About Us
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Welcome to Destination Scrapbook Designs! Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and co-owned by Melinda Haines and Doris Lemert, the company was started in September 2000. Destination Scrapbook Designs’ products can be found in more than 1,000 retail locations in the United States, Canada and internationally. They have been featured editorially in numerous scrapbook publications and on several nationally televised craft shows. The company’s product lines include State of Mine™ Stickers; Jock Talk™ and Geek Speak™ Stickers; and Flip Flop Fasteners™.
Melinda and Doris first met when their then 3-year old daughters were in the same Kindermusik® class. They discovered they had much in common, including husbands named Bruce, professional marketing experience in their careers prior to motherhood, and a passion for paper crafts. Melinda loved rubber stamps and card making, and Doris was deeply involved in scrapbooking.
As Melinda and Doris’ friendship evolved over the next year, they jokingly talked about starting a business related to their mutually shared hobbies. They soon had a good idea for a product line of destination-specific stickers and rubber stamps.
After testing their ideas at a consumer show in October 2000, they had enough positive feedback to take their products to a national level, and attended their first national trade show in July 2001. With a prototype roll of Florida stickers and designs for 59 State of Mine™ Stickers completed, Melinda and Doris were encouraged by the orders they received at the show. With orders and business plan in hand, they visited their banker and got a loan to go into production for their innovative line of products.
In April 2002, the company moved out of Doris’ basement and Melinda’s home office, and into their first “real” office and warehouse space. Two weeks after moving in, disaster struck when a pickup truck going 60 mph drove through the wall of the office, destroying the newly organized warehouse. During the ensuing two months, the company had to relocate three times while their office space was repaired.
Melinda and Doris managed to keep the company going and growing, and expanded their State of Mine™ Stickers line to include sticker sheets for major U.S. cities, Canadian cities and provinces, U.S. military bases (foreign and domestic) and international cities and travel destinations. There are now 100 designs in the State of Mine™ Stickers line.
In October 2003, the company again brought innovation to the scrapbook industry when they launched their tremendously popular Geek Speak™ and Jock Talk™ Stickers, a line of stickers featuring the terminology of high school sports and extra-curricular activities such as marching band, choir and theatre. These black-ink stickers are designed to work with any school’s colors and encompass activities in high school for which there had been no scrapbook supplies available.
Flip Flop Fasteners™ were the company’s 2004 product innovation. These clear poly archivally safe fasteners can be used to make hinged or flipped elements on scrapbook pages and cards, without adding weight or bulk. They allow many photographs to be added to a page, and they can be used to create moving elements on a page.
Destination Scrapbook Designs also developed a line of innovative fixtures to showcase their products. Their swinging racks, suitable for use in pegboard, grid wall or slat wall, allow a large amount of product to be displayed in a small amount of space.
Melinda and her husband, Bruce, are the parents of two daughters, Hannah and Rachel. Melinda is a graduate of Kenyon College with a degree in English. Prior to becoming a mom, Melinda worked in the publishing and health care industries in marketing positions. She is an accomplished computer graphic artist, and has done freelance work for many clients. She is very active in PTA, and in her spare time, she loves to rubber stamp, scrapbook, garden and read.
Doris and her husband, Bruce (a.k.a. Bert), are the parents of one daughter, Abby. Doris is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Communications. Prior to becoming a mom, Doris worked in the radio broadcasting and banking industries in promotion and advertising positions. She is active in her daughter’s school activities, and has done freelance copywriting and marketing work. In her spare time, Doris loves traveling, shopping, reading and scrapbooking.
Destination Scrapbook Designs is a wholesale-only company. Retail stores carrying the company’s products can be located on this website by clicking on “Where to Buy.” Wholesale orders are generally shipped on the same day they are received.
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