Rubber Stampin' Retailer Blog

Fashion Stamping

2007-10-23T12:46:00.000-05:00

We've been hearing a lot lately about people using stamps and other artistic media to decorate and personalize clothing. For instance, the last few years have shown beading applied to everything from blue jeans to baseball caps; have any of you out in the retail world seen a spike in stamping on clothing? Please let us hear from you.

Kathy & Erin

2007-10-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

In answer to our question about the cost of transportation,

Peddlers Den said...
Our store is in a rural area, and yes, the cost of gasoline has definitely affected the patterns of our customers. Worse than that, we are in Illinois, and the cost of utilities and the high minimum wage has adversely affected our business as well. I don't have a lot of answers; hope someone else does! We have moved to relying on email blasts as our mail communication with our customers, and frequent incentives (available only to those on our emaillist) to shop. It has helped.
August 19, 2007 12:03 AM

Has anyone else been using e-mail blasts successfully? Peddlers Den is making some headway with this problem, and we would appreciate hearing from others who have tackled this problem!

Peachy and Mittens at The Cat's Meow said...
My business, The Cat's Meow is also in a rural area, but we have a lot of tourism as we are at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in Central California. We promote a 'shop locally' campaign to encourage shoppers from driving 45 minutes to Fresno, the nearesst large town. I am finding that my business is up considerably, and others who depend on tourists are finding that there us no decrease yet even though gas is $3.35 a gallon for regular here. I feel that over the 12 years I have been in business, i have instilled a lot of lotalty in my customers and it is paying off now. On another note, I wonder if anyone else thinks the CHA membership increase for individual stores is out of line. We are now paying the same fee as an internet business that makes $500,000! How can they justify penalizing small businesses like this. Of course, I will pay it because I always attend the winter show, but I really think the 50% increase is unfair. Am I alone?
November 16, 2007 2:22 PM

Dee at Rubber Stamp Rendezvous said...
Yes, the cost of transportation is affecting business. I do email newsletters which can get lengthy at times... I will do more blasts in the future. Sometimes (not always) I throw in a coupon which seems to work well to get people out and in the store.On the other note. Yes, I think the CHA dues increase is out of line for small stores. On top of that they want a $10.00 non-profit donation? Give me a break. I have not rejoined since I am not going to the winter show. I will think about rejoining when the summer show gets closer. If I can come up with the extra money then. Money is very tight right now for me and everyone else too if the comments I'm hearing are any indication
December 17, 2007 12:30 PM

Cost of doing business

2007-08-22T12:32:00.000-05:00

Is your business space too large to be profitable? Is it smaller than it has to be? We've heard store owners comment lately about the cost of doing business in relation to the cost of space rented. One retailer asks our blog readers to figure the amount of business they are doing per square foot of space vs. the cost of the rent of the space. Do you feel the return is adequate? Please let us know what you think.
Erin & Kathy

Hot Times at Summer CHA

2007-08-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

Did any of our readers out there attend Summer CHA this July? While CHA reports that attendance was down, there were still plenty of new product offerings for the art stamp retailer, including new stamp designs from Inkadinkado, Serendipity Stamps, Rubber Soul, Rubber Stamp Tapestry, Crafty Secrets, Savvy Stamps and many other companies. Even Ellison and Hot Off The Press, two companies that have traditionally focused on products other than stamps, have gotten into the game with sets of clear stamps to complement their product lines!

I also had an interesting talk with Creative Imaginations’ Alison Wong. She and fellow artist Danelle Johnson, also of Creative Imaginations, have developed the Creative Café program in collaboration with AccuCut, Hampton Art and Bazzill Basics Paper to revitalize the papercraft industry. A few of their ideas for stores include providing an “art bar” stocked with open-stock bins of tags, ribbon and chipboard shapes and extending papercraft into realms such as party décor.

What was your most useful discovery at the show?

Do high gasoline costs affect business?

2007-06-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

Rising gasoline costs are driving us to make changes in both our businesses and our personal lives.

Several retailers have mentioned to us that store traffic is slowing down because shoppers are staying home to save fuel/money. Please let us know if this is affecting you and your store, and if so, is there a way you have found to keep those customers connected?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Erin and Kathy

Welcome, retailers!

2007-06-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the official blog of Rubber Stampin' Retailer magazine, the art stamp retailer's online source for information and inspiration!

Sure, we can come up with topics of discussion for every day of the week, but we would like to know what you want to know! Leave us a comment with your suggestion for future discussions on the RSR Blog. Thanks! Erin & Kathy