About Sandy Sandler, Bowdabra® Creator
Byline: Sandy Sandler is a corporate gift expert and creator of the Bowdabra® bow-making tool. Her products are designed to help the “creatively-challenged” create beautiful crafts, accessories, and home décor. For craft ideas, visit www.Bowdabra.com.
Broadcast: Sandy Sandler is a corporate gift expert and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra®, a crafting tool that helps people make professional, hand-tied bows. Her products and supplies are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros.
Full Bio: Sandy Sandler had already earned a degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California when she attended Thunderbird – The American School of International Management, earning an MBA in International Management.
Sandy put this added wisdom to use, finding success as a product marketer in 1990, when she introduced the “Klika” to the U.S. market. Over 3 million Klikas sold in just nine months.
After a few years developing a variety of import/export programs for companies, Sandy started Blue Zebra Corporate Gifts. Blue Zebra Corporate Gifts became Corporate Gifts, Inc.; a company that helped people launch their own gift basket businesses from home. This venture is what lead her to develop the Bowdabra®.
Sandy was having a hard time training people to hand-tie professional-looking bows. She wasn’t alone. When she attended gift and craft trade shows, Sandy recognized that the bow-tying workshops always drew crowds. However, despite the demonstrators’ best efforts, retailers and crafters were still unable to create professional bows on their own.
After a great deal of research, Sandy contracted with a design engineer and began working on the Bowdabra. When it was finished, she had an inexpensive “goof-proof” bow-maker that made a wide range of professional-looking bows. With the help of an angel investor, production began on the Bowdabra and Sandy prepared to begin presenting it to retailers.
American retailers turned down the Bowdabra in favor of competitors’ bowmakers they admitted were inferior. Frustrated with paltry response by the U.S. market, Sandy headed overseas to market the product she so believed in. The Bowdabra began to sell container loads in Europe, Brazil, and Australia. Sandy decided it was time to bring the product back state side and created Nuvelle Crafts, LLC.
In December of 1998, the Bowdabra debuted on QVC, selling out 5,000 units in less than 10 minutes. Over time, QVC reached $2.5 million in retail sales of the Bowdabra. Now, the Bowdabra can be found in craft retailers all over the country, with sales and customer loyalty continuing to rise.
Sandy and Nuvelle Crafts, LLC are based in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Sandy shares a home with her beloved Husky, Nouvelle. In addition to marketing and performing demonstrations of her bow-making tool, Sandy is also active in the community. She is in the process of creating a non-profit for kids in need called “Crafters 4 Kids” and is the proud adopted mother to a platoon in Iraq.
If you would like to talk with Sandy, contact Contact Sandy Sandler at bowdabra@mac.com
Visit Sandy Sandler at Twitter