Hi there.

Thanks for popping in. Wednesday’s blog is something new, right? Well, to be fair, we’re always working on new designs! At any given moment, there will be at least a dozen stampsets, a bunch of stencils, a collection of Groovi plates and a few dies in the pipeline. And that doesn’t even include all the new products that are already complete, neatly stacked and waiting for launch day! Presenting on TV requires that we bring new things to market pretty much every time we rock up!

This coming Friday, for example, I’m showcasing a super collection of new stamps on Create & Craft. 9am and 1pm. And Paul is on TV tomorrow too, at 1pm and 5pm. But he’ll be reviewing and showing off our Groovi Easy Layout Collection. Why not something new? Well, let me explain….

Next week is our 31st birthday in business. We will be celebrating in style on TV with loads on newness! The show stopper this year is an absolutely superb Floral Alphabet, designed by none other than Linda Williams. It has been many, many months in the planning, designing, making, cleaning etc etc etc. So we know that this large ticket Collection is going to be launched next Friday at 6pm. We also know that most Groovi parchers will want it. So it would be remiss of us if we were to tempt you with another new design the week before. Do you get me? These are all considerations for us when planning TV.

Speaking of new, I spent a couple of happy hours this morning, putting some new stencils through their paces. These are a new idea, called Leafy Overlay Stencils. They are SO COOL!!!!

This is how it works. I give Jazz a sketch, a rough idea of the concept and the size. Jazz then translates what I sketched into Adobe, a design program. We both stare at the screen for ages, adjusting and tweaking. Then Jazz sends the file to Lisa, who mocks up the prototypes for me. Then I put said prototypes through their paces, making sure they do what I have in my mind’s eye. This was what I was doing this morning.

Here’s a Gel press print I pulled. See the overlay technique? Now I need figure out how I did it!! Next step is to perfect it, so I can show you how it works! It’s an adventure! These are 8×8 inch.

In the meantime, we will launch the smaller 6×6 inch stencils on telly next week, and we’ll stick to ink and brushes to start with! 😂 😂 😂 😂 . The safer, cleaner, simpler option! It looks like sheer chiffon, doesn’t it? Well, that was the idea behind these Leafy Overlay Stencils. I love them!

Once I’ve tested the stencils, made sure they work, I call Paul and we discuss when to launch, and how many we want made. He actions that – and we have lift-off. In the meantime, Jazz or Lisa design a product insert, and get a product code off Pete. Every product has its own unique code and barcode. Now it‘s over to Jilly. She then makes sure we have everything in stock, raw materials, packaging, paper, mask material that we need to complete. Once we know we have everything, then we can pencil a release date. At this point, the design file gets sent to the specific manufacturing department with quantities and dates. In this case, Lisa makes all our stencils, so she’ll be on it like a car bonnet tomorrow! Jilly sends the first batch straight to the Design team, so they can get on with the art samples. Unless I am excited about something and want to slot it into a TV show last minute! Like these stencils !!! Then there’s not enough time for the DT turnaround, and I just run with it.

Then it’s full steam ahead on production. That’s the process at work. That’s how we roll.

Now multiply that 20 times. And that’s what’s going on at Clarity every single day. I don’t even realise just how prolific we are until I sit and list it all. Team. Team. Team. That’s the operative word here.

Teamwork makes the Dream work.

I love that I can have an idea in the morning, and it’s an actual product by the afternoon. All under our roof, all created by our little team. Proud? Not much!! I remember being up in London at a Design Office once, and on the wall there was a slogan which said something like this:

Ideas are just that: Ideas. Even the ones that are good are worthless – until they are made into something.

We may be a small company, we may not be empire builders. But you’ll never find a nicer bunch of creatives and team players.

The NEW 6×6 inch Leafy Overlay stencils will be released on Sunday 1st September. £14.99 for a pack of 3.

Love always,

Barb x x x