CHA, My Mind's Eye, and lots of chatter!

We have an odd assortment of things to tell you about today, and while at first glance they seem to have nothing in common, they actually all tie together in the craziness that is SG right now!

We're heading to CHA (Create-n-Connect):
• Karin and Stacey and I will be heading to Las Vegas Monday for CHA. While we used to go to both shows each year, it's been a while since we've attended. We're looking forward to seeing all the beautiful new products, and Stacey is absolutely thrilled (wink) to be going to Vegas with her mother and her aunt! We really hate it that our partner in crime -- Allison Davis -- won't be able to go with us this time, but we'll try to make sure that doesn't happen again!

No shipping next week:
• Because we'll be out of town, all online orders after Saturday, July 20 at midnight CST will ship on Monday, July 29. (Our trip doesn't affect the Super Sketch Club -- it will ship at its regular time!)

Online store expansion progress:
• In the next couple of days, we'll be seeing -- for the first time -- the e-commerce website we hired a professional firm to design for us. As quickly as possible, we'll be suggesting any revisions necessary. We don't have a date yet for completion, but we'll work as quickly as possible to get everything finalized.

First CHA product release:
• My Mind's Eye has been invaluable in helping us launch our bigger, better online store. Our contact, K.C., has been excited about our online expansion and has been doing everything possible to help us start off with a bang!
• My Mind's Eye is shipping us ALL its new collections before CHA even starts! This means SG will be one of the first anywhere to receive the new goodies. Collections include Cut & Paste, Chalk Studio, Happy Haunting, Mistletoe Magic, and Vintage Christmas. To see them, click here.
• Although our new all-the-bells-and-whistles-website isn't ready just yet, we're going to give you a glimpse of what SG can do. We plan to show you that we want to be your local scrapbook store -- virtually!
• Starting Monday, July 22 at 10 am CST, all the new My Mind's Eye collections will go live in our current online store.
• The first 25 people who order at least $30 of the new My Mind's Eye products will receive two free gifts: a $30 paper assortment (donated by MME) and a 6x6 MME paper pad, a $6 value.
• The next 25 people who order at least $30 of the new MME products will receive a 6x6 MME paper pad.
• The third set of 25 people who order at least $30 of the new MME products will receive an assortment of 10 die-cut titles and journaling blocks by MME.
• All orders placed during the week we're gone to CHA will ship on Monday, July 29.

More online information:
• As promised, we'll be carrying full collections, because we know that is important to so many of you. We'll also try to have plenty of collection packs, and enough of the more popular embellishments so that they don't sell out overnight.
• At first, we won't be able to carry every collection from every company. That will come over time. We've had great success with growth at a manageable rate, and that is the path we will continue to follow.
• There may be some lines that we offer through collection packs only, especially in the beginning. We'll be able to offer more choices that way, without over-extending ourselves.
• As soon as we return from CHA, we'll let you know all the collections we ordered, and the approximate arrival dates.

Effect on our brick and mortar store and local customers:
• Right now, we plan to offer all the collections we order in both our online store and in our Springfield location, although there may be an occasional exception.
• Often, simply because of logistics, products may be available online before they are available in our physical store. Local customers always have the chance to shop just as quickly as anyone else and take advantage of any special offers, like the one detailed above, by choosing the free "pick-up" option when selecting shipping for an online order.