Well it's been a long while since my last entry. I've decided to stay committed to the keepsake chests & boxes for 2 more years while I get some other things under way. I had a great time teaching this Summer at The Phoenix Village Art Center http://www.phoenixvillageartcenter.org and will be teaching some after school classes this Fall. I must be crazy taking on teaching during the holiday season....it's always crazy so this year will just be more so.
The most exciting thing I have been working on lately is designing products on Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/STACIEDALEDESIGNS . I love how easy it is to design something and put it up for sale in just minutes...it's genius. I'm awaiting delivery of my first product from Zazzle to see if it looks as good in person as it does on the computer screen...fingers crossed! There will be a link to zazzle from my website shortly and I will be emailing all of my customers to introduce them to this new line of clothing and gifts, What fun! Until next time...keep up the creativity!
Showing posts with label stacie dale designs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stacie dale designs. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Full of Ideas
Well I'm happy spring is here but I sure would like the wamer weather to come along with. Every Spring I get rejuvenated and a flood of new ideas come popping in to my head. It's great to have those creative juices flowing but difficult to reign the ones in that will be profitable. Many times I have ideas that are great for someone else. For example, I have alot of new ideas for the American Revolution Center http://www.americanrevolutioncenter.org that is being built here in Lower Providence Township, PA. Lucky for them, I wrote them all down and will present them to their new president! LOL
I've also got alot of new ideas for Stacie Dale Designs Inc. I'm working on some hand painted dresses and even considerng a new spin on an exisiting product. I also found a company I thought was really neat! http://www.classiccottage.net is a maufacturer of bed crowns. I just love these. You've probably seen them over the beds of royalty and in places like the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, VA but now you can have one of your own! They're just pretty.
Well, I've got lots of time to tinker around with my new ideas. Sales for March were great but April tends to be a calmer month for me so I'm looking forward to spending time with just me and my paints. Until next time...
I've also got alot of new ideas for Stacie Dale Designs Inc. I'm working on some hand painted dresses and even considerng a new spin on an exisiting product. I also found a company I thought was really neat! http://www.classiccottage.net is a maufacturer of bed crowns. I just love these. You've probably seen them over the beds of royalty and in places like the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, VA but now you can have one of your own! They're just pretty.
Well, I've got lots of time to tinker around with my new ideas. Sales for March were great but April tends to be a calmer month for me so I'm looking forward to spending time with just me and my paints. Until next time...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
How It All Got Started
Many of my customers and friends ask me how I started Stacie Dale Designs Inc. so I thought I would give everyone a summary of how it all came to be. In 1992 ( wow, that long ago!) I graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia with a degree in fashion design. I went to work right away as an assistant designer for Alfred Angelo/Christian Dior bridals. I had always wanted to do childrenswear and so I left and started working at Flapdoodles, then SO Fun Inc. and then I started my own line of children's clothing called Seasons In The Sun. What a disaster that turned out to be but I learned so much about running a business that I would never ever want to give up that experience.
I married my husband, Doug in 1995 and went back to work at the only job I could find at the time making prison apparel and hospital gowns ( yes, I said prison apparel)...it was a low point in my career. Finally a job opened up at The Eagle's Eye where I went to work as a technical designer and I loved the people I worked with....but wasn't all that passionate about the job. While there, my friend Judy had a baby and I needed a gift for her. We didn't have much money back then so I got an unpainted toy chest and painted a Beatrix Potter design on it to match her nursery. After the baby shower, I started getting calls from people who had seen it or seen photos I had of the chest, and they wanted one too. I started selling smaller pieces of hand painted furniture to a kids store in Bryn Mawr, PA and also started painting murals in homes all while still working at the Eagle's Eye.
In 1998 I became preganant but sadly, had a miscarriage 5 months in to the pregnancy and decided not to return to work full-time. It was a time for taking a deep breath and making alot of tough decisions about what I wanted to do. A month later, Doug and I purchased our home and I continued to work a very part-time schedule at Eagle's Eye. A few months later, I became preganant again and in November of 1999 my son, Pierce was born. At my baby shower, a friend of mine gave me a cardboard keepsake box that had 2 tin containers for his first tooth and lock of hair. Ah-ha! It immediately gave me the idea to do hand-painted keepsake chests. This idea rolled around in my head until 2002. I was busy having my daughter, Katie, and raising 2 little children, going to pre-school and all that fun stuff new Moms get to do. In 2002, my friend Judy told me about her interior design website she had started and so, I decided to give the website idea a try as well (eventhough I'm not good with a computer at all!).
Three months after I opened my online store, I got my first order! The first year was slow and I wondered if this was the right avenue to go. But then, I found google adwords! My second year sales were double the first and the business has continued to grow ever since. I've made alot of changes along the way by adding a wholesale line, importing from China, getting the chests pre-painted white or ivory, etc. I love to paint. When I paint, I am able to block out everything that is going on around me and that is a wonderful place to be. I'm still learning every day but I love the challenge of creating something unique for my customers and being able to give them a special place to hold their keepsakes and memories.
I married my husband, Doug in 1995 and went back to work at the only job I could find at the time making prison apparel and hospital gowns ( yes, I said prison apparel)...it was a low point in my career. Finally a job opened up at The Eagle's Eye where I went to work as a technical designer and I loved the people I worked with....but wasn't all that passionate about the job. While there, my friend Judy had a baby and I needed a gift for her. We didn't have much money back then so I got an unpainted toy chest and painted a Beatrix Potter design on it to match her nursery. After the baby shower, I started getting calls from people who had seen it or seen photos I had of the chest, and they wanted one too. I started selling smaller pieces of hand painted furniture to a kids store in Bryn Mawr, PA and also started painting murals in homes all while still working at the Eagle's Eye.
In 1998 I became preganant but sadly, had a miscarriage 5 months in to the pregnancy and decided not to return to work full-time. It was a time for taking a deep breath and making alot of tough decisions about what I wanted to do. A month later, Doug and I purchased our home and I continued to work a very part-time schedule at Eagle's Eye. A few months later, I became preganant again and in November of 1999 my son, Pierce was born. At my baby shower, a friend of mine gave me a cardboard keepsake box that had 2 tin containers for his first tooth and lock of hair. Ah-ha! It immediately gave me the idea to do hand-painted keepsake chests. This idea rolled around in my head until 2002. I was busy having my daughter, Katie, and raising 2 little children, going to pre-school and all that fun stuff new Moms get to do. In 2002, my friend Judy told me about her interior design website she had started and so, I decided to give the website idea a try as well (eventhough I'm not good with a computer at all!).
Three months after I opened my online store, I got my first order! The first year was slow and I wondered if this was the right avenue to go. But then, I found google adwords! My second year sales were double the first and the business has continued to grow ever since. I've made alot of changes along the way by adding a wholesale line, importing from China, getting the chests pre-painted white or ivory, etc. I love to paint. When I paint, I am able to block out everything that is going on around me and that is a wonderful place to be. I'm still learning every day but I love the challenge of creating something unique for my customers and being able to give them a special place to hold their keepsakes and memories.
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