WOW!!! I'm on my way home from Salt Lake City from one of the most exciting Stampin' Up! events ever. As you probably know, I attended a very exclusive home office regional conference which doubled as a New Catalog Launch Party. The excitement was intense! Getting to Utah wasn't fun (I can't wait until USAirways adds the non-stop later this spring from Philly to SLC). I didn't get in to Utah until 2am on Saturday morning and we woke up around 6am to get ready for the regional. By the time I picked up my luggage, got my rental car, drove down to the hotel, and got to sleep, I only got 3 hours of sleep.
Saturday morning was pure giddiness. That's the only way I can describe it. Starting on Friday night I saw many of the SU employees posting that they were SO looking forward to going to work on a Saturday morning. Many of them worked 15 hours or more. I talked to several who said that many of the home office employees wanted to "work" on Saturday, but they didn't have capacity for them. Wouldn't you love to work for a company where you begged to come to work on a Saturday???
Anyway....starting around 7:15 we started lining up outside of the GORGEOUS home office. It's set in a valley between snowcovered mountains. Very picturesque. The doors opened at 8am, we got checked in, and made our way downstairs to wait in another line (swapping the whole time) at the doors of the warehouse. I'd been wondering where they'd put 375 of us. I'm sure none of you would be surprised if I told you that I (along with my sideline, Ilina Crouse) were first in line. We got some of the best seats in the house! Front row, center! It was such a fun, intimate environment. We could see boxes of products piled high in the warehouse just behind the stage. We were sitting under the conveyor belts that carry your orders through the warehouse before being shipped out. And, from the very beginning, we were teased with brand new products.
Much of the content of the regional was exactly as we saw in Baltimore, but the projects featured more new products than we saw in Baltimore. That's as much as I can say at this point (sorry). There were SO MANY Prize Patrols - including three all-attendee giveaways. We think we counted 9 or 10 Prize Patrols for 10 people each meaning 25% of those in attendance got bonus prizes. And, these were BETTER than regular regional prizes, in my opinion, and not just because they were brand new products. And, yes, I think I'm safe to say, all of the prize patrols contained brand new products! The final prize patrol was the new catalog! But, none of us really sat to look through it. As soon as it was given to us, they pulled back the side curtains and it was time to shop! We had the opportunity to buy some of the new products DAYS before other demonstrators. AND, we didn't have to pay shipping! I can't tell you what we were allowed to purchase.
But, let's back up a little bit because there were a couple of other FUN things that happened throughout the day. One that was particularly special for me. Unlike regular regional conferences, the presentations weren't done at tables. We sat "theater-style" in rows of chairs in the warehouse. Make and Takes were in the Atrium at round tables. Seriously...what a gorgeous area. I always love visiting the home office and seeing the atrium.
During our first round of Make and Takes (which were just like the regular regional make & takes but used new stamp sets), we were chatting with some of the other ladies at our table. I hadn't really looked up. We were focused on stamping (yes, I was actually making the make and takes). But, by listening to one of the conversations, I realized that one of the people at our table wasn't a demonstrator, but a member of the media attending the event. She told us that she was from a "local magazine". I giggle because that "local magazine" is probably the most popular paper crafting magazine in the industry. I immediately recognized her - Stacy Croninger from PaperCrafts Magazine.
I'd met Stacy on a couple of occasions. She plays a HUGE part in my Stampin' Up! history. Why? Because she introduced me to Stampin' Up! I've told the story before...back in 2006 I was attending a scrapbooking convention and decided to take a rubber stamping class to see what all of the hype was about. I'd never stamped before in my life. The class was taught by Stacy. The products were all Stampin' Up! I immediately fell in love with the quality of the products and raced home to buy some - only to discover they were a direct sales company. I rather reluctantly looked up a local demonstrator and contacted her, but she never called me back. A couple of weeks went by and I kinda forgot about Stampin' Up! until my aunt invited me to a Stampin' Up! party telling me that I didn't have to buy a thing. Well, I was elated! Here was my chance. I was the "dream customer". I had my wish list ready and even had friends who were ready to attend my own workshop (even before I met the demonstrator). That's where I met my dear friend, Claire, who introduced me to the benefits of joining Stampin' Up! I signed up almost immediately. My life has never been the same. Well, a few months later, I flew to Portland, Oregon for another scrapbooking convention hosted by the same company that hosted the one where I discovered Stampin' Up! This time I signed up for MANY card-making/stamping classes - some with Stacy Croninger. At one of the classes, I spoke with her and let her know that I'd joined Stampin' Up! because of her. I thanked her for the class and introducing me to SU - however, I'm not sure how much she really had to do with the fact that SU was providing the products. Fast forward to today and there I sat, at the same table with the person who introduced me to Stampin' Up! And, she remembered me! She said that she thought I looked familiar when I walked up to the table. Seriously - it's such a VERY SMALL WORLD. At lunch I asked her what she thought of the event. She's attended our conferences before. But, she said it was especially fun for her to watch all of our excitement as they unveiled new products. She also loved that Stampin' Up! showed us how to use the products in our business. It wasn't just about stamping.
Well, it was a long and tiring day. I really wish I could share more, but I'm not really allowed. I loved the small size and the ability to chat with SO MANY of the home office staff. I visited a couple of times with Shelli, chatted with her daughter Sara, and visited with so many of the friends I'd met from the free vacations I've earned. Even though I'd seen several of them the week before, I loved chatting more with Holly, Shannon, and Brian. I visited a little with Pam and Bonnie. I think I had the opportunity to catch up with more SU staff in Riverton than I do at an entire convention. It was such an intimate event and they loved having us in their "home" - they all said that. And, I know they all loved the opportunity to sleep in their own beds last night!
We were obviously itching to get our hands on the new catalog. I think we saw the cover in the first 5 minutes of the regional. The presenters shared pages and products in all of their presentations. I knew exactly why they waited until the very end to give us the catalog - they knew darn well that we wouldn't pay attention to a single thing after that. But, I think most of us immediately tucked that catalog safely away for later because it was time to shop. I was anxious to see how they'd set up the "shop till you drop" portion. They simply opened the black curtains to our left and in we went! If there's anything more exciting than getting the new catalog, it's having the opportunity to buy products 6 weeks before they're available to customers.
The area was lined with boxes of new (and some retiring) products. It wasn't as pretty as Memento Mall (it didn't have to be) but it was very much the same. We were handed shopping baskets and let loose. It was fun to just walk along and drop the products in our baskets. It got VERY heavy. Then we checked out. Again, just like Memento Mall, we lined up at the registers/computers with SU staff EXCITED to see us (and be working on a Saturday). I thanked the gal checking me out for giving up her Saturday. And, she too said that employees were practically BEGGING to work at the regional. Seriuosly, I need a job there. I tried to limit my purchases knowing that I had only about 70 pounds of room in my suitcases (I took two - one that was filled with bubble wrap on the way out). I purchased a "sampling" of everything so I could play as soon as I got home but I know I'll have a VERY long list of things to purchase in the very near future.
Ha ha....wouldn't you just LOVE to know what's in those bags!!! I took this picture a couple of times making sure you couldn't make out what was inside.
Of course Ilina and I stopped at "the rock" outside of the home office for a photo op as we were leaving. But, our day wasn't quite done just yet. We met up with some friends, other demonstrators, and even some home office employees for dinner at a local restaurant where we all compared how much we had spent! We were all so tired but the energy level was still very high.
After dinner, Ilina and I returned to our hotel where we put on our jammies and FINALLY paged through the beautiful, brand new Annual Catalog. I cannot wait to share it with you! It's SO gorgeous and I just want to recreate just about every single sample inside. But, can I just say, that nothing compares to experiencing a new catalog with a friend for the first time. And, I've been very lucky over the years to do just that - there in Riverton, or in Disney World, or in Alaska, or even at conventions and leadership conferences when they used to unveil the catalogs at those events. It's just fun to ooh and ahh with a friend and anxiously discover that your favorite products have stuck around for another year or the surprise of something new and exciting.
Do you want to see the catalog this week? All demonstrators have the opportunity to see the catalog and purchase some of the new products starting April 24th. AND, if you join Stampin' Up! you can get 30% off of your first purchase of $150 or more (and trust me, that's not hard to do). You'll enjoy at least a 20% discount on all of your purchases after that. AND...as a demonstrator, you can attend fun events like the one I attended yesterday. Right now, anyone who joins Stampin' Up! can choose any $155 products they want and only pay $99 (with FREE shipping). Why not join the fun?
I am so excited for you but still jealous! Glad you had such a fabulous experience.
Posted by: Dale Morin | April 21, 2013 at 07:04 PM
Thanks for sharing all this Kristin, was dying to hear all about it! WIll miss you in Fiji but hope you have a fantastic time on your "alternate" adventure :-) Brenda
Posted by: Brenda Marshall | April 21, 2013 at 11:20 PM