Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Artterro Eco Art Kits. In founder, Forrest Espinoza's words:
"Artterro Eco Art Kits are fun, convenient and affordable art projects for boys and girls ages 8 to 108. Using natural materials like wool felt, recycled handmade paper, we make it easy to unplug and enjoy art with family & friends! Assembled by hand in Madison, WI.
We write about creativity, project ideas, sustainability and more at the Spark blog. You can also follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for tons of artistic inspiration!"
SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business.
Forrest: I was inspired to start my business after a frustrating shopping experience. I wanted to find a fun arts & crafts kit that I could do with my young son. I had always loved making art with beautiful natural materials and wanted to find a kit that was affordable and easy so we could make gifts together. After searching everywhere (I really mean everywhere), I thought, if I'm having this problem then there must be other parents with the same issue. I created my first kit soon after. A couple years later I found my business partner Jen, who shares my passion for art, creativity and family life. We now have eleven products that we assemble by hand here at our Madison, WI office. We sell them to specialty stores all over the US and Canada, and directly to customers from our web store.
SouleMama: How do you come up with new designs and ideas?
Forrest: I get very inspired by nature and by the desire to create unique projects that you can personalize and make your own. I love to put my own twist on arts and crafts—nothing cookie-cutter for me! I go to a lot of trade shows, and I see so many products that don’t encourage creativity or real engagement. We create kits in response to what our customers want. Right now we’re working on developing new versions of some of our best-sellers. For instance, our Needle Felting Kit is incredibly popular right now, so we want to offer people another felting kit to try out. Maybe felted animals, people or monsters, we haven’t decided yet. We also know how much people love our handmade, recycled paper, so we plan to feature it in another kit next year. Stay tuned!
We just redesigned our entire line with new eco packaging, extra materials, bonus projects and new titles. Throughout the redesign process we had two things in mind—giving our customers a better experience and staying true to our values. We wanted our packaging to look like a gift someone would feel proud to give and excited to receive, but we didn’t want to add any wasteful material. So we designed a 100% recycled, very sturdy box that can be reused as a storage container or turned into a dollhouse or mailbox. And we included an inner tray to protect the materials, which you can also use as a frame for your finished artwork. Because of the tray, we no longer need to use a plastic bag to hold the materials, and our small bead bags are now made of biodegradable plastic. We’re very proud of the changes we made, and we hope they inspire kids to look for value and always try to reuse and recycle.
SouleMama: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
Forrest: Our favorite quote at Artterro is by the late, great Dr. Maya Angelou: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
For today's giveaway, Artterro Eco Art Kits is generously offering the following gift to TWO winners:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00 am EST on Monday, and announce the winners, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winners are...
Looks like this would provide hours of fun for my little ones!
Posted by: Charity
We love an art party!!! Thanks for the generous give away!!
Posted by: Donna
Thank you, Artterro Eco Art Kits!