Tuesday at CHA Summer 2012
From the stunning creative gowns made from craft products to the many beautifully presented stands, the love, creativity and passion in the craft industry was on display for all to see when doors opened at this year’s CHA Summer show.
Many familiar faces were here to introduce brand new products and ranges to the trade. Melissa Frances showcased the popular chevron trend in her pretty new Countdown to Christmas collection and has many new options in her growing home décor range on the way. Most exciting though was the first glimpse of her new Cling stamps. Inspired by Les Miserables, the stamps introduce Pearl – a delightfully vintage girl who is sure to feature on many cards in the months ahead.
Stamping fans have lots to look forward to post-CHA, including a beautiful new range of stamps from JustRite. As well as more great Christmas ornament stamps to coordinate with Spellbinders dies , the ornate typography of the Vintage Alphabet Soup background stamp, designed by Becca Feeken, really caught our eye.
Echo Park’s array of patterned paper collections is growing ever larger with many new bright and beautiful additions on their way. It’s Echo Park’s new sister company, Carta Bella, that’s really turning heads though. With its higher quality textured papers and on-trend designs by some talented graphic artists there’s a lot to love. Deena Rutter’s Merry & Bright papers marry cute hand-drawn owls with a beautifully bright red, green, turquoise and pink Christmas colour scheme. Carina Gardner’s All Hallow’s Eve, on the other hand, is a deliciously Gothic affair that even those who don’t do Halloween designs will love.
Crafters who love patterned papers they can colour themselves will soon be spoilt for choice with many new options on their way. The Hot Off The Press Color Me range includes black, gold, silver and copper resist designs plus eye-catching card toppers that really pop.
The CHA Show is not just about US designers and companies though, as there’s plenty of talent from Australia, Canada and the UK on display too. At the Maya Road stand, Sarah Moore brought a touch of whimsy to the proceedings with her imaginative hot air balloon design and fellow Queenslander Angella Peardon’s baker’s twine wrapped Ferris wheel brought many a smile.
With two days at the show still to go there’s so much more yet to discover. We’ll bring you more tomorrow, including the latest from Ranger, Graphic 45, Teresa Collins and some of the new craft companies making a splash.
