Message Board Announcement
Over the past ten years, we’ve watched as social media has changed the way people communicate online. When we started Studio Calico in 2007, message boards were the virtual coffee shop of the internet—a place where people came together to discuss things they have in common. As Facebook and Instagram came onto the scene and flourished, many have turned away from message boards, favoring the smaller groups and more personal interactions they can have on those platforms.
Here at SC, we have seen the same thing. Our once active message boards have become quiet. Because of that, we have decided to close them so that we can put our resources towards connecting with you all in other ways. We are thankful for the community that has grown around Studio Calico and look forward to being able to share more on Instagram—both in our feed and in our Stories. Both the SC blog and our Creative Team and Member galleries will be a place to continue to get inspiration, and we’ll be reaching out to the LOAW challenge posters so that we can continue to maintain that on the blog. As always, there will still be forums and lesson comment sections in our classrooms so that you can interact with your teachers and fellow students.
I'm so disappointed. The boards were slow but not dead. I looked forward to @whambampam 's thread every Friday, the LOAW challenges and @Penny 's monthly survey. The message board added a lot of value to my sub, and certainly won't be the same without it. This has taken a lot of the joy out of subscribing, and without out the MB I'm not sure how much longer I will continue to sub. I do not have a FB account, and don't want one. Instagram is not a great place for conversation. This is sad.
I agree - the connections through the message boards were more personal and interactive - and gave the subscribers and other members a chance to connect with each other and not just see what sc thought we should see and to learn from each other , not just the creative team
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O.M.G.
I did love Studio Calico with all my heart. I was one of the most "defensive lawyers" of this company WITH they constant changes.. ( in the last 2 years of changing every single minute something..). I (BELIEVE IT OR NOT) didn´t travel on the 27ths just to buy their kits. I cancelled my sub of 6 years, a month ago.. because I knew this was smelling BAD.
good luck!!!
I feel the same - I haven't cancelled yet but feel like this could be the end - sc wasn't just about pretty paper - cause let's face it - there are lots of places to get that online - it was about connections
It's just awful to take the message board away from subscribers
This is the nail in the coffin for me.
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I am shocked and extremely disappointed in the movement away from community here. So basically it's just another store????
I don't know what to say....just super sad and will miss my "friends" here and seeing their family grow and being a part of their lives, including the creative team members.
???
???
Yes, it's the move away from being a community that is sad. You don't get the same interaction on facebook or Instagram.
Very disappointed.
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This is unfortunate. I too liked coming to the boards to see what the other members have been up to. Like others, I have even purchased more merchandise as a result of members' recommendations and perspectives. As @penny has asked perhaps SC can consider enabling the previous board for read only for a time so that we can get some information of interest from the posts.
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I feel like the message boards are what made studio calico special - it's been a place where I have found love, support and inspiration over the years .......and not just about scrapbooking . Whether I've needed a layout idea, a recipe, something to read, parenting advice - or just moral support - this community was my go to place. This makes me sad .....and maybe a little bit lonely (since I don't have many crafty people in my life in person).
Yes, it does make loneliness feel more palpable. I will try and remember to check your gallery every so often, as I've always loved your layouts.
Thank you @mtercha
I agree. I felt like I "belonged" to some type of community. Hearing about recipes, tips about printers or how to adhere some weird embellishment to a journal card was a way I would connect with other like minded women
:/ Sad
I feel like I know you guys
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This makes me so sad. The boards were my go-to for scrapping questions, I felt like I could reach out to the community and even if it was just the regulars helping me out, it helped me. out. Even though at times I would get frustrated with some of the negative comments, I feel that the positive always outweighed them. The boards were also a place to share ideas & feelings. I'll miss them.
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What is the status of the blog? Unless I missed something the last post was from August. Is that coming to an end as well?
@audmac - we post at least 5 days a week. the very first post about the prynt is stickied to the top, the next post is from catherine and went live this morning. =)
https://www.studiocalico.com/blog
@gluestickgirl - I just went to the blog and can't find the prynt blog. Could you please check and get back to us as to where that subject is. I just got my prynt printer and wanted to talk about how great it is.
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This has been a long time coming. The countdown begins till when the kits are gone. Studio Calico and April Foster have left the scrapbook community for something shiny.
It does feel a little bit like that .....
It sure does
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I wish there had been a warning this was coming. It sucks that they're just gone. With the Mega Mega sale and now this, I wonder if SC could be going out of business. I will miss all of you. Even when I didn't comment, I checked in just to see what everyone was up to. Sad news.
Please come to 2peas
@Gigi333 I will!
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I've only ever used the SC boards for my communication and connection with fellow scrappers. This board was something I looked forward to visiting, the good and the bad, it was a way for me to feel connected with others. The message board was one of the main reasons why I subbed back in 2010. This is so very sad! I will definitely miss seeing all the lovely friends I have come to know on the boards. I don't do instagram or facebook either, I feel like I'm being pushed out:(
Come to 2peas there are lots of us there
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Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we SC? The once-active boards became quiet because you banned paying members and started locking threads. Your creative team hardly ever posted. You started charging for workshops for kit inspiration, something which should have been accessible to all subscribers. You drove your audience away and left the message board for dead. Don’t try to pull the wool over our eyes by blaming us for using FB and Instagram - I can see that your posts only get a handful of comments nowadays, unlike the hundreds and hundreds of comments you used to get.
The message board was the best thing SC had going. I’d venture a guess that many of your subscribers chose SC over the competition because of the community. I know I did.
I guess the writing is on the wall, isn’t it?
*slow clap* well said!
Standing ovation.
So very true @Kaybree
Exactly...
If I could like your post more than once I would!!! Thank you for saying it exactly how it is! <3
So true
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I am sad. I check the boards daily. I love the ideas. and frankly most of my "add on sales" were because of the board. (Just bought more embellishments with my Oct sub because of a members post!) . I will check into 2peas.
Frankly, I left scrapbooking for a while. I rekindled my love because of a new years resolution. Studio Calico has helped me fill two albums for my now three year old. Our story is amazing. The SC boards help me make it amazing and find my long lost love a scrapbooking . I hope @Kaybree is not correct. I will love your kits and classes so much. Please rethink your decision. We are loyal. We are customers. We are papercrafters.
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does anyone have a link to the 2peasrefugee board?
http://2peasrefugees.boards.net/
For direct link google studio calico refugees...
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I'm sad but certainly not surprised that the message board has been closed. SC stopped caring about their customers when they found all these shiny new things to chase after. A little TLC from SC staff and the CT may have bought it back to life after all the bad business decisions that were undoubtedly the cause of members leaving the boards in the first place. I feel like so many benefits of being a subscriber have been taken away and there is now very little reason to remain subscribed... especially now that the community aspect that I enjoyed so much is gone.
why would anyone want to be a subscriber when you can get a kit each month for $5? They drove their longterm members away.
@cookiebear Yes, I totally agree! Kits can now also be purchased from the store at the 12 month price without a subscription. And customers who make a purchase while the subscribers are waiting for bundling to finish can have their orders shipped and in some cases received even before the subscriber orders ship! It's so disrespectful to the most loyal customers and I think it's going to be the reason that I finally quit my last sub after four continuous years of subscribing.
@Leanne1965 I got my $5 kit shipped the day the kits were released and it was delivered yesterday. There is no benefit to subscribe. Especially now that they aren't honoring their plan to send a gift to subscribers every year.
maybe we should start saving all our digital files that we purchased - before those "disappear" too!
@joelaw Good point about the digital files!
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I just finished a 12.5 hour shift. I came home to upload my weekly No/Lo challenge. No more boards, no warning, just the BEST part of SC gone! Crazy, crazy, suicidal, crazy! Are you trying to shoot yourself in the foot, cut off your nose to spite your face? I don't do INSTAGRAM and Facebook is not the same.
I mean, seriously, people came & spent time on your site daily, multiple times daily. Enabled each other, encouraged each other, browsed the classrooms, perused the shop, discussed what they wanted to buy, what they needed. I mean, really, these boards were a gold mine & you just deleted them!
Why would any of your customers hang out here anymore, there's no one to talk to. We can't even message any SC staff anymore. What's next, no more communication between members?
I AM FIERCELY DISAPPOINTED BY THIS MOVE.
It's horrendous that someone like @whambampam had to find out this way
Studio Calico this is not cool
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I've posted this week's No/Lo to Facebook
I know not all of you use Facebook, but I already have a group there, so that's where I'll start. If a lot of you reach out that you would like me to take No/Lo over to 2Peas, I will. Sorry if my Facebook post, is not as complete as usual. I'm a little rattled right now.
Before SC shuts down anything else here is my email
pamela.mcgillin@gmail.com, if you write to me please include your SC username so I know who you are.
The No/Lo Facebook group is "No/Lo Spend 2017"
my Facebook is Pamela McGillin or I think I can also be found under WhamBamPam
@TerryB @mtercha @CeliseMcL @penny @RhondaN @iScrap @Gigi333 @juliee @cloudyya @peachiceteas @Sunniva @CristinaC @ginny @alakard @ShellyJ @lasteve1 @Joelaw @ATXmom @huskermom98 @mandy1632 @clippergirl @audmac @corinne @christieamber @KarineC @Kaybree @Leanne1965 @andreahoneyfire @pinksoup @honeykd @tpgirl @lirathea @cmsplitt @ohdessa @scrapally @theslowcrafter @Leah
I'm not finding a "No/Lo Spend 2017" on Facebook. Is it not created yet?
Thank you for always taking the time to post the no/low spend. I truly appreciate all your efforts:) I didn't upload projects much but I always tried to quietly play along. Seriously thank you:) I'm super bummed. I don't have any near by "paper friends" but always felt connected checking in.
I'm not on Facebook, but spend a fair amount of time on the various boards at 2peas. Thanks for the tag though. Hope to see you over there as you were one of the most active folks around here!
I'm not on Facebook either, but hope to see you at 2peas.
I just asked to join the Facebook group, @whambampam. I am Michelle Lynne on FB. :)
I asked to join too Pam - I'm Michelle Bond on FB.
I asked to join Pam. I'm Linda Lundin Tereba on FB.
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It feels like a "I'm breaking up with you so you can't break up with me" kind of move.
I will really miss everyone here. I signed on to 2PR but still unfamiliar with it.
Does this work https://www.facebook.com/groups/1272750279451990/?ref=bookmarks
The boards are a little different, and I agree change is hard. But it does have some nice features that these boards didn't - like quote and go to first new post. Hope you give it a chance and find a new home there :)
@WhamBamPam it does work.
Funny, when I typed your name here there was no drop down to select a name. Do they not want to make it easier to find a person now?
@pinksoup I noticed that the drop down suggestions are gone and wondered the same thing.
Are you all using the same name? @ATXmom, @pinksoup, @alakard at 2PR?
@clippergirl I am using pinksoup on 2PR and Kathleen Makar Smith on FB.
@clippergirl Sorry for the late reply... haven't been over here much without the boards and just came over to start downloading my digitals just in case.
I do not have the same name (or avatar). But if you check on the general scrapbooking board over there I started a roll call thread and people are starting to pop in over there to introduce themselves. Hope you will join us!
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OK, so this is weird - I'm trying to start a "conversation" to cancel my workshop subs and it won't let me continue after I click "no" on the option to skip a month! Naturally, I have no other way to get in touch with SC now as the boards are down and the chat box has disappeared!!
the chat box is gone... lol... lmao... OMG... what is going on SC?
I think the chat box only shows when staff are there. Well at least I only ever see it late at night or early morning here in Australia.
@joelaw I had that happen to me once also, I had to close that box without answering to get past it.
It will only let you manually skip, not cancel. When I did it a few months ago, I just started a regular convo and the reason was cancel a sub... and I think it then pulled up my subs to let me tell them which one. And someone replied to me the next day or so that they had cancelled it for me. Hope that helps.
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Honestly this is very disappointing to me also. I have belonged to several kit clubs but SC was my favorite and I loved the board. I am not a fan of the 2peas refugee message board, (I have a hard time following the threads). I joined Pam's facebook group. I hope this will keep me motivated to continue with this hobby.
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The 6th has come and gone. I did not get a shipping notice. Did anyone? By the way, It is World Card Making Day... Anything?
I did get a shipping notice yesterday. With UPS tracking that shows Wednesday delivery. When all the shipping was chaotic, I don't think I was getting tracking, and most months it was USPS.
No reason to get upset that my kit will be delayed. There won't be anyone to play with anymore.
I got one, but it was odd since I never caught my order "packing" which is usually the status for at least a day.
I haven't gotten a shipping notice or tracking number in months. It just shows up on my door step.
IT is now the 9th and mine is still showing active. How is it that non-subscribers have their orders already and some subscribers aren't even in packing yet?
I just tracked my package and it's not supposed to be here until tomorrow... the 14th. (Pretty much the half of the month has gone by) And I only live in MA so it's usually only a three day ship. Frustrations all around.
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I noticed that the message board was down yesterday and thought “hmm, maybe down for maintenance?” and have to admit that I was REALLY surprised to read this post this morning. I went over to Facebook to check things out. The thing is, Studio Calico has a “page” there, not a “group” that I could see. Would it be an option moving forward for SC to form a group as well, like Ali’s Craft the Story group? It provides a bit more privacy for people who want to connect with their scrappy friends :) And the Craft the Story group is flourishing!!! It’s such a lovely place to be for all the reasons we’ve loved the SC message boards. It definitely provides a forum for more interaction and an opportunity to connect with our tribe. (Annnnnd there’s lots of enabling there as well, lol)
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I'm not surprised they are closed. So many negative posts- who would spend money on hiring someone just to monitor that? Those were about the only posts left. The normal chatter/excitement were so rare lately. I think the message boards slowed down so much they were not part of my daily routine for awhile now. They were a place so many came to gripe for sport, practically. Of course there were plenty of legitimate gripes but it also became a game for so many. Not surprised that was shut down. I do feel bad for those who really relied on the boards for part of their morning or daily routine- that stinks. Maybe someone will start something up somewhere else aside from the 2peasrefugee boards. Or I'm sure there are some forums there that are nice and helpful.
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2PeasRefugees is definitely both nice and helpful, and extremely active. The SCRefugee thread might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's easy not to read that specific thread. The 2Ps forum is much, much more than just that one thread. There are dozens of crafty and non-crafty threads started every day, and you can start a thread there about *literally* anything you want. No one will censor you and most of us over there are happy to talk on threads that interest us and ignore those that make us angry. There are even specific red tags on political threads (in the non-scrapbook side of things - the NSBR) for people who want to avoid that kind of thing. Please, everyone come over and take a look.
It will be very clear if you do that message boards are not dead.
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When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
How many more ways can SC show us who they are before it becomes clear who they are ?!
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I wonder if this means no more crops for NSD and other events. I always enjoyed those.
Everything seems so "up in the air"......ugh.
I am afraid that you're right. Today is World Card Making Day, and SC doesn't seem to be doing anything for it. I enjoyed the special events, too. It's sad that this may be the end of those.
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