Posted by Hero Arts
on April 19, 2019
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!
258 comments
I started paper crafting in order to cut costs for my wedding 👰🏻 🤵🏻 Just over ten years ago. Now I love making cards!
I was a folk art painter and a friend went to a garage sale and found all these rubber stamps, she called me and told me to come check out this wonderful selection of crafts for sale, she forgot to mention that it was stamps. Afraid I would miss out on a great bargain I went down to join her and she helped me load up my car and I helped her load up hers and the rest is history. Have enjoyed stamping ever since, going on 12 years.
Such fun to see all the things from back in the day.
I’m fairly new to the stamping /cardmaking community (just three years) but Hero Arts was immediately one of my favorite stamp companies!! ❤️ Happy anniversary Hero Arts!
Happy 45 th Anniversary! I have stamped occasionally though out the years, never for card making purposes. I used stamps for walls, and cakes believe it or not. I have been stamping to make paper products since about 2016.