Get to know: Andrea Atwater, Port Barrington resident and brand manager

Andrea Atwater, brand manager for the Attitude product family, credits hard work for her current role. Atwater's 2011 concept Craft Attitude has taken off, she said. Craft Attitude allows people to print any image they want on any surface they want, including leather.
Atwater of Port Barrington is a home-town celebrity because of her appearances on the Home Shopping Network.
Atwater discussed the product and her future goals with Lake County Suburban Life reporter Kyle Stephans.

Stephans: How long have you been working at Craft Attitude?

Atwater: [About] two years. I am a brand manager at Craft Attitude. I was able to start of on good terms since I was a friend of the owner of the company, but I worked very hard. Before I worked as a district manager in retailing for many years. I don’t like to sit at home and do nothing. That is boring, so I also still do all the work at home. Their are no maids in my house.

Stephans: You market printable accessorizing. Where did that idea come from?

Atwater: In 2011, I came up with the concept of personalizing products with pictures or designs. I was originally doing it for my kids for fun and to show off the sports they were involved in. So, I realized that by using printable film, you can accessorize nearly any material you want. So once I started working at Craft Attitude, they really helped me produce the product widely.

Stephans: How were you able to market something in the Craft department?

Atwater: In 2011, I went to CAH [Craft and Hobby], in Anaheim, [Calif.] as a test market to see how printable accessorizing film worked. I was representing Craft Attitude at the time, and the product won the top prize for Most Innovative Product. That jumpstarted the idea and was really worth the run, because it made the product much more widely known.

Stephans: Where can I get the product?

Atwater: We are now in are variety of stores including Jo-Ann Fabric, Michaels Stores, Amazon and on our website. It will also be available at Walmart on April 28, as our rollout for 2,600 stores. I think what really made us get recognized even more widely was attending the CAH in 2012. That year we had balloons and elephants to attract more attention to Craft Attitude.

Stephans: What does a brand manager do?

Atwater: As brand manager I’m required to get the brand of Craft Attitude on different types of social media – mostly Facebook, trade shows, and HSN [Home Shopping Network]. I believed in this product and company so much that I held this position without a salary for one year, just to help get it started.

Stephans: You promoted printable accessorizing on television March 6. How did it go?

Atwater: I first went on the Home Shopping Network eight years ago to promote a brownie cutter I had called the PerfectKut. But still, when the lights went on, who would not be scared? When you think about it eight minutes is short, but it feels longer when the spotlight is on you.

Stephans: What is unique about the printable accessories that Craft Attitude is producing?

Atwater: The product can be put on any type of material such as wool, plastic, metal – nearly anything. You can personalize anything you want. When using our product, all you need is a glue stick when attaching it to your material and it will stick. If you do not want it or want to change it, all you need to do is tear it off and it comes neatly off with no mess.

Stephans: What is the most popular accessorizing item people are ordering?

Atwater: The most popular type of accessorizing that people are ordering right now is for shoes. It allows you to select a picture or design and decorate part of your shoe with it.

People who are scrapbookers, moms and kids love these because of being allowed to make it the way they want to. But. we are still going to go to CAH each year to attract more companies and educate consumers on how the product works.

Stephans: What advice do you have to anyone who is looking to market their product in our current economy?

Atwater: Well, besides the entrepreneurship aspects, I would say if you never step out of the box, you will never get there. Now, everybody is mainstream, so just go for it and try to reach your dreams. Know that it will be a lot of work, but it will be fun. The whole point is to try to step out of the box and try to be different so you can go after your dreams.

Stephans: What are your future goals?

Atwater: We are still so new, and you want to get the product out of the company to the consumer.

But, my real goal is to get this product marketed to kids in school, because every student wants to be unique and have their own thingsWith the product being available to them, I believe that it will be very popular in the student environment.