We ask you, urgently: don’t scroll past this
Dear readers, Catholic Online was de-platformed by Shopify for our pro-life beliefs. They shut down our Catholic Online, Catholic Online School, Prayer Candles, and Catholic Online Learning Resources—essential faith tools serving over 1.4 million students and millions of families worldwide. Our founders, now in their 70's, just gave their entire life savings to protect this mission. But fewer than 2% of readers donate. If everyone gave just $5, the cost of a coffee, we could rebuild stronger and keep Catholic education free for all. Stand with us in faith. Thank you.Help Now >
After 35 years of expansion, Shrinky Dinks brand is for sale
FREE Catholic Classes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MCT) - In 35 years, a business based on shrinking has expanded to include about 250 products sold in 42 countries around the world.
Highlights
McClatchy Newspapers (www.mctdirect.com)
11/6/2008 (1 decade ago)
Published in Business & Economics
Now Betty Morris, one of the inventors of Shrinky Dinks, is hoping that the value she created with her plastic crafts company, K&B Innovations Inc., translates to a big nest egg for her retirement.
"I can't believe it's gone so fast," Morris, 68, marvels at the years that have passed since she and Kathryn Bloomberg invented Shrinky Dinks as a Cub Scout project with their sons in Brookfield, Wis.
Their story has been told many times: The two stay-at-home moms found a craft project in a magazine that involved tracing on plastic lids and shrinking them in an oven. The Cub Scouts were so excited by the activity that Morris and Bloomberg decided to pursue the idea of creating a product and selling it.
Their first success came at Brookfield Square in 1973, where for $2 they sold kits that they had assembled themselves.
Soon after, they found a business partner, M.W. Kasch in Mequon, Wis., to distribute the product and a way to produce it. After a few months, they sold 50,000 kits in stores around the Milwaukee area.
Later, when their distributor ran into some difficulties, they learned how to negotiate licensing agreements. Under such agreements, companies such as theirs, which hold rights to a product, allow another company to use their brand name on other products, in return for a licensing fee, typically 5 percent.
Colorforms was the first major toy business to make Shrinky Dinks under an exclusive license agreement. A Smurfs Shrinky Dink kit was their biggest seller, Morris recalled.
"Shrinky Dinks just went crazy in the '70s and '80s," she said. Milton Bradley wanted it and bought the rights from Colorforms.
Bloomberg, meanwhile, left the business in the 1980s to pursue a career in politics. She became a Brookfield alderman, and then mayor for 16 years. Morris bought out Bloomberg's share of the business and is now the sole owner.
Milton Bradley bought Parker Bros. during the 1990s and decided to focus on games. The company stopped making Shrinky Dinks products, which cut off Morris' income stream from licensed sales.
"In the '90s, it was pretty rough," Morris said. She struck a new licensing deal with Western Publishing's Golden Books division in Racine, Wis., in 1994, only to have that company go out of business.
Morris decided that she was done with exclusive licensing plans. It was time to try something new. In 1998, she leased a building in North Lake and reorganized her company into a business that granted non-exclusive licenses to multiple toy companies. Her profits would come not from licensing fees but from sales of the plastic needed for Shrinky Dinks. The producers of Shrinky Dink products are required to buy the plastic from K&B Innovations.
Morris buys the plastic in rolls from a plastics maker. K&B employees in North Lake roughen and cut the plastic, then ship it to factories in China, Korea and other places where Shrinky Dink products are made.
Morris made a pact with her husband, Chuck, in 1998 that she would give this new plan a year, and abandon the business if they couldn't make money. Their decision spurred a resurgence in Shrinky Dinks products in the 2000s from manufacturers such as Creativity for Kids, Alex, Usborne Books and Klutz Books.
In addition, K&B makes craft kits in North Lake that are sold to retailers such as Michaels and Hobby Lobby, as well as online. The Web site has sales of $20,000 per month, and total annual revenue is well over $1 million, Morris said.
She estimates total retail sales for Shrinky Dinks products, since 1973, at $150 million.
Shrinky Dink sales represent just a tiny part of the total sales for arts and crafts toys, estimated by NPD Group at $1.5 billion for the 12 months ended in August. That compares with $1.4 billion for the same period a year ago.
K&B has a staff of six people who handle everything from working with plastic to shipping Internet orders.
Morris' husband, Chuck, has not been part of the business. He worked for years at MGIC Corp., then operated his own company, ComCor Mortgage. Chuck Morris sold the business in 2004 in preparation for retirement.
Betty's goal for next year is to sell her business and join him.
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
___
FUN FACTS ABOUT SHRINKY DINKS
_ Shrinky Dinks went up in the space shuttle Atlantis in 2000 as part of a first-grade science experiment. They wanted to see if a Shrinky Dink would shrink in the extreme temperature changes. It didn't.
_ Seattle hosts a Shrinky Dinks Art Invitational. It's a charity event that requires professional artists to create original work with Shrinky Dinks.
_ In 2001, students from Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi helped to create a Shrinky Dinks Art Car that was entered in a contest in Houston. More than 1,500 students created 3-inch tiles that were used to cover the entire car. Shrinky Dinks founder hopes to sell toy business
___
© 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Wednesday, December 25, 2024
- St. Eugenia: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, December 25, 2024
- Christmas Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, December 25, 2024
- Daily Readings for Tuesday, December 24, 2024
- St. Adele: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, December 24, 2024
- Christmas Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.