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
2003!
Congratulations! I was born in May of ‘74 as well! I started stamping about 20 years ago and have quite a few Hero Arts wood stamps from the early 2000s.
I actually came to the stamping game just 7 years ago. I had always done my cards and scrapbooks by piecing together items I cut out of magazines. I love stamping, and it has really allowed me to express so much creativity. So happy to be a customer of such a long-standing company with great products and service. Thank you HA and keep it up, congratulations!
I got the stamping bug about 10 years ago after visiting a craft show. Since then it has become an addiction that I hope I’m never cured of. Congratulations Hero Arts on this milestone and thanks for your awesome products and great customer service.
Congratulations Hero Arts and Thank You for being an outstanding company! I started stamping in 2011 and remember purchasing my very first stamp which turned out to be an itty bitty hero Arts cling stamp which I still own and keep very dear to my heart. I joined the HA flickr group and my life has never been the same since:-). I am so grateful for my craft and cannot imagine my life without it!