Helllo my fellow sewing and smocking friends~
Creative Smocking has finally entered the 21st century with our very own blog!
I am Tiffany Johansen. I am Cheryl' daughter but also the sidekick that keeps everything a float everyday Ha, Ha! My mom will also add her two cents!
Has anyone ever wondered how or why a nice little lady in Oregon owns the largest distribution smocking/sewing pattern company in the Country? Let me tell you a little about my mom!
My mom started this business 29 years ago and it goes something like this.....Mom met this very nice lady whose daughter was in my preschool. The very nice lady had recently moved from Georgia to Oregon and after learning that my mom enjoyed sewing she started telling her about Smocking. My mom with me in tote went to the Donovan's for her very first smocking lesson and was forever hooked! Living in Oregon nobody really knows about smocking (even today when I try to tell them what I do).....well as you can imagine any smocker soon starts making every imaginable dress for their little daughter......and I did have many, many little smocked dresses!
My mom started to wonder, "how could I market this idea, 'smocking'". So she started her own classes and at times would drive 2 hours away to teach smocking! Now, I don't remember this because I was probably 3 or 4 years old and cared more about playing cops and robbers or wonderwomen then my mom teaching her smocking classes! She also was one of several others who started SAGA!
Soon after, she started selling Read Pleaters. Her sales were so good she decided to add more products. She started with Mollie Jane Taylor, Lou Anne Lamar, Smocking Unlimited and the story goes on from there....Initially she had the business in her home but soon she moved out of her home into office space occupying 2,000 sq. ft of space. In 1995, she moved the business 3 hours away to Bend, Oregon and had been in 3 different spaces before once again finding a home for the business.
I became a crucial member of the Creative Smocking team after graduating from the University of Oregon in 2002, hence the "Go Ducks" during football season! I started as Chris's 2nd hand shipping clerk. I am now in charge of shipping, receiving, ordering, inventory and finding all of the new vendors and designers that we now carry! I also convinced my mother to be at the 2008 Spring Portland Quilt Market. In her younger years she would go to 3 or 4 shows a year and hadn't been in 10 years! I am so glad we went because it brought back memories for me (in pictures) of her at the shows and now I am carrying on the torch!
I have to say, I am truly blessed to have such a great job that I trully do enjoy going to every day!
I am continously adding new patterns and designers. If you find one you'd like us to carry please let me know and I will do everything I can do find it and get it for you! I know that you can go to some of the larger distributors but always remember we will give you that extra special service and you'll save on shipping when you can get all your supplies from us!
In my last note, in the future months look for "Creative Smocking's 'Little Sister' Loolabelles"!
***************
Our hope with the blog is to be informative of what is "Happening" at Creative Smocking! Currently our homepage is our only form of letting everyone know what is new, coming soon, etc! We will no longer have our top section devoted to "the Happenings" but instead a link to our blog.
Creative Smocking has finally entered the 21st century with our very own blog!
I am Tiffany Johansen. I am Cheryl' daughter but also the sidekick that keeps everything a float everyday Ha, Ha! My mom will also add her two cents!
Has anyone ever wondered how or why a nice little lady in Oregon owns the largest distribution smocking/sewing pattern company in the Country? Let me tell you a little about my mom!
My mom started this business 29 years ago and it goes something like this.....Mom met this very nice lady whose daughter was in my preschool. The very nice lady had recently moved from Georgia to Oregon and after learning that my mom enjoyed sewing she started telling her about Smocking. My mom with me in tote went to the Donovan's for her very first smocking lesson and was forever hooked! Living in Oregon nobody really knows about smocking (even today when I try to tell them what I do).....well as you can imagine any smocker soon starts making every imaginable dress for their little daughter......and I did have many, many little smocked dresses!
My mom started to wonder, "how could I market this idea, 'smocking'". So she started her own classes and at times would drive 2 hours away to teach smocking! Now, I don't remember this because I was probably 3 or 4 years old and cared more about playing cops and robbers or wonderwomen then my mom teaching her smocking classes! She also was one of several others who started SAGA!
Soon after, she started selling Read Pleaters. Her sales were so good she decided to add more products. She started with Mollie Jane Taylor, Lou Anne Lamar, Smocking Unlimited and the story goes on from there....Initially she had the business in her home but soon she moved out of her home into office space occupying 2,000 sq. ft of space. In 1995, she moved the business 3 hours away to Bend, Oregon and had been in 3 different spaces before once again finding a home for the business.
I became a crucial member of the Creative Smocking team after graduating from the University of Oregon in 2002, hence the "Go Ducks" during football season! I started as Chris's 2nd hand shipping clerk. I am now in charge of shipping, receiving, ordering, inventory and finding all of the new vendors and designers that we now carry! I also convinced my mother to be at the 2008 Spring Portland Quilt Market. In her younger years she would go to 3 or 4 shows a year and hadn't been in 10 years! I am so glad we went because it brought back memories for me (in pictures) of her at the shows and now I am carrying on the torch!
I have to say, I am truly blessed to have such a great job that I trully do enjoy going to every day!
I am continously adding new patterns and designers. If you find one you'd like us to carry please let me know and I will do everything I can do find it and get it for you! I know that you can go to some of the larger distributors but always remember we will give you that extra special service and you'll save on shipping when you can get all your supplies from us!
In my last note, in the future months look for "Creative Smocking's 'Little Sister' Loolabelles"!
***************
Our hope with the blog is to be informative of what is "Happening" at Creative Smocking! Currently our homepage is our only form of letting everyone know what is new, coming soon, etc! We will no longer have our top section devoted to "the Happenings" but instead a link to our blog.
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