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Flashback Friday Part 1: The 1970s
Hero Arts
Hero Arts is celebrating 45 years in business this year! What an incredible journey it has been. YOU are a wonderful part of our history, and now that our anniversary is here, we'd like to invite you to celebrate this milestone alongside us! In the next several weeks, join us for fun, contests, behind-the-scenes content, lots of giveaways, new products, and more. Let's get this party started, friends!
The start of it all? Flashback Fridays. Over the course of five Fridays, we'll be sharing the story of our five decades as a company.
The setting: Berkeley, California, mid-1970s. Let's hear about the earliest days of Hero Arts from our CEO, Aaron Leventhal:
"Hero Arts was founded in May of 1974, near the end of the school year, when my mother (Jackie) decided she would try out her hobby at local craft fairs. Early designs included funky cartoon images, irreverent messages, and drawings from friends and family, including Betty Boop, cartoon monkeys, a cow by 4 year-old Aaron, and more. Most of the stamps were handmade in our bathroom, where our vulcanizer sat, that pressed rubber. The rubber was then cut and assembled in Jackie's bedroom, before being sent out via mail or sold at fairs."
Wondering what the first catalogs looked like? Well, they were actually fold-out posters...
Here's a closer look at the inside and back of the 1978 Hero Arts product poster.
Aaron even found this photo showing an early craft show booth from the late 1970s!
If you're interested in hearing more of the Hero Arts story, grab a beverage and enjoy this interview from a few years ago, when Aaron sat down for an Online Card Classes Crafty Chat. We think you'll enjoy hearing this story directly from him!
When did you start stamping? Let us know in a comment below and we will pick one winner at random to receive a $25 Hero Arts gift card! Comment by Thursday, April 25 at 11:59pm PT and you'll be entered to win.
Tomorrow we'll begin sharing peeks from our upcoming 45th Anniversary Summer Catalog! That's right, this year's Summer Catalog is one big anniversary celebration that we can't wait to share with you.
Thank you for joining us today!
June 2014 when 3 incredibly thoughtful families remembered that I had mentioned (on ONE occasion) wanting to try stamping but that it was a investment I couldn’t make at the time. They were parents of my preschool students and the generous gift basket of cards, inks and stamps started my stamping journey. Truly one of the most thoughtful gifts I received as a teacher.
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary! I’ve been stamping since the early nineties and some of my oldest and favorite stamps are Hero Arts!
I started stamping in my early teens. I was always on the lookout for stamps of my name since it was a hard one to find. I discovered ones I could
Order in the mail and stamped everything I could!
I started Nov of 2018. I was a quilter and had lost the use of my right hand in May of that year. I couldn’t cut fabric or hold it at the machine when I saw a crafters day on hsn. There I saw the electric die cutting machine and I thought I can put paper in that. I made some very simple cards with the products that came with the machine, and the rest is history. On a very good note my hand started improving just by it helping me guide the plates into the machine and placing paper it’s not totally back but I’m on my way.
Oh wow! I love seeing those pictures on how Hero Arts began. It makes me believe that anything is possible. I began stamping around the year 2012 when I was invited to a cardmaking class by a friend who sold Stampin Up products. After that, I was hooked. Been cardmaking ever since.