This Fall, it will be five years since my product line (Narratives) was introduced. And in those five years, I've had some products that really took off and some that really tanked.
The first product idea I ever had (transparencies) took off better than anything I have designed since. I think it was just the right product at the right time. In fact, I don't think there were many local stores that didn't carry them. They even hit QVC and a few major chains.
The funny thing is, I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I designed these. My knowledge of Photoshop extremely limited; I only knew how to remove spit bubbles, plaque and unwanted facial hair from dental photos because of a project I had worked on. (I was a dental hygienist for 12 years.)
So while I was designing my first transparencies, I was literally knocking on people's doors, asking them if I could cut flowers and leaves out of their front yards to scan and use.
I released twelve transparencies at that first show and out of twelve, three of them had typos on them (I didn't know that Photoshop had spell-check and somehow they slipped through the cracks at Creative Imaginations too).
Even funnier; that musical transparency above has a whole bunch of inspirational quotes on it. Once of them reads "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper that is heard by him alone", but in the first run of these transparencies, part of that quote was deleted, so it simply read "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding."
I cried when I read that.
After months of worry that I was going to be a one hit wonder, I came up with this little idea...
And to date, those negative strips were the second best selling product I've ever designed.
I designed plenty of stuff that tanked too though.
One of my favorite ideas ever was a linen album that had a 12x12 clear plastic sleeve sewn right into the cover so you could customize your albums by slipping your own layouts into the cover. They even came with a removable transparency. As cool as (I thought) they were, I just don't think anyone ever really 'got it', so they completely tanked. Looks like Creative Imaginations still has a couple of pink and blue ones here.
I own lots of them though, so if nothing else, I got some cool albums for my own layouts out of the whole deal.
And then there were these little Fortune Cookie stickers that tanked too...
I guess they just didn't have enough shelf appeal and I doubt there's a store on the face of the planet that has any of these in stock (lucky me though, I've still got a couple of sheets that I'm hoarding).
I've learned that over the years that it doesn't matter how great a product is if it doesn't have any shelf appeal. So when I had the idea for some quote stickers, everyone at Creative Imaginations said "We like the idea, but remember how poorly your Fortune Cookie stickers sold?"
So I gave them some shelf appeal (and because of that, these little Quote Stickers took off). You can find one of the styles here.
So did these (the Journaler's Notebooks) one of which you can find here...
And so did all of the die-cut paper that I've designed so far, but particularly this one...
But this stuff (Paper Lace) tanked...
Man, I love that stuff though. It's hard to find in stores (since hardly anyone bought it) but Creative Imaginations still has a couple of different colored packs available here and here.
I usually cut the Paper Lace in half (like I did on this layout) when I use it, just because I think it looks cool and because it gives me more mileage per roll. Oh, and did you notice the Fortune Cookie sticker (that tanked) in the bottom right hand corner?
What's taking off now?...
These stamps that I designed for FontWerks that have been nearly impossible to find in stores because they keep selling out. (If you enter the code FWKR08 - that's a zero, not an 'o', you can get 15% off your FontWerks order).
And these Easel Albums that are finally shipping.
They're a 5x7 decorative album with an easel attached to the back of them (I had the idea for this product after designing a class where we made albums really similar to these). They're full of scalloped pages and transparent pages.
I don't even own one yet, but you can find them here, here and here. Also, I know a lot of you who were at my classes at the Scrapbook Clubhouse in Westbrook, CT were asking about them and Sharon's got them in stock too (so be sure to stop by the store).
And they aren't due to start shipping for a few months yet, but these acrylic stamps that released at the CHAS 2008 show seem to be doing pretty well too (which is cool, because they're my favorite).
If you are a online or local store who carries any of this stuff, feel free to post your store name, location and which products you're carrying in the comments section (and if you're looking for any of this stuff be sure to read through the comments to find a local store where you can find them).
As usual, my local store the Scrapbook Connection here in Grants Pass, OR always carries a huge selection of this stuff.
You never know just how long of a run you'll have in a career like this...but I'm praying that I've got at least another five or more years worth of ideas rattling around somewhere in this pea brain of mine (before I have to go back to cleaning plaque & tarter).