filled with remarkable photos, testimonials, personal stories, poems, essays, etc. It's a book to save and show your grandkids when they ask someday what Sept. 11 was like. The authors are Georgio Baravalle and Ambreen Qureshi; the publisher is de.Mo. It's $35 and the ISBN # is 0-9705768-2-X. F&W's phone is 513-531-7107. If your local bookstores don't have it, have them order it.2. One of the latest trends in scrapbooking is using craft items such as wire and beads to make, in effect, three-dimensional album pages. Vendors of traditional craft items might think about their products' relevance for the memory consumer. 3. Congratulations to Blumenthal Lansing on its 125th anniversary. Benjamin Blumenthal founded the company in 1877 to import and distribute fashion buttons to the textile and apparel trades. During that time the company has made buttons out of pearls, horn, bone, celluloid, metal, and plastic, as well as covered buttons. Today it distributes La Mode, La Petite, Le Bouton, Le Chic, and Streamline buttons, and claims the saying from a 1949 ad is still true: "More needles pass through La Mode buttons than through any other buttons in the world."
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MISCELLANEOUS NEWSSHOWS. The School, Home, and Office Products Assn. will launch a new "show" in October where vendors and retailers meet have pre-determined appointments. Note: SHOPA will pay for the retailers' registration, travel, meals, and hotel. (Comment: No doubt the exhibitors will pay.) The event won't replace the annual SHOPA show scheduled for Nov. 12-14 in Atlanta.TOYS. Rumors must be rampant in the toy industry, because the Toy Industry Assn. felt it necessary to send an open letter to the toy industry that began, "Yes, there will be a Toy Fair in February." The event is February 10-14 in New York with some 1,200 exhibitors. PAINTING. The Society of Decorative Painters' auction of 32 paintings created and signed by the industry's top painters continues on eBay until Dec. 20. To see the paintings, go to http://www.decorativepainters.org/main/ebay_main.cfm. Proceeds go to the Red Cross. BOOKS. Better Homes and Gardens Craft Division has partnered with Jo-Ann's to produce Your Guide to Creativity, a 360-page book with 175+ sewing and craft techniques. It's available at Jo-Ann's stores and www.joann.com for $24.95, which includes a year's subscription to Creative Home magazine. It will also be sold in bookstores for $34.95. PAINTING. The U.S. Patent Office awarded a patent to Masterson Art Products for its Sta-Wet palette system for "a substantially improved palette system for use in storing and holding water-based substances such as paint or glue, and for maintaining these substances in a usably moist condition for extended periods of time." For more info, call 602-263-6017; fax 602-263-7402; email info@mastersonart.com, or visit www.mastersonart.com. NEW SITE. Easy Street, led by industry veteran Bruna Jones, is at www.easystcrafts.com, featuring Bruna's line of Sweet Suspensions embroidery hoops. There are cross stitch pattern books and kits, too. NOTE. In a recent issue, we said National Spinning had acquired some assets of Glen Raven Yarn. We omitted the fact that National Spinning is a division of Caron. PEOPLE. Gary Susan Gray is the Retail Sales Manager for Adhesive Technologies. Ms. Gray had been a key account rep for Kunin Felt ... After only 20 months, Jeanne Jackson resigned as CEO of Walmart.com, the discounter's the e-commerce site ... Memories Community named Ginger Nelson as Regional Director of the West region. CHAINSPEAK. A vendor told us recently that at least one of his chain buyers now no longer uses the term, "returns". Now it's called "reverse logistics". TV. The 3rd series of Sew Young, Sew Fun with Nina Kay Milenius uplinks to PBS stations December 23 ... The 8th series of More Than Memories, hosted by Julie McGuffee, will be uplinked January 20 ... Scrapbooking, a new series of 65 half-hour episodes, debuts on the DIY Network) on December 31 and will run on weekdays at 8:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 7:30 pm EST -- and on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 am, 7:30 pm, and 12:30 am each day. The host is Sandi Genovese, Sr. VP and Creative Director for Ellison Craft & Design. MEMORY. The Memories Expo shows for 2002 have added a series of seminars, "Make Money Scrapbooking" taught by Sue DiFranco, publisher of Fun Facts. The series will include how to make money by creating scrapbooks for customers. Call 740-452-4541, email memories@offinger.com, or visit www.memoriesexpo.com. BEARS. The Build-A-Bear Workshop chain, which has grown to 72 stores in four years, is moving into Great Britain next year. DIVIDEND. Hancock declared a cash dividend of 4 cents/share on the outstanding common shares, payable January 15 to shareholders of record January 1. LOOKING. Very experienced craft industry sales pro is looking and can relocate. Particular experience at getting new companies established in the industry. Contact Mike Hartnett, in confidence, for more info. 309-925-5593 or email mike@clnonline.com.
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THE CREATIVE NETWORK: JOB OPENINGSTo see a sampling of the current job openings and to contact The Creative Network, click on the "Jobs" button in the left hand column.
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THE CLN RETAIL INDEXA. C. Moore (ACMR). Last*: 30.25 ... Change**: +1.59Ames (AMES). Last*: 0.29 ... Change**: +0.02 Hancock Fabrics (HKF). Last*: 13.45 ... Change**: -0.30 Jo-Ann Stores (JAS.A) [a]. Last*: 6.85 ... Change**: +0.05 Michaels (MIKE). Last*: 31.80 ... Change**: +1.75 Rag Shops (RAGS). Last*: 2.25 ... Change**: -0.14 Wal-Mart (WMT). Last*: 54.06 ... Change**: -1.09 CLN Retail Index. Last*: 139.95 ... Change**: +1.4% Dow Jones Index. Last*: 9,811.10 ... Change**: -0.4% *December 14* from December 3 [a] voting share Note: Prices are exclusive of dividends
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OUR INDUSTRY EXPLAINED BY TWO COWSA description of modern government and business, using an analogy of two cows, is making the rounds of the Internet. There are many versions; here's an example:A DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you. A REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So? A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour. CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows. DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point where you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government. BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours it down the drain. AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the second one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts that you have reduced your expenses. Your stock goes up. You get the idea. So I thought we could explain the craft industry by using the two-cow analogy: CHAIN STORE: Your vendor has two cows. You insist on all the milk, immediately, at a lower price. The cows scream (moo?) bloody murder when they're branded with UPC codes. Then they both die because when the vendor met your price, he couldn't afford to feed them. INDEPENDENT: Your vendor has two cows. He ships all but a quart of the milk to the chains, then sells you the remaining quart for a higher price. When you complain, he tells you to compete by offering better customer service. CRAFT CONSUMER: Spends $5 in gas to drive across town to save a nickel on milk. SALES REP: Your manufacturer has two cows. You go around telling everyone that milk crafts are the next hot trend. CRAFT DESIGNER: You have two cows. You sell them because they're not as cute as smiling bunnies. CONGLOMERATE: Owns a craft company with two cows. A beancounter in the home office concludes the way to boost earnings for the quarter is to cut cow feed by 50%. The next quarter the cows don't produce as much milk as budgeted, so the beancounter (who's never seen a cow) lays off half the craft company employees. "Gotta run a tight ship," he brags. DECORATIVE PAINTER: You have two cows. You sell them because they can't balance a bowl of fruit on their heads. TRADE ASSOCIATION: The association has two cows. The board of directors hires a consultant and forms seven committees to determine what to do with them. Everyone disagrees. The executive director becomes so upset she demands another raise. The association sells one of the cows to pay for the raise. TRADE MAGAZINES: The publisher has two cows. They both die from suffocation because of all the ads plastered on them. NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER: The industry has two cows. No matter what the industry does with them, the publisher writes, "No, no, no! You should have...." Have any additions to this list? How would you explain, using the two-cow analogy, what a distributor is? A manufacturer? A scrapbooker? An instruction book publisher? An importer? A cross-stitcher? Email your answers to me and we'll publish them.
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REMINDERS1. Paid subscribers are invited to have their website evaluated by Lynn Carlisle of Carlisle Communications. She'll check the site and provide a confidential assessment and suggestions for improvement. Just email mike@clnonline.com or ljc@carlislecommunications.com.2. If you want a hard-copy of this issue, click on "Printer Friendly version". 3. If your company is a paid subscriber, everyone in the main office is welcome to register, free. 4. If you want to recommend CLN to a friend, use the "Tell Your Friends" box on the home page. 5. Creative Leisure News is published on the first and third Mondays of each month. Your next issue will be Monday, January 7th. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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