CRAFTRAK | Card Making Card Exchange Blog

La Pashe Introduces TRINITAGE

2010-09-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

Flawless Designs CRAFTRAK TREE!

2010-08-12T02:57:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

Flawless Designs are one of our proud Trading Post based in Stirling, Scotland. Their Trading Tree looks FABULOUS and is a sure way to get your cards traded in a unique way...

Watch this space for upcoming Trading Days taking place at Flawless Designs..

Thank you to the girls at Flawless!!!

HUGE Craftrak Sale!

2010-07-05T02:24:00.000-07:00

Hey there Craftrakin' People!

We have decided to have a massive Craftrak sale throughout our distributors.

All cards have been slashed from $4.99 a pack to JUST £1.99 and 0.99p for the envelopes..

The decision was made in preparation for our RE-LAUNCH coming soon. Watch this space for the exciting news coming next week.

Get your crafting hats on and take advantage of this massive sale.. The price will remain at £1.99 from here on out.. The feedback we got from the users was that the price was a little high and as you know we DO listen to your feedback because without it we cannnot improve.

Happy Craftrakkin'!

Craftrakker :-)

Return Address

2010-07-01T02:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Craftrakkers!

Just a qucik note.. After much feedback, we think it is important to put a return address on all Craftrak envelopes, if you are not already. This will avoid any issues of cards going astray or being sent to address where users are no longer living.

Hope that makes sense! :)

Problem Solved.....Hopefully

2010-06-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note..

I know some of you were having issues uploading your pics to the website and getting a blank page instead of the actual picture.. This problem was passed to the programmers of the site and it seems to be recified now..

Thanks everyone for your patience and please let Craftrakker know if you need any more assistance.

Thanks for the support!

Craftrak TRADING DAY

2010-06-24T03:27:00.001-07:00

Flawless Crafts in Stirling is one of our proud Trading Posts..

There are having a swap day next Saturday 3rd July... If you are in the area, go down and check it out!! I'd love to hear how it goes, so any feedback would be FAB!

Good luck Flawless.. The address is:

Flawless Designs
Unit 39,
Stirling Enterprise Park,
Stirling,
FK7 7RP

Trading Posts

2010-06-22T02:30:00.000-07:00

What are Trading Posts???

I have heard and read many people asking this very question.. So I thought I would clarify this for some.

Bascially we currently have a hand full of Stockist around Britain that have become Trading Posts for Craftrak. Basically that means instead of sending your wonderful handmade cards to a friend or random, you can take them to a registered Trading Post and swap these face to face or just leave them for someone new to collect. The great thing about this option is you can get to make new friends face to face or put a face to a name of someone you are already friends with in the world of crafts. You can also buy the actual blank cards and envelopes for those who dont like buying online.

We dont have too many TPs at the moment but we are hoping to change that soon with the new promotion and concept we will be bringing out in the next little while and beleive it will really take off with our Stockists.

Anyone that has used a Trading Posts that would like to share their experience, please do..

Some fun pics of Trading Posts to follow..

Welcome to CRAFTRAK

2010-06-22T02:22:00.000-07:00

The idea for Craftrak was first conceived in 2006, which was actually before the creation of the company which now brings it to you! (Does that make sense?)
At that time, several years ago, the founder of the Craftrak concept (who later became the founder of La Pashe) was browsing around the online world of card making and stumbled upon some little ‘ATC’s being swapped on a craft forum.
ATC stands for Artist’s Trading Card and was used by artists as business cards.
On one side of the card, the artist would paint/draw a sample piece of artwork and on the other side, put their contact details.
Because these business cards were effectively miniature pieces of art, they became highly sought-after by non-artists and so the whole concept of the exchanging and collecting of ATCs was born.
Crafters started making their own ATCs, using craft materials to decorate the front of a 3.5” x 2.5” piece of card and putting their name and e-mail address on the back. Once made, the cards are exchanged with other crafters via ATC swaps organised in online forums.
The discovery of ATCs intrigued our intrepid founder, who thought that it was a very nice idea for crafters to make miniature cards and exchange them with their fellow crafting friends.
However, although ATCs seemed to cross over well from the art world into the craft world, they had some major limitations, mainly caused by the fact that they were originally created to be used as business cards.
These limitations have now finally been addressed with the launch of Craftrak in 2010.
ATCs must measure exactly 3.5” x 2.5”. Why? Because that is the standard size of a business card.
Handmade greeting cards, on the other hand, follow paper sizes – A4, A5, A6 etc.
Therefore, we made Craftrak cards A7 size. We kept them small because small cards are quick and easy to make, plus you can use all your scrap pieces of paper and card on them!
ATCs consist of just one flat piece of card – an ATC doesn’t open like a handmade card does, and if it doesn’t open, you can’t write a message, greeting, sentiment or verse inside.
Therefore, we made Craftrak cards look and open like a handmade card.
ATCs are swapped/exchanged/traded with other crafters, which is really great fun, provides inspiration for new ideas and allows cardmakers to share ideas with each other.
But once you have given your ATC to someone else in exchange for one of theirs, you have no idea what happens to your ATC. Where does it go? Who has seen it? Who has it now? Wouldn’t it be great to know…
Yes, so Craftrak cards are Trakkable!
And finally, ATC swaps are time-consuming to organise and it is almost impossible to get large numbers of people involved.
Therefore, we made Craftrak an automated system. It does all the hard work of organising the card exchanges, so you don’t have to!
This is the story of how Craftrak came to be.
We hope you enjoy ‘Craftrakking’ as much as we had fun making it all happen!