<p>We’ve been teasing you with hints about this year’s convention bag . . . and finally, the day has arrived!</p> <p>To start off, I want to show you what goes on before we hand you your bag at an event. </p> <p>It starts by taking an inventory of what types of bags we’ve had in the recent past: leadership bags, convention bags, Founder’s Circle bags, Grand Vacation bags—all of them. Then we take a look at what’s trending, what we think you’ll like, what we think you’ll use, and what we think will be most useful. </p> <p>Soon we have a pile that looks something like this.</p> <p><img width="500" height="378" title="Behind the scenes BAG1" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag1.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><em>Which bag do you think we chose?</em></p> <p>Let me tell you a little bit about the bag we chose and why it was chosen. First off, I wanted the bag to be useful to you. I wanted you to carry it on a regular basis. PLUS, I wanted it to be different from any bag we’ve done before.</p> <p>I believe we met all of those goals. </p> <p>Here’s what I’ll tell you about this year’s bag.</p> <ol> <li>It’s not big. It won’t hold all of your Make & Take supplies. It won’t even hold your catalog.</li> <li>It WILL hold your e-tablet. Not only that—it will protect it and keep it safe.</li> <li>It’s a FANTASTIC color. (Red . . . Real Red.)</li> <li>It has great pockets for your phone, your lanyard, your business cards—perhaps even a swap or two.</li> </ol> <p>Let me give you some advice: bring something else to put all of your swaps in, because this bag is what we farm girls might call “small and handy.” We would not call it “large and holds lots of stuff.”</p> <p>What’s our process for creating an event bag? First, we start asking around. </p> <p>Surveying. </p> <p>Getting opinions. (In case you wondered, Stampin’ Up! employees have <em>a lot</em> of opinions.) </p> <p>Finally, after we settle on the style, we decide on color(s), which pockets we want where, whether we should have zippers or buttons, etc.</p> <p>We work with the factory through the whole process.</p> <p>We get fabric swatches to approve both color and texture.</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG2" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag2.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>We get samples of the quilted fabric so we can decide how big to make the pattern.</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG3" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag3.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>We look at pulls samples.</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG4" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag4.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG5" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag5.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG6" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag6.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>Do we want a snap or a clip?</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG7" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag7.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG8" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag8.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>We get pictures from the factory along the way, and finally we receive our first sample. (We had <em>five</em> sample bags for Inspire. Create. Share. 2009.) </p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG9" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag9.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG10" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag10.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG11" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag11.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>We pick the bag apart and make a list of everything we want to change. Then we get a second sample.</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG12" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag12.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>We make another list, and wait for another sample.</p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG13" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag13.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG14" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag14.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>FINALLY, we get a draft of what we want. We send it off to the vendor where THEY take it all apart and figure out how to make 8,000 of them. </p> <p>We give the final “okay” only after we have seen a sample come through that is exactly the way we want it. Then, we wait for the pallets and pallets of bags to arrive in the warehouse. </p> <p>Want another sneak peek? Did you notice the pen in the photo of the inside? </p> <p><img title="Behind the scenes BAG15" src="http://stampinup.com/home/images/default-source/corporate-blog-posts/behind-the-scenes-bag15.jpg?sfvrsn=0"></p> <p>Not only is it a pen, it’s a stylus for your tablet!</p> <p>The only way to get one of these delightful little bags is to come to convention. Registration is open for demonstrators AND guests. Classes are filling fast, so register now! </p> <p>Not a demonstrator? Guess what, if you sign up to become a demonstrator BEFORE registration fills, you can come to convention for FREE. Yes, <em>FREE</em>. </p> <p>Yes, that means you can have this bag for FREE! </p> <p>Just ask your demonstrator how to sign up. We’ll see you soon in Salt Lake City!</p> <p>Angie G.<br>
Event Producer</p>