You have let us know loud and clear that you’re in love with Green Thumb! Thank-you for all of your support, emails and of course, orders! Our little company is growing by leaps and bounds with each new release, and we are SO grateful to our customers for that! Allison asked through the comments section of yesterday’s post about what it is like for us at midnight when a new set is revealed. I thought that would be a fun question to answer. (Sorry, no project today! I have to get the June stamp set designed AND Paper Crafts assignments done this week!)
Jane & Julie (my business partners) are up in Cincinnati, while I am in Tennessee. Julie is the center of attention the evening of a reveal because she is our web master. For the first 4-5 hours leading up to midnight, Julie and I are on the phone. (Yes, I said hours, and we pretty much don’t get off the phone with one another unless we need a bathroom break!) I design all the web elements, email them to her and she places them and makes sure everything runs smoothly and is easy to maneuver. During these marathon phone calls, we always come up with great ideas, such as the Guest Star Stamper contest and the Come Grow With Us program. Around 11:45pm, Jane (Julie’s mom) calls her cell. Julie has both her land-line and cell at the same time! (I know, we need to look into 3-way calling!). But it is at that point that the anticipation and excitement is more then we can bear! Did we get everything done? Is everything linked correctly? How will the customers react to this set? Do we have enough in stock? Are we REALLY ready? And than Julie let’s us know that it is time to upload. We wait to hear the infamous "REFRESH" from her, and get the first glimpse of all that is new on the site. The SECOND the updated site is uploaded the orders start coming in! This particular reveal we had over 50 orders placed within the first 30 minutes, and they just kept coming even after that! It was VERY exciting. Then I have "splitcoast" duty! It is my job to head over to the splitcoast message boards to get a feeling of what the customers think of the set. I read all the comments to Julie & Jane. Meanwhile, Jane keeps an eye on the orders and updates us every couple of minutes with the numbers. Julie mans the customer service emails, helping you with order issues, questions or mishaps. Around 12:45am we do a little celebratory cheer. Yawn collectively, bid each other good night (and Jane ALWAYS tells Julie & I to "sleep tight"), exhausted we hang up and GO TO BED! I have say though, it is always tough to go right to sleep after all that excitement, even though I am incredibly tired!
So that is what happens in the "moments" before a reveal! So, on April 15th, when you are waiting for the next debut, keep in mind that Jane, Julie & I are waiting with you. And maybe by then, we’ll even have 3-way calling!
BTW,if you haven’t already heard, be sure and check out Gina K’s new stamp set that debuted in unison with ours. Her set is designed on behalf of Autism Awareness month. $8 per set will be donated to this worthy cause! Go here for more information.
I’m going out of town for a few days but will be back at the end of the week. Many of you will receive your Green Thumb stamp sets while I’m gone! Be sure to post a link here if you create anything with your new "toys"! I would love to see what you create!
I love that little behind the scenes sneak peek. I assumed that all the stamp sets were designed, produced and sitting in boxes — meaning the next 5 or 6. I had no idea you ran with such short deadlines!! Wow.
Ha! What fun…I think I would be squealing with delight as I saw each order stacking up. I know I ordered mine right away…I can’t imagine how many others waited up in anticipation…grins!
It’s so nice to see the faces behind the scene. What an exciting process! Thanks for sharing this story, and to Allison for bringing it up. 🙂
Nichole, it’s so nice to see your business partners! And I love to hear the behind the scenese actions. Wow!!!! I was at a 3 day scrapbooking retreat with my friends over the weekend…..so I made my husband get up and order my set for me!! I called him at day break and he answered the phone by saying, *Yes dear, I ordered your stamp set!* Ha ha!!!!
I love the behind the scenes stories. It’s so interesting how things work. Keep the stories coming!
I truly love the products you’ve poured your hearts into. Thanks for blessing the world with your creativity.
Kellie
thanks for sharing this peek behind the scenes–i was wondering the same thing as i ordered. i didn’t pay attention to your time zone and was stamping away, so i think i missed the actual reveal, but ordered pretty soon after!
That was great reading! Thanks for sharing those final moments with all of us!
And thank you SO much for mentioning GinaK’s new set in your post! We’re so excited about it! It is SUPER sweet of you to help spread the word! As the mom of an autistic child, THANK YOU!!!
What a fabulous Q&A!! I’ve wondered about this but NEVER thought to ask. Thanks sooooooo much for revealing this behind-the-scenes activity. I thought that I was the only nut doing a countdown until 12am and excited as can be.
It was wonderful to actually “Hear” the behind the scenes information–I love to learn about the full story. But Nichole, I am most impressed by the fact that you mentioned Gina K’s stamp set too. It is for a good cause. You are a fabulous person! I am and have been a big fan of yours for a while. Thank you for being you! And btw, I am LOVING your stamps too!!!
Alli
That was fun to read about. I bet it is fun, exciting & tiring all at the same time. I can’t wait to get my Green Thumb set. Ida
Oh, this is an awesome post! I was getting all excited and anxious just reading it!! Ha! I’ve got to tell you too that I am LOVING all of the Papertrey stamp sets! The quality is awesome and the designs are sooo lovely! Laura
What a fun look behind the scenes! I’ve been a huge fan of yours since I first noticed your designs in Papercrafts when I began to stamp seriously a couple years ago! I’m excitedly looking forward to getting the last two sets that I bought on Sunday! I love their fresh look and just can’t wait to play!
Wow, what fun to hear the behind the scenes action! I was one of those who ordered just a few minutes after the reveal, I just couldn’t wait! Looking forward to the next reveal! Can’t wait to get my Green Thumb set in my hands and play!
Oh, what fun! Thanks for giving us a play-by-play. It’s so nice to get to know you personally, imagine the anticipation and excitement in those few hours, and feel as though we’re a part of it all. Thanks! (Love the set, gals, I just don’t have the budget this month to order it!)
I ordered both Butterfly wishes and Green thumb. I can’t wait for their arrival. They are so fresh. I’m excited to begin working with them. Thanks for the play by play. Love to hear how people express their creativity. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Lisa 🙂
Very interesting behind the scenes. I would be curious on how many you sell in the first week on average?
Congratulations on your success!
I love hearing behind the scenes stuff…i’m always so curious! Your products are amazing and I can’t wait to see what is to come!
Nicole, I am so proud of all you are accomplishing. You GO girl!
Thanks for sharing…I imagine that you all must have such a wonderful, if not exhausting, time getting ready for a release. I continue to just adore my first stamp set from PAPERTREYink (Butterful Kisses) and just received notification that Green Thumb has been shipped! I can’t wait to receive my second set and to start playing. You’ve all done a wonderful job with design and the product. Love it all!
I love knowing the details of you exciting business. What exactly does the “text” mean in text acrylic stamps?
Love your story of the minutes after midnight! I LOVE my set! Here’s the first thing I’ve created with it. I’m hoping to play more! Thanks for designing such wonderful stamps! http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/2007/04/got-my-green-thumb.html
I couldn’t WAIT to get these stamps inky!! Mine arrived yesterday and here’s what I made!
http://trudee.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2007/04/05/verdigris-green-thumb/
my stamps are here! and i did some very quick playing when i should have been sleeping…
http://confetti.typepad.com/confetti/2007/04/quick_stamping.html
🙂 lexi
Nicole this was so interesting! Thanks for letting us know the story behind the scenes. I received my new set yesterday and am in love!! This was my very first time using acrylic stamps – wonderful!!!! I’ve posted 2 cards today, hope you like!
http://www.stampinwithjulie.blogspot.com
How exciting for all of you, it was fun to read a little peek into the evening of a big reveal. You guys do great work and know that we appreciate it all!
I just received my first sets yesterday – I just had to get them after seeing all the wonderful samples!
Well, let me tell you – the packaging alone is enough reason to get them – LOL! When they came in I was just thrilled. You can tell these ladies love their work – each stamp set was even packaged nicely in the shipping box – when does that ever happen!?!
Also I received my order in a very timely manner – which is always a plus!
I cannot wait to use the sets! Hopefully I will have time this weekend.
Thank You – I look forward to ordering more sets!
Hi Nichole,
Congratulations on your huge success! I read many of the PaperTrey threads at SCS and everything is always so positive and great. Your stamps are wonderful and from what I hear, your customer service rocks! And I do have a certain affection for your design team as well! LOL!
Amy R. just emailed me to let me know that you posted about my Autism stamp set. (I’ve been a little to busy to surf around lately myself and I appreciate Amy pointing this our to me.) I wanted to personally and publicly say THANK YOU SO MUCH! When stampers of your status are willing to share this kind of information it shows kindess, caring and total class!!! Class all the way. I wish you every success with your new company and thanks again for sharing what we do, right in the middle of your own spotlight.
Like I said…class.
Gina K.
Gina K. Designs.LLC
Stamps for a cause
…having *way* too much fun, Nichole, LOL!! http://trudee.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2007/04/07/happy-birthday-beate-julia/
Got my new sets on Thursday. I was pleasantly surprise at the speed. I’ve not had time to play, but I’ve longingly looked at them!!! LOL!