Where can I find vendors for a small scrapbook store?

Question

I live in South Florida, but if you know of any bulk wholesalers online or such, that would be great too.

Answer 1

Assuming that you want to buy at wholesale, you need to attend trade shows rather than consumer shows. CHA is the biggest and you'll have to apply to join but if you're serious about your business, it's worth it. There is also Memory Trends which is smaller but concentrates on papercrafts (scrapping and stamping), not all crafts like CHA does, And you can find distributors as well if you don't want to open your own accounts directly with the manufacturers. Your pricing will be higher but you'll also tend to have smaller ordering minimums. It depends on what works best for you. I don't know if I'm going to MT this year but if you do end up going, let me know and maybe we can meet up.

Answer 2

If you have a store, I would say invest in participating in important trade shows in the scrapbooking business. This is a one-time comprehensive way of finding out the suppliers and products that are right for you.

There is an upcoming tradeshow on scrapbooking in Florida that you should visit:

Memories Scrapbooking Expo™ - Orlando, FLA
Show Type: Public Show
Orlando County Convention Center, Orlando
Nov 10, 2006 - Nov 12, 2006
http://www.memoriesexpo.com/

You may also want to check out this show

Stampfest Orlando 2006
Event Date(s): Jun 24, 2006 - Jun 25, 2006
Location: Sheration World Resort - 10100 International Dr, Orlando, FL. 34689
Web Site: http://stampfest.com

Scrapbooking magazines such as Creating Keepsakes http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/ and Simple Scrapbooks http://simplescrapbooksmag.com/ always have loads of wholesalers advertising in the magazines.