Got My New Jordana Paige Bag!

Remember when I kept telling you about Jordana Paige’s Purses for Preeclampsia campaign? She was selling her flawed bags for $50 each with all of the proceeds going to the Preeclampsia Foundation.

The promotion did not go completely smoothly, but take two was great. I kept an eye on it for most of the day, and the bags were selling out within minutes of going on sale.

I did happen to snag the bag I wanted, too: an L. J. Kaelms in green. This is a really cool bag. It’s huge, for one thing, big enough to be your knitting bag, your purse, probably even hold some supplies for your kids as well (that may only matter to me). It has a ton of pockets for needles, credit cards and other necessities, a key loop and yarn guides so your yarn will not get tangled in the bag.

The only thing I could find wrong with the bag I got is that it doesn’t have its feet (though there are holes for them). I’m willing to live with that for a great deal on a great bag for a great cause!

I heard that the sale raised $13,150 for the Preeclampsia Foundation, which is awesome. We stitchers can be proud of that. I can’t wait to take my bag for a night on the town (date night tomorrow).

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Throughout the saga of the closing of Joann, I’ve been wondering what would happen to CreativeBug, the subscription-based online craft learning platform that Joann acquired in 2017.

Golden Peak Media has announced its acquisition of the company in a media release.

Golden Peak is “one of the largest media and education companies serving art and craft enthusiasts in the United States,” according the release, and includes in its portfolio brands like Interweave, Sew Daily, and nine print magazines including Love of Quilting and Interweave Knits. They have daily newsletters, magazines, digital patterns, on-demand classes and host live events.

David Saabye, CEO of Golden Peak, calls the purchase a “very natural fit” supporting crafters in their lifelong learning journeys.

CreativeBug general manager Liana Allday will stay on and the company will retain its headquarters in Berkeley, Calif.

Abby Glassenberg of the Craft Industry Alliance collected reactions from some CreativeBug instructors and others with a history at the company, and heard lots of optimism about the news. Ursula Morgan, who was CEO of CreativeBug when the company was acquired by Joann, said Golden Peak is a “perfect home” for CreativeBug as they’re getting an owner that “deeply understands the craft consumer.”

I, too, am relieved to see that this platform will be able to continue. I’ve been a subscriber for years and I love that it has solid instruction in a wide range of crafts (including knitting, of course!) and is always adding new content to keep the platform interesting. It’s also a great service that CreativeBug is available to many for free through their local libraries, so be sure to check on that where you live if you don’t already subscribe.

This feels like the last piece of the puzzle in the story of Joann that’s going on all year, along with the announcement that Michaels had purchased Joann’s intellectual property so its private label brands can live on, but of course I’ll keep watching to see if there’s more to come.

Next Pattern:

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