Industry News

Members and business partners of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) teamed up to improve the appearance of windows damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that remain covered by plywood. They volunteered to provide large-format graphics for unused storefronts on Canal Street, one of the most heavily trafficked streets in New Orleans.

The colorful graphics depicting the food, music, architecture and culture of New Orleans began to appear in late 2007. The project includes more than 80 4-by-8-foot panels.

Alcan Composites USA donated approximately 100 sheets of the company’s Dibond graphic display board to the initiative. Dibond is a rigid, durable aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core.

Max Hoyt of PIXUS Digital Printing in Lafayette contributed digital printing services, and Ann and Gordon Brown, cofounders of Colorado-based New Vista Image, digitally printed the New Orleans culture-inspired graphics.

Alvin and Company has named Jaime Echt product manager of its Blue Hills Studio brand. Jaime has over 18 years of experience in the creative design and crafts industry. She has owned and operated her own scrapbook and creative arts store, as well as designed and developed her own line of popular lettering and doodling templates, papers, and embellishments under the Crafter’s Workshop brand name. Blue Hills Studio broadens Alvin’s product offerings and preservation expertise into the paper arts markets, including scrapbooking and cardmaking.

Speedball Art has completed the acquisition of Houston Art, a manufacturer of art and craft products located in Texas. Houston Art was established in 1965, and is recognized for its Mona Lisa, Messenger and Athena brands and its strong position in both art and craft markets.

Started in 1899, Speedball has been a trusted name for quality products for over a century.

Houston Art will continue to operate as normal in Houston for the next few months. Eventually, the entire business will be transferred to Speedball’s 220,000-square-foot facility in Statesville, North Carolina.

The Craft and Hobby Association’s 2008 Winter Convention & Trade Show, held February 10 through 13 in Anaheim, attracted more than 14,280 attendees representing all industry categories. It was the second-best attended in CHA history, about 9 percent down from the record-breaking 2007 Winter Show. As the largest exhibition of its kind in the world, the 2008 CHA Winter Show welcomed 5,754 buyers from more than 61 different countries.

This year, CHA divided its attendees into three categories: exhibitor personnel, buyers and a new category, business networkers. Business networkers include attendees that, while not buying or exhibiting, contribute to the business done at the show. There were 1,528 business networkers in attendance that included designers, non-exhibiting manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, teachers, publishers and service providers, as well as 299 members of the press.

The 2008 CHA Summer Convention and Trade Show will return to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, July 18 to 20.

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