Just three months 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.
Visit
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
[email protected], or Julie Wagner, Sales
Representative, at
[email protected];
international companies should contact Andrew Morton, International Sales
Director,
[email protected].
