2013 Close Buy Catalog - New England's Finest

The 2013 Close Buy Catalog is in the works and I am so incredibly honored that Lofted Designs has been included again! In case you aren't familiar with this awesome organization, Close Buy is a fundraising catalog available to schools and non-profits throughout New England that features handmade goods MADE in New England...genius, right?

Their next sale starts September 1, 2013, so if you are affiliated with a school or non-profit in New England and looking for a unique fundraising idea, look no further. Schools and non-profits interested in using the Close Buy Catalog this fall can sign up until July 22 by emailing hello@closebuycatalog.com.

Two popular Lofted Designs pet tags will be featured this year in the "Puppies, Kitties + Babies" section. Here's a sneak peek of the listing:

I love supporting this organization and I hope you will get involved, too! See who's participating and learn how you can sign up for the catalog on their website. 

Close Buy Catalog 2012 – My Largest Order EVER

Lofted Designs was lucky enough to be selected once again to participate in Close Buy Catalog, a fundraising initiative to benefit schools and non-profits in Maine and beyond. The list of benefiting non-profits and schools grows each year, and I'm so honored to play a role in supporting these organizations. 

This year's fall fundraiser catalog was chock full of incredible products handcrafted in New England, and Lofted Designs pet tags were available in two styles:

I sold almost 100 tags (my largest and most production-intensive order to date), and tackled the project in small batches. Each tag was cut by hand from a large sheet of aluminum. I then filed the corners to round them, stamped the lettering and cut out the tiny hearts by hand with a small saw.

Once the hearts were cut out, I soldered silver rings to the top of each tag. 

After soldering, the lettering was darkened and each tag was carefully polished. And here they are: 

Each tag was placed into its own special pouch and they are finally ready for mailing! 

The final step – shipping to the fulfillment house in Lewiston, Maine, from which they (and many other great Close Buy Catalog products) will be distributed to schools and non-profits in early December. What a tremendous sense of accomplishment! A whole lot of pets in New England are about to get way more stylish. 

If you'd like to outfit your pets with some snazzy new tags in time for the holidays (they make perfect stocking stuffers), visit the pet accessories section of my Etsy shop to place an order today!

2011 Close Buy Catalog

Lofted Designs was honored to participate in the 2011 Close Buy Catalog. What a cool concept! 

In case you're not familiar with Close Buy, this is a school fundraising initiative started in Maine by Masey Kaplan who was fed up with feeling compelled to order from boring wrapping paper catalogs every year to support her child's school. She came up with a much better way to fundraise while supporting local businesses and the Close Buy Catalog was born.

Two of my items were included in the catalog:

• The silver squiggle necklace found here

• The silver teardrop earrings found here

I was really pleased with the number of orders I received – plenty to make it worth my while and keep me busy, but not enough to cause a nervous breakdown. This was my first large wholesale order, and I really enjoyed the whole process, from coming up with designs and pricing all the way through to packaging. 

Here is Sandy (super beagle!) helping me package earrings.

And here are my shipments, ready to go to 23 schools!

My jewelry was in amazing company, side by side with products from Angela Adams, Ferdinand, annie|catherine, Sea Bags, Morris & Essex, Casco Bay Soap Co., Haven's Candies and tons more. So, basically, I somehow ended up in the mix with all the coolest companies in Maine. Not sure how that happened, but I'm sure glad it did!!

If you are affiliated with education in Maine, please consider bringing the Close Buy Catalog into your school in 2012. It's good clean fundraising. No more wrapping paper catalogs! Keep it local. Learn more here.