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60 seconds with…Sue Balfour
Listed under: Interviews
Published: Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Sue Balfour, director of Katy Sue Designs, explains how a design disaster turned into the sales opportunity of a lifetime
How long have you been involved with the craft market?
We launched in late 2005 to consumers and then in February 2006 to the trade. We used to be in the doll's house and miniatures market and could see there was a decline in that industry so started looking around for something different.
How did the Flower Soft product come about?
Originally our plan was to do a crossover between the dolls and card-making kits by making a little cameo that would be mounted onto the cards. As part of this – to create the little flowers that went in the miniature dolls hair – we came up with Flower Soft which could be added with PVA glue. As we went along with that we discovered that the cameo card kits, though beautiful, were a bit too niche and expensive. We'd had to make so much Flower Soft to test this out that I bagged up what was left over. It was a bit of a eureka moment when I wrote my daughter's name in glue and sprinkled it on like glitter. Her name appeared in flowers and that was it; everyone loved it! We sold the first 2,000 bags in the first 6 weeks and, without any advertising and from just going to a couple of shows, it all went mad. We reordered, created different colours and by the end of that autumn shops were asking for it.
How do you see the future of card making?
I've not been in the craft industry long enough to have a clear picture but I do think that card making is going to become more popular in America. The scrapbooking has levelled off – but at a very high level, mind – so I think more people are looking to do things with card making. It's such a great hobby because you're giving it away. There are only so many things you can put on your walls or books you can make but with cards you give it away and then you're onto the next one!
What are your plans for the future?
We do have plans for the future, we do know where we want to go with it but, to be honest, at the moment everything keeps overtaking us! We're working flat out just to keep up! We're now totally overwhelmed with orders and desperately taking on new staff and looking for new premises. We're bringing out some new colours in August and then October but these things take time because we're a design company. We design everything ourselves.
Is the fact that all design is in-house important to you?
It is. We think that it was a big plus that we hadn't been in the craft industry and discovered this product. Because we came from outside we had no conception of how things ought to be done and it has allowed us to do what we think was right. We're a bit insular I must say. Whether it's a good thing or not I don't know but at the moment it's working!
We launched in late 2005 to consumers and then in February 2006 to the trade. We used to be in the doll's house and miniatures market and could see there was a decline in that industry so started looking around for something different.
How did the Flower Soft product come about?
Originally our plan was to do a crossover between the dolls and card-making kits by making a little cameo that would be mounted onto the cards. As part of this – to create the little flowers that went in the miniature dolls hair – we came up with Flower Soft which could be added with PVA glue. As we went along with that we discovered that the cameo card kits, though beautiful, were a bit too niche and expensive. We'd had to make so much Flower Soft to test this out that I bagged up what was left over. It was a bit of a eureka moment when I wrote my daughter's name in glue and sprinkled it on like glitter. Her name appeared in flowers and that was it; everyone loved it! We sold the first 2,000 bags in the first 6 weeks and, without any advertising and from just going to a couple of shows, it all went mad. We reordered, created different colours and by the end of that autumn shops were asking for it.
How do you see the future of card making?
I've not been in the craft industry long enough to have a clear picture but I do think that card making is going to become more popular in America. The scrapbooking has levelled off – but at a very high level, mind – so I think more people are looking to do things with card making. It's such a great hobby because you're giving it away. There are only so many things you can put on your walls or books you can make but with cards you give it away and then you're onto the next one!
What are your plans for the future?
We do have plans for the future, we do know where we want to go with it but, to be honest, at the moment everything keeps overtaking us! We're working flat out just to keep up! We're now totally overwhelmed with orders and desperately taking on new staff and looking for new premises. We're bringing out some new colours in August and then October but these things take time because we're a design company. We design everything ourselves.
Is the fact that all design is in-house important to you?
It is. We think that it was a big plus that we hadn't been in the craft industry and discovered this product. Because we came from outside we had no conception of how things ought to be done and it has allowed us to do what we think was right. We're a bit insular I must say. Whether it's a good thing or not I don't know but at the moment it's working!
