ACOT Message Board

Got this email this morning, thought I would pass it along if anyone is doing creative memories albums. Just an FIY.
[table] [tr] [td] [table] [tr] [td] [/td][/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td] [td] [/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr] [tr] [td] Hi Jennifer!
Hello Every One,

I would like to let you know that Creative Memories is in the process of going through some big changes. I am still not sure of all the details but I want you all to be aware.

Please help me spread the word to friends/family who have worked with Creative Memories in the past. ALL CM traditional scrapbooking products are WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. This fall Creative Memories will be re-launching with a simple product line focusing on the same mission – helping you savor and enjoy your photo memories while affirming lives. We have to “close one door to open another”. I want to make sure my friends know that this is the LAST CHANCE to purchase our traditional papers, embellishments, tools, PAGES, PAGE PROTECTORS and ALBUMS. We need to make room for the NEW products! If you know someone who has worked on a CM album in the past, please do them a favor and share this. I’m VERY excited about our future but want to make sure everyone who knows the CM of today has an opportunity to order before everything is GONE.

I will try to keep you all up to date with any new information that I get on this matter. I do have some inventory on hand that I have for sale. I am thinking of planning some type of garage sale for you all to get a chance to see what I have and shop. However Please take advantage of my website and see what is still left.

Thank You so Much for all of your support of my business so far! I hope that with these changes we can continue to focus on what is important.... Keeping our Families Memories!

Thanks again![/td] [tr] [td]
http://www.facebook.com/creativememories[/td][/tr][/tr][/table]

Thanks for sharing this, but - BUT - I'm very disgusted with them after this announcement and would never purchase one more thing from them. REALLY? I have a few yet to be used albums, that I bought from a gal years ago - and now it's cough up all the money at once to buy their "unique" pages and page protectors, or end it with what you have? Disgusting. This is the second time I was burned by a company that did this - and I'll never buy from anyone who doesn't have interchangeable with other stuff again.

New products, in with the new? Good luck. I for one am an "ex" CM customer.

sherelm wrote:Thanks for sharing this, but - BUT - I'm very disgusted with them after this announcement and would never purchase one more thing from them. REALLY? I have a few yet to be used albums, that I bought from a gal years ago - and now it's cough up all the money at once to buy their "unique" pages and page protectors, or end it with what you have? Disgusting. This is the second time I was burned by a company that did this - and I'll never buy from anyone who doesn't have interchangeable with other stuff again.

New products, in with the new? Good luck. I for one am an "ex" CM customer.

Yep, I haven't bought their albums for a long time, really like the 3-ring. I'll be interested to see where they go from here, I think they didn't do themselves any favors when they didn't join in on the "trends" of scrapbooking.

sherelm wrote:Thanks for sharing this, but - BUT - I'm very disgusted with them after this announcement and would never purchase one more thing from them. REALLY? I have a few yet to be used albums, that I bought from a gal years ago - and now it's cough up all the money at once to buy their "unique" pages and page protectors, or end it with what you have? Disgusting. This is the second time I was burned by a company that did this - and I'll never buy from anyone who doesn't have interchangeable with other stuff again.

New products, in with the new? Good luck. I for one am an "ex" CM customer.

To some extent I agree with you! Fortunately when they went from old albums to new I purchased everything I would need then. I'm fortunate I have two albums right now and was going to purchase another but I can wait! So I only need three packs each of pages and protectors. My consultant who is a dear friend, I may help her out and buy another album. I'll talk to her this week.

Now where this company has failed is to expect they can separate from the rest of the scrapping world and somehow be exclusive. Living in a world where changes occur at lightning speed and you stay in the dark is Stupid. I shook my head when they first got rid of the Hexagon punches.......a duhh things come in and out of style. Then they added a new style to basic shapes.....the old style sturdy and quality! Really! As an economist they have just plane failed in their ability to think forward. Outside the box! All you have to do is look at those companies who have been around 10+ years....they constantly reinvent themselves every six months with CHA being the barometer of where the industry is going. Their designers are looking at other areas of life: clothing, home decor, paint trends in color for homes, etc. I'm not sure this reinvention will be a good thing...cause I am not sure they can achieve something they have not been able to do when I started in 2006 and that is not trying to be exclusive and market to few instead of many. It also doesn't help the economy is sluggish and scrapping is discretionary spending!

I have a little more info from the "gurus" I know.

Close to My Heart hired their consultants from Austrailia. I'm also told that CM has now filed Chapter 13 for the second time. Most of the designers are thinking that Creative Memories is going under, and they don't want to announce this in order to make what sales they can. They are streamlining back. This is what the thoughts are. Are they right? I don't know. I'm just saying what I was told when I read this and asked "them".

Such a harsh response really surprised me. Personally I would so much rather receive advance notice on something that I use than to be told after everything is gone and the company is out of business!! I think it is very considerate of them and wonderful customer service, something in which they've always excelled IMO.

As to their exclusiveness, yes they did start out with albums of a different size but actually they started when the industry was so young - the main size was 8.5 x 11 and I doubt "True" 12x12 had even been established as the industry co-standard. They did come around and change despite complaints of 'stranding' many customers who were using the old size - so obviously at that point either way a large group of people would be critical! Anyway, I *love* the strap-hinge binding system and will use nothing else as long as it is available. Their coversets are not exclusive to their pages as several other brands of page protectors may be used. (Also on the digital side everything they bring out is also available in "Universal Format" and they've had .png freebies for years.)

i got the email about the bankruptcy,i didn't get this one. A couple of years so i meet a woman at WM who is/was a CM consultant, we talked and i went to a crop she had. i didnt like the albums. that was my first and last dealings with CM.

I am so sad about the tools, a few of their cutters are second to none!

PezKat wrote:Such a harsh response really surprised me. Personally I would so much rather receive advance notice on something that I use than to be told after everything is gone and the company is out of business!! I think it is very considerate of them and wonderful customer service, something in which they've always excelled IMO.

As to their exclusiveness, yes they did start out with albums of a different size but actually they started when the industry was so young - the main size was 8.5 x 11 and I doubt "True" 12x12 had even been established as the industry co-standard. They did come around and change despite complaints of 'stranding' many customers who were using the old size - so obviously at that point either way a large group of people would be critical! Anyway, I *love* the strap-hinge binding system and will use nothing else as long as it is available. Their coversets are not exclusive to their pages as several other brands of page protectors may be used. (Also on the digital side everything they bring out is also available in "Universal Format" and they've had .png freebies for years.)

I agree, glad to at least have some advanced notice.

I have used many different albums and page protectors, and every pp that isn't CM that I have used looks like someone took sandpaper to it. I have used only CM for the past several years for this reason. I will have to get some updated info from you ladies on what products are good when I use up all of my current empty albums.

Although the old 12x12 transition to the true 12x12 cost me a lot of money, I still plan on using the albums I have and will move on to the 3 rings after that. I will have to see what I need to finish what I've started, and I'm thinking it shouldn't cost much as I learned a valuable lesson about planning (and buying) too far ahead!! I think I only have 1 project that I need to get a few page protectors for.

Thanks for the heads up!!:-D

jrrah4903 wrote:I am so sad about the tools, a few of their cutters are second to none!

I will also miss their tape runners.

sherelm wrote:I have a little more info from the "gurus" I know.

Close to My Heart hired their consultants from Austrailia. I'm also told that CM has now filed Chapter 13 for the second time. Most of the designers are thinking that Creative Memories is going under, and they don't want to announce this in order to make what sales they can. They are streamlining back. This is what the thoughts are. Are they right? I don't know. I'm just saying what I was told when I read this and asked "them".

More Info:

According to the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development, CM filed for Chapter 11 on April 16, 2013. By the end of June, they will have layed off 70% of the St. Cloud facilities employees.

"Creative Memories expects its reorganization process to take about six months, after which, if given court approval, it will emerge from bankruptcy."

So who knows what will happen.

I'm sad they are in bankruptcy! It means lost jobs and it definitely is not what is good for the workers now looking for jobs. We have seen other scrapping companies go out of business, too, since '08.

I do hope they come out because I love their adhesives and the albums. And I agree with Pezcat they have great customer service. Yet, I see problems of what I stated above. I love their patterns, too. And since it's bankruptcy I'll probably buy blades for the patterns in mass. I think it's the best cutting system for circles.

I also don't see a category 'While Supplies Last' right now. Although they've had it for a long while now.

They filed for chapter 11 earlier this year. The big changes are they are pretty much bankrupt. They are trying to hold on, but I have a few friends that are high up in the company and it doesn't look good. Some consultants are trying to put a positive spin on it, but the ladies I know are saying buy up what you can now. It's sad because a lot of woman rely on this for income. I love the tools also and the cutting mats. I spent so much money at my last crop because the lady had a similar sale. She sold it for years and had a room full. She is now looking for another job. She was able work from home and be with her kids while earning a living doing something she loved. Very sad.

sherelm wrote:Thanks for sharing this, but - BUT - I'm very disgusted with them after this announcement and would never purchase one more thing from them. REALLY? I have a few yet to be used albums, that I bought from a gal years ago - and now it's cough up all the money at once to buy their "unique" pages and page protectors, or end it with what you have? Disgusting. This is the second time I was burned by a company that did this - and I'll never buy from anyone who doesn't have interchangeable with other stuff again.

New products, in with the new? Good luck. I for one am an "ex" CM customer.

If you like the top load page protectors the pioneer brand go into the CM albums like a dream. I have several that I have filled with these.

I was never interested in CM but I love their circle and oval cutters. I love the hexagon punches that I got on ebay. I guess I better order up on the cutter blades for the future. Thanks for the info. I had not heard they were in trouble.

I heard about this yesterday when visiting with a friend. We were supposed to go to a crop hosted by a CM consultant later this month. My friend has paid the fee, but I was holding off, trying to decide on the time element. So far, my friend has not been notified of any changes, but she has also not seen any details about the crop, only that her check has been cashed. Sure hope that doesn't mean any problems. I realize that the CM consultants run their own businesses apart from the company, but still....

I've not invested in their albums, because I started after the industry went to true 12x12. I have a limited number of pieces of pp that are in the smaller size (came in a grab bag when I first started scrapping 12x12). But I've never used them as foundation sheets, only as accents, because they were a strange size.

It's been very disheartening to hear about Bankruptcies in our beloved hobby over the past few years. I sure hope that these announcements slow down soon.

It's sad when scrapbook companies close, I never really got into CM. Not sure really, but never really peaked my interest.

killarney_rose wrote:I also don't see a category 'While Supplies Last' right now. Although they've had it for a long while now.

Yeah, the WSL and Clearance categories are gone from the website which did make me wonder when I saw it last week!

lastonehom wrote:

jrrah4903 wrote:I am so sad about the tools, a few of their cutters are second to none!

I will also miss their tape runners.

I liked their tape runners, but disliked having to pay an extra $3 or whatever it was for shipping prices, especially when I picked it up from the consultant! But they changed those, and I moved on. But at least they got me started scrapping.

I do not use CM products. I love their strap hinge albums, with the thick pages with jeeping on the edges (not sure what the new albums are like).

Last week, I priced a coverset, pages (30) and page protectors (20) and it was going to be $83.00, without tax or shipping. Sadly, once again, I cannot afford CM.

I can't afford the Rolls Royce of albums, just the 10yr old car with 200,000 miles type album.