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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!
Wow! It is sooo good to see old pics and get to know how it all started!! I used to make cards as a child with just markers and thick papers, I was introduced to the stamping technique in 2015 :)
This is so much fun. I never knew Hero Arts was that old. What a wonderful story! I can’t wait to hear it all. I started stamping in 2012. My mum and sister had started making cards, and I had taken a year off to spend time with my family in England. Card making became my hobby.
So interesting to read about Hero Arts’ history. I started stamping more than 20 years ago I can’t even remember the exact year. Hero Arts contest was the very first one I entered and it was done via the good old snail mail and the rest is history. Thank you Hero Arts for being a big part of my crafting life.
Wow, 45 years – CONGRATULATIONS! Fun to see a bit of Hero Arts history. I bought my first rubber stamp around 1990 but really started stamping in 1996.
As a child of the 60-70’s, I have been a stamping addict for a very long time. I loved stationary products and writing letters to my aunts and cousins. My dad gave me one of his old metal toolboxes that I decorated with “mod” stickers and this box held my prized collection of stamps and sealing wax.