The Scoop: The Crafter’s Box provides specialty craft and art kits for couples having creative date nights at home. Each box comes with hand-picked items perfect for people who want to work on fun projects without searching for instructions or hoping the local craft store has the right materials. Participants can learn in woodworking, leather crafts, soapmaking, and painting from renowned experts.
When couples want to shake up their usual at-home date night routine, they may want to participate in something that gets their creative juices flowing. In fact, according to a study from Baylor University, when couples make art together, their bodies release more oxytocin — also known as the “hugging hormone.”
That’s why many couples make crafts together. To get the most out of the experience, they can order a craft box and sign up for an artist-led workshop from The Crafter’s Box. The company delivers an entire project, including the materials and lessons, so all people need to bring is their passion.
For example, one popular offering is the Hand-Poured Cement Workshop, which shows participants how to make planters for small greenery and succulents. The box arrives with a reusable silicone mold, two larger plastic molds, two pounds of cement, pigment, stir sticks, and a metal knife.
Workshop leader Christie Lothrop demonstrates how to stir and pour cement, add color, marble, and find other molds for cement vessels — including yogurt containers.
The Crafter’s Box offers an array of artistic activities for couples to do on a date.
After one or two deliveries from The Crafter’s Box, many customers are hooked. Many students switch to a monthly subscription, which ships the kit and the workshop.
Even Kandace Meyer, the Marketing Analytics Lead at The Crafter’s Box, said she uses the company’s boxes and workshops for date nights with her husband.
“We did an oil painting workshop with a glass of wine after we got the kids to bed,” Kandace said. “You can share that quality time with your partner. This is one of those great ways to do that.”
Curating Crafting Boxes That Couples Will Love
Kandace said the Crafter’s Box Founder Morgan Spenla loved high-end crafting, and she especially enjoyed sophisticated artisan projects. She was so committed to luxury crafting that she dyed yarn in her kitchen sink.
She wasn’t a full-time artist but wanted to pursue her passion during her time off. But there were times when Morgan would find a project she was excited about, but her local craft store didn’t deliver.
“She found it overwhelming. She asked, ‘How do I know what materials to get?’ and ‘Which paint brushes to use?’” Kandace told us.
Kandace Meyer, the Marketing Analytics Lead at The Crafter’s Box, told us about the company’s products and workshops.
So, Morgan decided to create a company that would simplify crafting. No longer would people have to worry about finding the right high-quality materials. Nor would they need to wonder how to create projects that would fit into well-decorated homes and apartments.
“Morgan decided she would find experts in their fields, source the materials, and offer it as a service,” said Kandace.
The company launched its first workshop in 2016 with three employees. Five years later, The Crafter’s Box has more than 20 employees.
Its marketplace workshops are the key offerings, including the spoon and planter-making kits, which retail for $75 each. In recent years, the company has added premium, intricate craft kits, as well. Those boxes come with high-quality, unique materials.
For instance, couples who want a more intense crafting date can enroll in the Leather Craftsmanship workshop, where they’ll learn to stitch their own leather messenger bags. Leather Artist Tyler Axell, the company’s first solo male artist, also leads workshops on wallet-making.
“We also offer premium workshops on stained glass or weaving where we provide the loom to build larger projects,” Kandace told us.
Attracting Renowned Experts for Virtual Workshops
The Crafter’s Box kits come with high-end, preselected materials. The company’s other differentiating factor is the caliber of the artists who lead its workshops.
“We find artists all over the United States. We fly the artist to San Diego to film in a professional studio with great lighting, and we hire a production team,” Kandace said.
The artists have all impacted their fields, and they each have 10,000 or more followers on Instagram. Most are professional craftspeople who refine their skills full-time.
“A lot of our artists have their own books, and they’re established in the crafting field,” Kandace said.
The artists also come from a variety of disciplines. Fiber artists lead workshops on weaving and punch needles, a medium in which artists punch yarn through fabric using a needle. Crafters can also explore weaving using handmade looms in the company’s headquarters in San Diego. The looms were designed in-house by The Crafter’s Box and local San Diegan craftsman team Jeff and Cherie Kirschenman.
Other artist workshop leaders are painters, soapmakers, basketweavers, potters, paper artists, and candlemakers.
The Crafter’s Box attracts those artists by working to build a community of people who love crafting. Couples can connect with artists, ask them questions about the workshop, and develop relationships.
Many fans of The Crafter’s Box are women ages 25 to 65. Some work on a new project every week, and many customers have dedicated crafting spaces.
“About 60% have a dedicated space where they nourish their creative soul, and it’s their outlet for stress,” Kandace said.
The company is also working to attract more men with projects like leatherworking, whittling, and cement-pouring.
The Crafter’s Box: A One-Stop Shop for Crafting Needs
The Crafter’s Box offers individual boxes and workshops, as well as its popular subscription box. Additionally, crafters can restock their supplies or buy add-ons to boxes in specific colors or styles.
Kandace recommends that couples begin with a painting or wall-hanging workshop. The candlemaking kits are also good for an at-home date night.
“Candlemaking is good for couples. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but you can make your own scent and mix oils. We also have pressed flower bouquet workshops, where you can put your masterpiece into a frame. The cement pouring workshops are also popular because guys are into outdoor gardening,” Kandace told us.
In addition to attracting more men, The Crafter’s Box aims to become a one-stop shop for restocking materials. Many of the company’s products are higher-quality than the typical craft stores, and some are even custom-made.
“We have a custom silicone mold that we created just for our cement-pouring workshop. We have our own line of bags we built in India,” said Kandace.
The Crafter’s Box will also continue rolling out unique boxes and workshops for crafters. Over its five years in operation, the company has found a niche following of crafters looking for straightforward, high-end crafts.
“Our owner is a bootstrapper, and she paid everything from her own pocket. This is the first year we’ve accepted investors. Watching the Crafter’s box grow and expand from the ground up has been an incredible experience and we’re super excited for the growth that has yet to come in the future,” Kandace said. “Our business model is finding experts, sourcing high-quality materials, and having a lot of custom-made products.”
