Stickermania

Probably only you scrapbooking aficionados have heard of Mrs. Grossman's. As one of those aficionados myself, when I learned about the factory tour in nearby Petaluma, I just HAD to go. Andrea Grossman (a graphic artist) began with one red heart sticker design that was requested by a paper company to adorn Valentine's Day shopping bags. There was an "oops" at the printer; the stickers came out in rolls rather than sheets, and an industry of rolls of stickers was born. The factory and corporate headquarters produces more than 15,000 miles of stickers per year, with printing presses that can roll out a half million per hour! Around the walls of the craft room are displays (by year) of new stickers that were created.

Employees can bring their dogs to work, in fact, Mrs. Grossman brings her dog, Angus, who also serves as the spokesman, er. . . spokesdog?. . . in the company video. What happens to less-than-perfect stickers? They become part of the donation programs to children's hospitals--more than 20 million stickers to date. As part of the tour, we got free stickers, a romp with Angus, a card-making kit, and discounted products in the company store. Drew had to drag me out else I'd still be there!