Chris Rush Designs, LLC

Newsletter – June 2024

40th ANNIVERSARY SALE!! 
25% off of everything!

plus, a free gift with every purchase!

 

Yes! It’s been 40 years since I started making note cards!!   Chris Rush Designs (formerly Chris Rush Designer Notes) has been continuously operating since 1984.  It began as my hobby creating stenciled note card designs embellished with my handmade tatted lace pieces  (One of my first note card designs is shown below.)  

 

Over the years, it evolved into a registered small business offering more than 900 note card designs as well as a line of glass coasters, place cards, hand-painted tote bags and similar creations.  In the beginning, I sold only at local art and craft shows but, with the growth of the internet, I (with the help of our daughter and son) soon established an online presence with my own website: www.chrisrush.com. I also began displaying my products at wholesale market shows in Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia, gaining acceptance of my note cards into more than 15 retail shops and catalogs nationwide.

 

My first craft show was the Garrison Day Sale in Beaver, PA. in 1985. That was followed by the organizing of ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ Christmas craft show at a friend’s home and later at rented venues not far from Beaver. It continued for 20 years!  Soon I began participating in other craft shows in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, later ranging out to shows in North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.  I was (and continue to be) joined at the shows by Alan, my husband of 52 years, and sometimes by thoughtful and supporting friends I have met along the way (you know who you are!!)

 

As Alan and I ‘ripen into maturity’, we have stopped participating in almost all outdoor craft shows – especially those that require us to set up a tent and possibly lug ‘our wares’ a significant distance during the set-up and tear-down processes.  Alan and other helpers continue to fold, count and pack the card packages with Alan acting as the postage printer and mailman for shipping online orders. He enjoys pointing out to customers that, like my tatting, his folding, counting and packaging of cards is a ‘special talent’ of his that is very much underappreciated.

For obvious (and not so obvious) reasons, we continue to support the teaching and use of cursive writing in our schools as well as at home.  University of Pittsburgh occupational therapist and assistant professor Kelsey Voltz-Poremba points out in a recent article that “…handwriting is about more than just communication and legibility. The very act of forming letters helps imprint them in the brain making learning the alphabet and reading much easier…a crucial part of a child’s development.”  California just passed legislation that requires cursive writing be taught in all public schools.

 

Chris continues to donate a substantial portion of her business income to selected charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Covenant House and local food banks.

 

I feel truly blessed that Alan and I have been able to travel this road for the past 40 years and look forward to continuing as long as our health remains supportive.  We plan to continue participating in at least 4 craft shows annually: Sunfest in Ocean City, MD, the Northern Virginia Christmas Show in Chantilly, VA, Bizarre Bazaar in Richmond, VA and the Virginia Beach Spring Market.   But we continue to look for other possible shows that fit our schedule and criteria.

 

Because it’s our 40th Anniversary we are thanking you, our loyal followers and customers with a week-long ‘Sales Party.’  All customers who make a purchase between June 8th and June 15th will receive a free set of assorted gift tags as well as having their names entered in a drawing for a hand-painted canvas bag (a $15 value!)

In closing, let me express my sincere thanks to each of you for your loyalty and support over the past 4 decades.  Have a great summer!  Looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming fall shows.   More details in our next newsletter.

 

May God bless you!

Chris