When Simple Scrapbooks magazine folded in early 2009, many people were devastated. Not the least of which were Wendy Smedley (creative editor for 8 years), Lain Ehmann (a contributing editor for 2 years), and of course Angie (managing editor for 5 years). After the demise of the magazine, while the three of them were sharing a cramped hotel room at the Craft & Hobby Association Winter tradeshow, they looked at each other and said, “What now?” With lots of advice and cheerleading from Wendy, Lain and Angie set forth to create a company that celebrated all that was good and fun about scrapbooking—creativity, connection, and honoring individuality. They also knew the time was ripe to take a look at additional delivery formats as print journalism became less and less viable. They wanted to empower crafters, to educate them, to inspire them, and every once in a while to give them a chuckle or two. So, based on their histories in business and publishing, an online publishing company seemed like the perfect fit for them and for the market as a whole. A few months, a lot of late nights, and a fair amount of chocolate later, Ella Publishing Co. was born! Once we came up with our name (E-L-L-A represents Angie Lucas and Lain Ehmann's initials in reverse)*, the elephant seemed like the perfect mascot for a company built around the preservation of memories. (And seeing that the average elephant calf weighs in at 250 lbs., the labor pains they experienced as they birthed Ella Publishing Co. is nothing compared to what most elephant mothers go through!)
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