My Biz: Scrapmania holds classes, operates retreat house

Stacy Wolrab took a chance when she opened a specialty scrapbooking supply store nearly three years ago.

'At the time there were no other specialty scrapbooking stores in the area and I felt there was a need in the community,” she said. 'I thought why not give this a try. It can be hard to order online or through a catalog and that's why people like having a local store, so they can see and touch the products.”

Before opening, Wolrab looked at potential locations for the business all over town before finally deciding on a space on Collins Road.

'This is a huge retail center,” she said of her location. 'But I do still hear from people every day that they didn't know we were here.”

Wolrab said her store, Scrapmania, carries many brands that don't sell to big box stores. She also buys papers from Iowa distributors and works with a company out of Coralville to create custom papers.

'People need certain papers and sometimes they aren't on the market, so we will create custom papers,” she said. 'I will start with ordering a few papers and if it sells well then we'll order in more. We aim to be different from any store in the area. If we don't have something in stock, I can try to order it in for customers.”

Scrapmania carries scrapbooking materials for all the Cedar Rapids schools and area districts - from elementary school through college.

'We also carry Christmas scrapbooking stuff all year-round which the big box stores don't do,” she said.

Wolrab herself is a crafter, although running the business doesn't leave much time for the hobby these days. She started making cards a decade ago and then moved on to scrapbooking to track the adventures of her four children.

'Typically my customers are either card makers or scrapbookers. They are two totally different types of projects and people,” she said.

Scrapmania offers a host of classes each month - everything from card making and scrapbooking to painting and mixed media classes.

'We bring in teachers for each one and try to come up with really unique ideas,” Wolrab said. 'We just started doing kids classes as well, and all of our classes are doing really well right now.”

Wolrab said each day at the store is different, but Saturdays are usually busiest.

'Class days are busy as you have 12 additional people in the door that day and they usual make use of the 10 percent discount we offer the day of their class.”

Seeing the projects her customers make - in or out of class - is one of the highlights of the job, Wolrab said.

'It's nice when people are excited about their end product, their ideas. Sometimes they come in and bring what they've made and it's fun to share in their excitement.”

Wolrab often works behind the cash register. Although she also has five part-time employees, she's very hands on with the business. She handles the monthly newsletter, Facebook and website maintenance, ordering, pricing and inventory.

'We work really hard to keep everything fresh and offer product ideas,” Wolrab added.

'If it's the same old stuff my customers don't have a reason to come back time and again. I make sure to find the time to research new products, get them in the store and make samples so our customers can see how to use them.”

Scrapmania also operates a retreat house in Vinton. The five-bedroom farm house accommodates groups of up 16 crafters interested in a weekend of crafting.

'This is something new we are trying to see how it goes,” Wolrab said. 'Groups who have used it so far enjoy it because they can just set up their stuff and get to work.”

' Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com

AT A GLANCE

Name: Stacy Wolrab

Title: Owner

Company: Scrapmania

Address: 224 Collins Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 377-9999

Website: www.scrapmania.co