Craft & Hobby Association Debuts Influencer Program to Grow New Brand in 2017
Elmwood Park, New Jersey (PRWEB) October 26, 2016 -- Just three month after the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) revealed the rebranding of its annual creative industry event, Creativation, the Association announces its blogger influencer program, “CHA Influencers”. CHA has partnered with 11 bloggers to create online buzz and drive attendance for Creativation, which will take place January 19-23, 2017 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. CHA Influencers are recognized experts in their crafts and have a significant reach of creative arts businesses and consumers.
“2017 will be a transformative year for CHA,” says Maureen Walsh, Vice President of Membership and Marketing, CHA. “As the provider of education, community and creativity for the entire supply chain of the creative products industries, we intend to become a more valuable resource for our membership, Creativation attendees and exhibitors, and the entrepreneurs breaking into our industry. We are happy to have 11 talented bloggers who will help us communicate all of the excitement and change coming over the next several months.”
Meet the CHA Influencers:
- Simone Collins has worked in the craft industry for the past 12 years in almost every way. She started a blog in 2015, and worked in a variety of roles including Chief Content Officer for a major digital publisher. Currently, she is running her own digital marketing business serving brands, bloggers, and businesses with their online strategies. When she isn't online, you can find her baking treats for her boys, playing with her pups, or strumming out some 80s pop hits on her ukulele.
- Kathy Cano-Murillo is an author, artist and founder of the award-winning site, CraftyChica.com. She uses social media to spread the gospel of glitter – literally through her DIY projects and figuratively through her speeches, workshops, books and essays. A former reporter for The Arizona Republic, she is now a full-time creativepreneur, which has led to partnerships with Coca-Cola, HSN, HP, WordPress, Disney and many others. She has authored seven craft books and two novels, and has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and more. Her “Mexi-boho” art and product lines have been carried in hundreds of shops across the country. Kathy is Mexican-American, a native Phoenician, mom of two and wife, with five Chihuahuas!
- Amanda Formaro is a well-known craft designer and blogger with over 20 years in the craft industry. She has authored five craft books for kids, developed a line of craft kits, and is well known for creating projects with easy instructions that anyone can follow. She loves to create, finds relaxation through a paintbrush and blogs over at CraftsbyAmanda.com.
- Amber Kemp Gerstel is the crafty, sassy founder and Creative Director behind Damask Love a blog all about doable DIY. In her four years of blogging, Amber has partnered with Canon, Cricut, Martha Stewart, Home Depot, The Container Store, Home Goods, Coca-Cola, Minted and Shutterfly. She has been featured on Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Apartment Therapy and in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. Damask Love was named one of the Top 17 DIY Blogs by Domino Magazine and Top 10 DIY blogs by Better Homes and Garden's Magazine. Amber currently works as an on-air craft expert on the Home Shopping Network. Most recently, Amber was named Ultimate DIY Star by The Hallmark Channel's Home & Family Show. She has also appeared on Lifetime Network's The Balancing Act and HGTV Magazine.
- Jen Goode is an Illustrator and the owner of JGoode Designs, a Colorado-based design studio. She is a licensed artist and product designer with over 20 years of experience, creating art for a variety of commercial uses. Jen’s passion for sharing ideas has earned her the opportunity to partner with many national brands. Her work has been featured in multiple publications and her art has generated over $1 million in sales. Along with crafty ideas, Jen geeks about food, travel and affiliate marketing, sharing her insight at 100Directions.com.
- Angie Holden has blogged for over six years on The Country Chic Cottage where she shares crafts, DIY projects, and recipes. She has managed to grow her social media audience to over 800,000 followers and growing. Angie has worked with a variety of large brands over the years both on her site and freelance writing on other sites. You can see more of her work and accomplishments at AngieHolden.com.
- Heather Valentine is creating a buzz, armed with a design degree from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and 20 years of apparel industry experience. Her main goal is to promote awareness, provide education and above all encourage the community to move the needle forward. When not sharing easy tips and simple projects to improve your everyday sewing on her blog TheSewingLoft.com, you can find her teaching in local shops and developing new patterns to share with her growing community. This self-proclaimed fabric hoarder likes to stitch the night away and dreams of one day discovering a better way to detangle her thread collection.
- Carolina Moore left her career in marketing to stay home with her two young boys, but she never imagined that her crafting and sewing passions would turn into a career out of her home. Her problem-solving mind enjoys finding creative solutions, which led her to create the time-centered crafting site 30MinuteCrafts.com, where she shares crafts for all ages that can be created in 30 minutes or less. You'll also find her at AlwaysExpectMoore.com in addition to freelance writing and creating for many major brands.
- Hannah Silvani and Rosie Scott are the crafty duo behind The New Craft House. Their blog and range of craft kits aim to encourage younger people to learn traditional craft skills, like knitting and sewing. Friends since going to school together in Germany, they now work from their studio on the canal in London. You can find them scheming up new craft kits, running workshops and writing tutorials for craft magazines.
- Adrianne Surian is a West Michigan author and artist with a passion for creativity. She’s been a maker all her life, and launched her website in 2011 as a place to share hour-or-less crafts. Happy Hour Projects initially began as a hobby blog, but opened the door to becoming a full time designer and writer. She is now part of several craft and jewelry design teams and she has published two craft books (DIY T-Shirt Crafts, 2015, and DIY Stamped Metal Jewelry, 2016). When she isn’t in the studio, you can find Adrianne living on lattes, making sock puppets with her kids, and squeezing in time with a good book or a good friend whenever she can. She’s still waiting for the laundry fairy to visit.
- Angel Hickman Peterson has a bachelor’s degree in Film Studies from the University of Utah and a professional background in film, television, radio and ad production. In 2011, she started FleeceFun.com, a sewing and craft blog. She loves helping small businesses get their start. Without a big budget, you have to get creative and that’s a fun challenge. Angel currently divides her time between her online video training blog, DIYVideoforBloggers.com; her online sewing and crafting blog, FleeceFun.com; her two girls; little boy; husband; and on very good days also manages to get the dishes done.
Follow the CHA Influencers as they share exclusive news and exciting programs about Creativation via the #CHAShow and @Creativation hashtags. Access their social media handles at http://www.creativationshow.org/media/cha-influencers.
Visit http://www.CreativationShow.org for more information and to register to attend Creativation. For exhibiting and sponsorship information, U.S. companies should contact Nadine Schwartz, Director of Sales and Sponsorships, at nschwartz(at)craftandhobby(dot)org, or Julie Wagner, Sales Representative, at jwagner(at)craftandhobby(dot)org; international companies should contact Andrew Morton, International Sales Director, atamorton(at)craftandhobby(dot)org.
ABOUT THE CRAFT & HOBBY ASSOCIATION
The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) is an international non-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products in the worldwide craft and hobby industry. For more information about CHA, membership or its Creativation Show, visit http://www.craftandhobby.org.
Kristen Farrell, Craft & Hobby Association, +1 201-835-1209, [email protected]
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