WeScrap

Men move from making movies to scrapbooking

BY ERIC LEACH, Staff Writer

Inoue and Bilsland both worked in the motion picture industry, he doing pyrotechnic effects and Bilsland animatronics. The two entrepreneurs saw a need for a paper organizer to make files readily visible and accessible at movie studios and decided to design and market one on their own.

But when they went to trade shows to sell their new product, the two Simi Valley men started meeting women who told them that with minor modifications, their organizer would be good for scrapbooking.

"We looked into the industry and found that it was really huge," Inoue said. "We went ahead and designed our product to adapt to the scrapbooking industry."

From there it was a snowball effect as they met more scrapbookers who led them to open a store in Simi Valley this spring, with the name E.B.B. Creations based on Bilsland's initials.

Now they sell hundreds of items that can be used in scrapbooking along with 20 workstations where scrapbookers can gather to produce their books and share ideas. Each station has a cupholder and electrical outlets for heat guns, glue guns, die cutters and even sewing machines.

"We found friends who scrapbook and started picking their brains about what was hot," said Inoue of the mostly women scrapbookers.

"It's a very social group of people, very welcoming and friendly."

He said the spirit of cooperation extends to the crafts stores in the area that also sell scrapbooking supplies, with customers going from store to store looking for products to fulfill their individual creative visions.

Bilsland said what goes on in the world of scrapbooking sometimes seems "stranger than fiction."

"We even had a Web customer from Mexico who walked in the door here one day," Bilsland said. "Here in the U.S. the industry is pretty well-established. But it is a burgeoning industry in Norway, Japan and all over the world — Mexico, Finland, Brazil. Before we opened this store we had more Norwegian customers than customers in California."

Bilsland said his female customers ask him and Inoue all the time if their wives scrapbook, and are surprised to learn they do not.

"Our customers can't believe it, because to them this is like a candy store," he said. "For some it's more of an art thing than just a hobby. They are putting a lot of individual effort into what are really works of art, one of a kind. You can't reproduce these things. You are only limited by your imagination."

One of the customers in E.B.B. Creations recently was Sheila Fernandez of Simi Valley, who said she and her husband, Alfredo, are helping to make scrapbooking more popular among boys through the Cub Scouts.

"I do it because I want to document my family's history, so in the future my children can remember this is our family and this is our history," Fernandez said.

"... We did a wonderful Cub Scout scrapbook project, and the boys just loved it. We explained how important it was — your history. There are more boys and men getting involved in it, because they can see the importance of it."

Inoue said he has had only a few men walk into his shop, including a brawny biker who came in recently to find rub-on letters for his motorcycle.

But all sorts of women are interested in scrapbooking, including stay-at-home mothers and women in a variety of occupations, including doctors.

The more they learn about scrapbooking, the more they see the possibilities, Inoue said.

People can make careers out of scrapbooking, submitting their layouts to manufacturers of various scrapbooking materials who are looking for people to promote their products.

Some scrapbookers have their work featured in magazines, in books and on the Internet.

"They might wind up traveling across the country promoting a product by teaching classes," Inoue said. "The avenues in scrapbooking are incredible."

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Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602
[email protected]

Legend Male Scrappers!

Mark Twain Was A Scrapbooking Addict
By Kathy Williams

Scrapbooking can frequently be viewed as a woman's hobby. There are however, many instances throughout the long history of this popular craft where men have played significant roles in developing the art that is loved by millions of hobbyists today. Unfortunately, the pull for men in scrapbooking was often the money, while there is plenty of evidence that some of them truly did enjoy scrapbooking as a hobby. Here are some of the finer achievements of men in scrapbooking history.

- In the mid 1800's, London based "W. H. Rock" began producing leather albums with pre-printed pages of flowers and birds. These albums became popular for scrapbooking hobbyists.

- In 1857, the production of "carte-de-vista" albums, containing photograph pockets, became popular.

- Mark Twain, best known for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn invented "Mark Twain's Adhesive Scrapbook" with pre-pasted pages. This idea was one of his most loved business adventures, possibly because it earned him over $50,000. Don't be too easily fooled, however, because Mark Twain enjoyed scrapbooking so much that he devoted his Sunday afternoon to keeping his scrapbooking albums up to date.

- Thomas Jefferson was an addicted scrapbooker. His albums included news clippings, drawings, and dried leaves. Men in the eighteenth century helped to produce "Dutch Gilt" or "Dutch Flowered Papers" (lithography or stenciling in Holland or Germany) using wood, metal, or blocks. Originally intended to line cupboards, these patterns quickly became a favorite in the scrapbooks of the day.

- In the 1870's companies began mass producing embossed paper for use in scrapbooking albums.

- While stickers, iron-on letters, buttons, rubber stamps, and metal accents are used today in scrapbooking, the Prang Company developed "album cards" for use in scrapbooks of the nineteenth century. These sets of ten cards were pictures of birds, flowers, or landscapes to be used in scrapbooks.

- Most nineteenth century scrapbooks have "calling cards" in them. These decorated cards were left by guests at the host's home. They eventually made their way into many scrapbooks because of the fond memories of wonderful parties and dances, not just by women, but, as you have already guessed, by men.

Kathy Williams loves scrapbooking and rubber stamping. She currently spends much of her time in her online rubber stamp store Rubber Stamping Fun

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Williams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Mark-Twain-Was-A-Scrapbooking-Addict&id=120667

A Gift for my Wife

Editor's Note: Lonnie is not a regular scrapbooker, but here's his story about making a gift scrapbook for his wife for their anniversary.

On the day we met, August 18th, 1997, Barb cooked me tatter-tot casserole for supper.  It was the best I ever had.  The care she took to make the meal right gave me the impression that everything she did was an expression of love.  Later that evening we stopped by her folk's house and I was struck by the unfathomable amount of rubber stamps and various other "crafty" things there was in the house.  I soon learned that Barb also was a crafty person, though through the early years it was primarily card making.  Perhaps on account of the brevity of our courtship and subsequent engagement (we were married October 4th, 1997), the memory of our first meal and the overwhelming amount of craft paraphernalia were inseparably joined in my mind and I realized that if I wanted the food she would get the crafts. 

As the years went by Barb's interests turned from card making to scrapbooking.  Probably nothing sparked her appetite for scrap booking so much as the "challenges" on the her favorite scrapbooking website. This last June when the kids were finally out of school, Barb developed the bad habit of staying up until 2:00 or 4:00AM finishing a page for a challenge.  However, not one to shirk her loving wifely care for her husband, Barb took to preparing my lunch and leaving me notes about where to find it or what to take.  After seeing her bagillionth scrapbook page it dawned on me that those notes she leaves me in the mornings would make some good scrapbooking material (except they're not "acid-free"!).  I quickly realized how vain it would be for her to use them herself and the thought crossed my mind that I could use them to make her a scrapbook page. 

I wrestled with the thought for quite some time until about a week before our 9th anniversary I decided that I would go for it.  I figured she might appreciate the gesture even if I couldn't make it as fancy as she makes hers.  On the day of our anniversary (Oct. 4th) I went to The Stampin And Scrappin Pad in Marion, IA where a very patient lady named, Laginia Meyer, helped me select the appropriate paper and embellishments.  She guided me through the process and I have to admit it wasn't nearly as painful as I had originally anticipated, though it did take twice as long as I thought it would.  I don't know that I will be making any more pages (the romantic novelty of a scrapbooking husband wears off quick), nor can I say I fully understand the mentality that would cause a woman to coordinate six children's clothing with the latest style of scrapbooking paper on the market, but I do have a new appreciation for the art of scrapbooking as a hobby.

Who Was He Anyway?

Men who scrapbook are the most under-represented scrapbookers in the industry. Ironically, it's the men who scrap who can contribute perspectives which most scrapbookers haven't ever thought about.  Contributed by NSA member Frank, this is our first article for our feature 'Men Who Scrap':

 

Ever wonder if sometime in the future your family members will ask that question? And you won’t be around to provide an answer? Well, that’s where my life took a sharp turn a few years ago.

You see, I began to realize, as I sat in the doctor’s office yet again, that as I was getting older, my health wasn’t where it should be for someone my age. I was forced to deal with the inevitable truth that someday, it’ll be my turn. And there was no telling how soon my turn would come up.

So I sat there and asked myself the question, “When I’m gone, will anyone remember me? Will they know what I was all about?” I came to the grave realization that the answer was a resounding “No”. Of course this lead me to explore the “why” and “why not” aspect of those questions. The answer was simple. I hadn’t allowed anyone to get to know me.

Having grown up in a very dysfunctional family, I moved away from home at the age of 17, and never looked back. You see, my family had high expectations of me, and I found that at the age of 17, I was ill-prepared to cope with that situation. So, I began to make a life of my own. It’s been a life rich with experiences, both good and bad. But it’s been my life, nonetheless.

So I decided to do something to change the answer to the question that I had originally asked myself. I decided to start scrapping a few years ago. Much to my chagrin, I had a huge learning curve, as I was years behind everyone else.

As I began to delve into the hobby, I realized that there weren’t products available to me, which actually represented who I am. You see, I’m ½ Italian, ½ latino, and a gay male. Of course when you look at my ethnic backgrounds, you can well imagine that I’m the “black sheep” of the family. No longer were there huge expectations on my shoulders weighing me down. Those were replaced by years of guilt and silence from my family members. But eventually, time took a toll, and my family has slowly started to make amends.

It was during this time, that I took it upon myself to collect all the photos of my family, and put them all on CDs for them and their children. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to scrap them, because I couldn’t find scrapbook embellishments, papers, etc. which were representative of us. So I had to settle with simple photo CDs.

After finishing that project, I began to scrapbook my own pictures. My OWN life, and that of my wonderful partner of nearly 6 years. However, once again, I was unable to find product which represented ME. Who I am.  So I began to search high and low for products, to no avail.  I became more and more frustrated.

Of course, my partner tried to reassure me that all would be well. He reminded me that not only is it difficult to find product to represent US, but that it was just as difficult finding product that represented men in general.

He also reminded me that I’ve made great strides in our local area, overcoming the glares and catty comments that I would receive upon entering a local shop. I recall being told that I “didn’t belong”, that scrapping was “for women only”. I also remember the frightening experience of attending my first class. The instructors didn’t know what to make of me. Of course that didn’t bother me as much as the thought of being “run out of the store” by the other attendees. I remember not being able to concentrate on my first class, as I was too concerned with having to grab my stuff and make a run for the door. Sometimes, I still feel that way, when I’m not in my comfort zone.

Now, I look back at those days now, and get a chuckle out of them. So, as I continue to struggle to find my “place”, and “representative product”, I realize that within the local scrapbook community, they DO know who I am. They know what I’m about. They get it. I just wish that the larger scrapbook community would “get it” too.

Now if I can only get my family to “get it”. In the hope that one day, my nephews and nieces can say “Hey, do you remember Uncle Frank? Let’s go look at his scrapbooks again, he had some funny stories to tell.”

That, is what it’s all about…the stories. MY life stories.

Are you a man who scraps? We'd love to hear from you!