September 17, 2023 • 30 mins
Picture yourself diving into the vibrant world of crafting, armed with the highest quality cutting tools, and surrounded by a sea of yellow - a color that has become synonymous with creativity and inspiration. In our latest episode, we welcome Yvonne Busdeker, the brand channel manager for OLFA, a trailblazer in the realm of cutting tools, and we venture into the vast universe of crafting. Yvonne shares profound insights about OLFA's quality products with a special focus on their Pro Section, as well as the story behind the distinctive yellow branding that has become a hallmark of their identity.
We journey beyond the usual, exploring unconventional and imaginative uses of OLFA's tools. Imagine making wavy microwave bacon with OLFA's rotary blades or using them for cosplay! And did you know that their stainless steel blades are food-safe? With OLFA's cutting tools, your creativity knows no bounds. From quilting to crafting, Yvonne inspires you to take on your next project with confidence and enthusiasm.
And what's crafting without a splash of color? Yellow, a color that ignites creativity and symbolizes the joy of crafting, is a vital part of this exciting world. We discuss its significance and how it's become an identifiable color on craft tables. We celebrate the diversity of craft activities and the endless potential that lies within everyone to create. As we wrap up this episode, we hope to ignite your passion for crafting and motivate you to keep exploring until you find your niche. Remember, at OLFA, there's a tool for every craft and a craft for every creator.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeff (00:09):
Welcome back to Art Supply Insiders.
My name is Jeff Morrow.
Today we're talking with YvonneBusdeker.
Yvonne is the brand channelmanager for OLFA.
Yvonne, before we jump in, justtell people in general what is
an OLFA?
Who are they?
What do they do?
Yvonne (00:27):
OLFA is one of the leading craft notions suppliers
in the world.
Jeff (00:35):
And what do you supply?
What is your product that makesyou so good?
Yvonne (00:41):
We have three different segments.
It comes down to cutting tools.
We have our Pro Section, whichis what started the company in
1956.
Then there's a safety channeland then the craft channel,
which I take care of, whichbegan in 1979 with the invention
of the rotor.
(01:01):
So that's my main item.
Jeff (01:05):
You guys are that company that you put it down and you
just kind of rolled it along andit cuts stuff out as you roll
it along.
Yvonne (01:13):
Slices right through it.
Jeff (01:15):
Yeah, I know because you guys have cost me a lot of money
.
My wife is a crafter and youguys are kind of known for that
yellow handle or yellow case orsomething like that.
Right, Correct.
Yvonne (01:30):
The yellow handles across all the lines.
We do have some colors on craft, but our main company color is
yellow.
Jeff (01:37):
Well, how did that ever come about?
I was looking on your website,which, incidentally, before we
go, give everybody your websiteaddress.
Yvonne (01:46):
It is www.
OLFA.
com and it's O-L-F-A.
Jeff (01:55):
O-L-F-A.
com and I've been looking at it.
I've got it up now for aboutthe last hour or so, so what a
great website you guys give theend user anything they would
ever need right.
Yvonne (02:10):
We want to make it the destination.
While we don't sell direct toconsumers, we sell to our
customers, whether it's yourindependent quilt shops or more
national chains.
We want to be the go-to websitefor all of the information.
So, whether it's our customersor the end consumer, we want to
make our or we strive to makeour website the destination.
(02:34):
Whether it's how to change yourblade or a free project when it
comes to crafters, or just moreinformation about the tools in
general, we want to be thatsource of information.
Jeff (02:45):
Well, I can attest to O-L-F-A.
I've been in the art industryfor a whole bunch of years and
many of our audience knows.
In a former life, my businesspartner and I were the brush
guys and we sold brushes online.
But both are products allaround my house and I've had
(03:07):
them for a long time and boy arethey good and do they last.
Yvonne (03:11):
Lifetime warranty on those handles.
They are definitely some days Idon't know why, it still amazes
me.
But we'll get emails fromconsumers and they'll be like
you know, I'm missing a littlewasher or something like that,
and we ask that they send apicture of the handles so we
know which one they're talkingabout.
And they've got the originalhandles.
(03:33):
That are 40 plus years oldAmazes me.
I'm like oh wow, I haven't seenone in a while.
But it's our consumer, our userand user.
They still have those handles,whether it's 20, 30, 40 years
old.
That speaks to the quality.
Jeff (03:49):
Yeah, it's nuts, because I have put, you know, competitors
of yours in my hand, but Ialways seem to go back to my
alpha one because I know it'sgoing to work right.
Yvonne (04:03):
It's kind of work and they spend a lot of time on the
design, like our, let's say, our, what we call our.
Our ty2g Rotary cutter is ourclassic straight handle.
If you look back at the photosit's changed a little bit here
and there, but the overalldesign handle has stayed the
(04:23):
same.
They've made updates.
They're always looking at waysto make the better and it may be
Is that the consumer may notsee, but they're constantly
looking at those.
But at the same time we don'tcome out with a ton of new
designs and handles because theones we have were designed
properly in the first place andthose designs have endured and
(04:46):
that that style.
And it really comes down towhat.
Which one of those handles isyour handle?
Jeff (04:53):
Yeah, I'm looking and kind of from a forty thousand foot
level.
So you guys make like rotarycutters and blades and mats and
rulers and scissors and Artknives is does that kind of
cover about 80% of all the stuffthat you make?
Yvonne (05:10):
If you throw the utility knives in there, which is our
pro business?
Yes, because there are somecrafters that will use some of
those pro pro utility knives aswell.
But from the crafting sense,yes, that's our grouping.
Jeff (05:24):
Well, what would be the difference between a, a Pro
product and a craft product?
Yvonne (05:30):
typically it's going to be the use so well, and then
even that gets a little graysometimes because it's a crafter
as an artist, as a maker.
We will pull two from anywherewe can find them if going to get
the job, going to get the jobdone.
But we have them like rotarycutters, mats, one of the three
(05:52):
scissors, art knives, rulers,those are going to fall under
crafting simply because theirmain, their main use is going to
be quilting, sewing Crafters,okay.
But we do know that our rotarycutters are used on and blades
are used on industry, inindustrial settings and in
(06:14):
professional settings.
So they're definitely ascrossover.
You can't, we can't, say justbecause the rotary cutter it's
stuck in craft and no one elseoutside of that we use it
because it's not the case.
Jeff (06:26):
It's really kind of you use it in a lot of different
Applications, right?
Yvonne (06:31):
I mean you just, whatever you think you can do,
try it at the end of the day,it's a knife, it's a rolling
blade.
So, as long as you have yourmat underneath, I mean, when I
when I am gonna back up just asecond when I came to all five
came as a paper crafter and andand they, you know like, oh, we
(06:52):
use rotary cutters for makingquilts, and I was like I Use it
for paper at chipboard, like Ihave one.
That's not what I use it for.
So and that's one of the one ofthe Really fun parts of my job
is finding out what people usethe rotary cutters for and
making sure that in all of ourinformation we're letting people
(07:13):
know it's not just for fabric.
You may want to have a differentblade for fabric and then, as
you know, as that you know isn'tworking on fabric the best,
then you switch it to paper andchipboard.
But it's a knife.
You can cut a lot of differentthings with it.
I would not just as a generalCrafter.
It's a knife, it's a tool tocut something.
Jeff (07:35):
So you're a crafter yourself, then right from the
time I Scissors.
Tell our audience a little bitabout the crafts that that you
do and and how OLFA has beenable to help you get better at
your craft.
Yvonne (07:56):
I Originally started with sewing because my mom was a
sewer.
She would make her clothing andHer scraps box.
I would go in and pull outscraps and I would sew pillows
for my you know, for second,third-grade teachers.
And then evolved into paperwhen I had kids, because I
Brought booking and paper was avery Something that made sense
(08:18):
to me and I loved creating withpaper.
And when I came on board withOLFA close to eight years ago
now, I Knew that our core ForNorth America, our core
followers, were quilters.
That's not all of them, butquilting is one of the like.
Quilters took a hold of therotary cutter when it came to
(08:39):
North America and they have notlet go of it.
In order then to talk to whatis now going to be the consumer
that I'm, that I'm talking to, Ineeded to understand their
crafts.
So now you nobody can see, butyou can see behind me A small
the fabric that I now have tomake quilts.
(09:01):
So it's definitely a bit pushesme to do more crafts because I
want to be be able to providemore Informing, more education
to our consumer.
So I have to know our tools andI have to push them and see
what else they can be used for.
Jeff (09:19):
Well, I was looking on your, your website, to try to
figure out all the differentuses and, and I saw it on like
Leather and and and you can useit in the garage and use it when
you're on your boat andscraping Tape up off the off the
cement.
What, what are some of thecraziest things you've heard
people use OLFA for?
Yvonne (09:40):
I this is always one of my favorite question.
Oh, do you know that some ofthe rotary blades are used in
sale making?
It would be our stainless steelblades for not rusting.
But my favorite one is we havethree specialty blades, one of
which is a way.
I believe it's the wave blade.
(10:00):
But one of the three specialtyblades there are stainless steel
which can be used in foodprocessing.
So one of them is used to makewavy microwave bacon.
What I know that was that wasone of my favorites.
Jeff (10:17):
Wait a minute.
How do they make wavy bacon?
But I can't even see the visual.
I'm trying to figure it out.
Yvonne (10:23):
It's to cut the.
I believe I would have to lookit up, but it's it's.
It does the.
It gives the bacon its wavinessfor the microwave.
I don't use microwave bacon, soare your blades food safe?
Jeff (10:38):
Is that what I'm hearing?
Yvonne (10:39):
The stainless steel ones , which would be the.
There's three steel, so we'vegot an 18 millimeter size, that
is, and there's three of the 45sthat are stainless steel and
they're under specialty on thewebsite If you look under rotary
, rotary products blades, andyes, there is a stainless steel
(11:01):
pinking, a scallop and a waveblade.
Jeff (11:04):
Really, yes, I would.
I would have never bacon.
That just kind of threw me fora loop.
Now all of a sudden I'm hungrybacon.
Yvonne (11:18):
In my house.
I made some this morning.
Jeff (11:21):
I'm glad it's not like smell of visions, because I'd be
smelling it and I'd be cuttingthe podcast off right now.
One of the crazy things I sawand we've done a couple of
podcasts on this is you havepeople that use them for cosplay
to right.
Yvonne (11:39):
Yes, they do.
Because, again, well, a coupledifferent, couple of ways.
One, we had a cosplayer we'veworked with at the past.
She, her name is Jed Amanda,and she does these amazing,
amazing costumes, mostly fabric,so rotary cutter, your, you
know, cotton fabric, makingthese, these wonderful clothing
(12:00):
pieces that want these costumes.
And then some of the other onesthat we've worked with, they
have a lot of like foam andother materials where you would
then pull from the pro sidewhere they have the larger
industrial, you know, the largerutility knives which would be
(12:21):
perfect for that.
That's why I'm like you can'tjust look at the craft side of
the business when you're lookingat crafts, because as crafters
we're going to take fromeverywhere.
Jeff (12:29):
Wow, there's just so much that you do so.
When they go to your website,you have your catalogs on there
that give them pictures andproduct numbers and all that
kind of stuff.
Right, correct, so they can.
So if people have a realspecialty need for an Ulfacutter
probably where they would go.
Yvonne (12:52):
You can.
Certainly you can start there,but honestly, our product pages
we load them with anything andeverything and then the catalog
kind of comes from that.
So if you want a moreinteractive, I would start with
the product pages.
Look through the utility knives, look through the art knives,
look through the rotary cutters.
Each one of those pages isgoing to have all the
(13:13):
information about that cutter.
It's going to let you know whatit cuts, what the blades are.
That goes with it.
It's going to have the bladechange information.
It's going to have productvideos for you.
It's going to have reviews.
Everything is pop is again thatuser experience.
We want to make sure that theycan find any information they
need and the best place is goingto be to start is those product
(13:35):
pages and just poking around.
Jeff (13:38):
So one of the unique products I saw that I didn't
know you had was somethingcalled an ergonomic rotary
cutter.
Well, tell our audience alittle bit about what an
ergonomic rotary cutter is.
Yvonne (13:52):
That is our number one rotary cutter for a lot of
reasons.
All of our handles, all of ourrotary handles are right and
left handed for right and lefthanded users.
That particular one, you lookat it and you're like, no, a
left hander can't use it.
That one's a little unique inthat on the on the product page
(14:13):
there's a video on how to how toactually change it.
But when you remove the bladeyou simply have to turn the
handle over and then refast andeverything.
So you have to swap the sidethat the blade is on to turn it
into a left handed, so thatone's right and left handed.
It has the blade lock, which isreally nice.
(14:34):
Especially if you're a crafterand you've got small kids in the
house, you want to be able tolock that blade.
So it's to pick it up.
They can't open the blade andthen when you're ready to use it
, you, you know, flip the bladelock and then you can use it and
it has an auto retract on theblade, which all of the other,
all of the other handles have ablade cover.
(14:55):
But as a crafter you have tomake it a habit to always close
that blade If you make a cut andyou set it down, you've got to
close the blade lock to be safe,whereas the ergonomic
automatically closes.
So there's multiple safetyfeatures in that one that that
really make it a number oneseller, and then, additionally,
those three specialty bladesthat I told you about fit with
(15:19):
that handle.
There's actually a spacer, aplastic spacer, on the backside
of the set that would move tothe front, between the blade and
the handle, to give it room,those specialty blades room, to
properly cut.
Jeff (15:33):
Oh, there's one, an incredible product that looked
at it and it's almost like it'sgot a on the handles.
So you squeeze it and then theblade, the rotary blade, comes
down, and then you do yourcutting with it.
With it, with it, the triggerclose and then you and the
blades protected again, but it'snot locked.
Yvonne (15:55):
Correct.
So that makes it especially forfirst time users, or again
someone that's got smallchildren around, or just them,
you know, just themselvesthey're.
You know, I'm not good atremembering to close my blade,
so this one is the one that'sgoing to.
You know, keep my work surfacea little bit safer.
Jeff (16:14):
Now, is there a I don't know the answer to this a safe
blade for kids, for them to beable to use, or would you say
that your products are more forthe adult crafter and the adult
professional?
Yvonne (16:29):
They're definitely adult supervision, adult type
products or older, older teenageproducts.
That being said, we know that Iwas a very hands on, like my
kids, had the craft roomavailable to them.
However, they didn't just usetools without knowing how to use
(16:50):
them, or I was with them, or Ican't say my kids had ever used
a rotary cutter at a young age,because I really didn't have one
until they were a little bitolder.
Each parent needs to make thatdecision, like our products.
I, I, 18 and above, you know,or high school and above, for
sure, but it's going to dependon each one.
(17:11):
Like we know, we've worked withsome high schools that have
quilting.
I will absolutely support that.
I mean, that's some.
They're teaching them, they'retraining them, they're
supervised, they're taught howto use the tool, the same as if
you've got like kids in in, likeBoy Scouts.
They use pocket knives, butthey use them when they're,
(17:32):
they're taught to understandthem, to use them properly.
It kind of falls within that,because I would never say don't
ever teach.
You know, let your, yourchildren touch rotary cutters
until they're such and such ofage.
It comes down to the parent andthe child working together on
those crafts.
We have crafters, they, theyand there are kids that are
(17:53):
using rotary cutting educationand supervision, because a great
tool and used properly.
Jeff (18:01):
Yeah, that's really the thing with almost anything when
it gets into crafting, isn't it?
I mean we don't want kidsputting glue in their mouth or
on their fingers.
I mean, you really they can.
They have glues for kids andscissors for kids, but yours are
for 18 and older, who know howto use those things, and then
kids have to be supervised.
Don't let them do it on theirown.
Yvonne (18:21):
Correct.
It's the same with cooking.
You're not just going to like,hey, here's the kitchen and have
fun.
You're going to teach your kidhow to use the pots and pans,
how to use the knives.
It's again and every kid'sgoing to be different and the
parents and the children canwork, work together on that.
Jeff (18:36):
So, so smart.
So when we look on the website,you, you have a place to tell
people where to go to buy yourtype of product, right?
Yvonne (18:46):
Correct Under.
Again going back to thatproduct page, we've put the top
retailers on each of the productpages.
It doesn't mean that there'snot somebody else that uses them
, especially when it comes tocrafting.
Your local quilt shop, yourlocal, whatever the craft shop
is that you go to, they may notbe listed on our site because we
(19:07):
can't list everybody.
However, you know, depending onwhere you're at I'm in a busy
area I can probably hit 10 shopswithin 10 miles and find the
product.
But national retailers forcraft is going to be Joann's and
then definitely your localquilt shops.
I very rarely walk into a quiltshop and do not find Ulfa
(19:28):
product on the wall.
Jeff (19:29):
I want to go back to.
I forgot to ask you in thebeginning stages.
When I was looking at aboutUlfa on your on your website, I
noticed there was an explanationfor why the original inventor
of this made the product yellow.
Yvonne (19:49):
Yes, it was Mr Okada.
His son is the one that isrunning the company now.
He is family company, sothey're they're great people to
work for.
The yellow is for safety.
Oh, so I know you're like ohyeah, that makes sense.
Jeff (20:07):
Now that you say it, it makes perfect sense because it's
almost like you know.
You go into an intersection,you see red, yellow, green and
when that yellow comes on itgoes.
You better be safe because itcould work out poorly if you're
not.
Yvonne (20:20):
It is, and you know what ?
It's great when you're at acraft table and it's so easy to
spot that I mean we have I meanI have my wall behind me of all
of our colors, but the yellow isstill.
It's that identifiable colorand it just stands out in the
craft table, unless you'reworking on a yellow project, in
which case pick a differentcolor.
Jeff (20:43):
I'm actually holding.
I don't know if you can seethis or not, but I'm actually
holding and I think this isbecause it's the yellow knife
cutter and it's so easy to see.
Yvonne (20:55):
Yeah, the yellow is definitely easy to see.
Jeff (20:58):
I never thought of that, so it's kind of like duh, think
about it.
Now.
You have a lot of videos andblogs that tell people about the
product and some of yourartists that talk about how they
use your product right.
Yvonne (21:15):
Yes, correct.
So, on all sides of thebusiness.
Again, it comes back toeducating and inspiring our
consumers, and we do thatthrough Common topic how do we
change our rotary cutters?
How do we change the blades,even in utility knives?
How do I change the blade?
And we probably have 10different ways minimum to tell
(21:37):
that story, whether it's a video, whether it's a step out sketch
, whether it's photography thatwe've stepped out Because we
realize everyone learnsdifferently.
And while somebody will bescrolling through our Instagram,
you know, every day they'rechecking stuff and we may send
across three different ways onhow to remember to change your
(21:58):
rotary cutter, but it's notuntil that fourth or fifth way
that they're like oh, I get it.
Some of the basic stuff we tellin a lot of different ways.
Again, so that we catcheveryone, or as many people as
we can, and then inspiring them.
You know, yes, I may use arotary cutter to cut fabric, but
(22:18):
, oh my gosh, we've got adesigner that uses leather and
she deconstructs, you know oldother coats and makes a bag out
of them.
We want to be able to give them, to inspire them, to inform
them, to educate them, because,in my opinion, crafting makes
the world go around.
It's, it's, it's, it's afabulous.
(22:41):
There's so many ways I don'tthink I could ever be one type
of Crafter like make one thing.
It's like oh, I think I can trythat.
Jeff (22:50):
You know, give them easy instructions, give them some
guidance and let them try it andif you think about so, I'm an
oil painter and it took me along time to learn how to do it.
I still don't do it great.
But when you come into crafting, Almost anybody can do some
sort of craft right.
Yvonne (23:11):
At that.
I am absolutely on board withthat.
The first thing the people youknow as they, as you're talking
or like well, I do this crap, oh, I can never do that, well,
what?
do, you do and though, oh well,I've tried doing this, I've
tried doing this.
There's so much that craftingis such a broad Category, so
many things, whether it's it'sjust such a broad thing, there
(23:34):
are so many things that fallunder acting, from the people
who do woodworking to the peoplewho Make tiles that go on your
wall, like art and craft arejust, it's such a huge Thing you
can see people making thingsout of popsicle, sticks and and
toothpicks and, yes, I've seenmixed media artists go out into
(23:58):
their backyard and find sticksand twigs and rocks and leaves
and Turn it into stunning pieceof art and that is one of the
cool things with social media isbeing able to see so much of
that life that you know,previous to the internet, we
(24:19):
didn't have you, didn't?
you had to like go get up orsomething had to come in front
of you, but watching all ofartists emerge and seeing the
tools that they're using, and itjust blows your mind what
people can do, and I love beingable to see that and be a part
of it, or to share it with otherpeople and inspire other people
(24:40):
, because it's just going tokeep getting bigger and better.
Jeff (24:45):
I was on a cruise ship last week and, believe it or not
, I saw art Made out of bowlingballs.
They stacked them up likesculpture and I don't know how
they did it, but it was kind ofspain actually the, the the
creative mind is is an amazingthing.
(25:06):
Yeah, I wished I was thatcreative.
I'm not, but I sure enjoyseeing what other people do, and
I guess it's just don't beafraid to try it.
If you fail, whoever knows justkeep doing it till you find
something you like, right?
Yvonne (25:24):
Exactly, you find that niche, I know.
When I started quilting, I'mlike, okay, I'll follow a
pattern.
It makes me a little nutsfollowing a pattern, because
with paper crafting, it was allit was, it was mine, it was.
Whatever I cut, whatever I made, whatever I put on paper,
however, I stacked it.
And then I finally did.
I had come back from Japan andBrought a whole bunch of work
(25:47):
with me which I'm obsessed with.
It's just stunningly beautifulfabric and I'm like I can't find
a pattern for it.
I'm like you know what?
I'm just gonna cut a bunch ofdifferent sizes and To start
laying it out freestyle on thefloor.
I'm like, oh, I Get it, this ismine.
(26:07):
So I know.
When it comes to quilt making,yes, I've done patterns and
there are patterns that I like,but like heart and soul into
into a quilt.
Jeff (26:16):
I just want to cut the fabric and I want to lay it out
how my mind sees it so, and thecool part about all four
products is it's the type ofproduct that allows you to be
free, and I mean, that's reallytool, just you can almost do
anything you want with it, can'tyou?
Yvonne (26:36):
So many options.
It's, it's insane.
I mean, I love my Again.
Nobody can see it, but behindme I've got my wall of tools.
You can see it?
It's actually bigger See.
Oh Wow, look at those two watertools.
And it's nice to just sit downTo put whatever it is in front
(26:56):
of me, because I'm one of thosepeople.
You know we'll open up boxes andI'm like, oh, I can you, I'm
gonna you, I'm you know, I cutthat section box out and I put
it in my bin of stuff and To beable to know that everything in
front of me is going to help mecreate whatever it is that I
want to create.
You know, with between theknives and the rotary cutters
(27:17):
and the different type of kniveswith the different types of
blades, like one of the thingsthat we kind of dug into that I
we have a knife, it's called theAK-4 and it's our cushion grip
art knife and it comes in thepackage with three different
blades.
One is a chisel blade, which isgreat for, you know, miniatures
and stuff like that, but youcan also make buttonholes if
(27:37):
you're a sewer.
And then there's the standardnumber 11 blade for your paper.
And then there's a using littleblade in there called the
curved carving blade and it'sholding the same as our rotary
blades.
So guess what you can cut likebutter with that thing Fabric.
Jeff (27:55):
Oh really.
Yvonne (27:56):
And it has a beautiful tip on it and you can fussy, cut
little things.
You can get into little cornerswhere sometimes the rotary
blade even if you go down to ourmillimeter, sometimes it's you
end up overshooting and withthat, that precise blade and
that perfect honing is just.
It opens up a whole notheravenue.
(28:17):
You're like, oh my gosh, okay,this is my tool.
I can use this in so many otherways.
It's not just for paper or youknow, paper type products.
That's one of my sewing orfabric tools.
Now that until we kind of duginto those blades, I will go
that way.
Jeff (28:38):
I am so sorry we're at the end of our chat together.
I think I told you before wecame on that this would go by
quick but darn it's really goneby really fast, so give
everybody again the website.
Yvonne (28:54):
It's going to be OLFAcom .
Jeff (28:59):
Well, yvonne, what a great time this was.
You've been so considerate andgiven our audience some really
cool insight, and if they have aquestion, can they ask you a
question through the website orcall you.
Is that something you guys areokay with?
Yvonne (29:19):
Yes, all of our social media is at the bottom of the
website, lower right corner.
If you follow us on socialmedia, I'm usually the one on
the other end if you havequestions, but we do have a
contact link at the bottom ofthe website Absolutely, ask
questions away.
That's what we're here for.
We do have a great customerservice team and if they can't
answer it, it ends up in myinbox.
Jeff (29:42):
Well, it's OLFA.
com.
You owe it to yourself.
Go to the website, see theproducts that you haven't been
using.
Yvonne, thank you so much for areally, really wonderful
interview.
Yvonne (29:54):
Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure being here.
Jeff (29:56):
You've been listening to the Art Supply Insiders.
Check back with us often as wetalk about the world of art and
craft supplies.
If you'd like to hear more ofthese podcasts, please hit the
subscribe button on yourpreferred podcast platform and
we'd really appreciate it if youtell a friend.
If you want to show yoursupport, please consider going
to our website and hitting oursupport button at
artsupplyinsiderscom.
(30:17):
Now go out and create something.
Welcome back to Art Supply Insiders.
My name is Jeff Morrow.
Today we're talking with YvonneBusdeker.
Yvonne is the brand channelmanager for OLFA.
Yvonne, before we jump in, justtell people in general what is
an OLFA?
Who are they?
What do they do?
Yvonne (00:27):
OLFA is one of the leading craft notions suppliers
in the world.
Jeff (00:35):
And what do you supply?
What is your product that makesyou so good?
Yvonne (00:41):
We have three different segments.
It comes down to cutting tools.
We have our Pro Section, whichis what started the company in
1956.
Then there's a safety channeland then the craft channel,
which I take care of, whichbegan in 1979 with the invention
of the rotor.
(01:01):
So that's my main item.
Jeff (01:05):
You guys are that company that you put it down and you
just kind of rolled it along andit cuts stuff out as you roll
it along.
Yvonne (01:13):
Slices right through it.
Jeff (01:15):
Yeah, I know because you guys have cost me a lot of money
.
My wife is a crafter and youguys are kind of known for that
yellow handle or yellow case orsomething like that.
Right, Correct.
Yvonne (01:30):
The yellow handles across all the lines.
We do have some colors on craft, but our main company color is
yellow.
Jeff (01:37):
Well, how did that ever come about?
I was looking on your website,which, incidentally, before we
go, give everybody your websiteaddress.
Yvonne (01:46):
It is www.
OLFA.
com and it's O-L-F-A.
Jeff (01:55):
O-L-F-A.
com and I've been looking at it.
I've got it up now for aboutthe last hour or so, so what a
great website you guys give theend user anything they would
ever need right.
Yvonne (02:10):
We want to make it the destination.
While we don't sell direct toconsumers, we sell to our
customers, whether it's yourindependent quilt shops or more
national chains.
We want to be the go-to websitefor all of the information.
So, whether it's our customersor the end consumer, we want to
make our or we strive to makeour website the destination.
(02:34):
Whether it's how to change yourblade or a free project when it
comes to crafters, or just moreinformation about the tools in
general, we want to be thatsource of information.
Jeff (02:45):
Well, I can attest to O-L-F-A.
I've been in the art industryfor a whole bunch of years and
many of our audience knows.
In a former life, my businesspartner and I were the brush
guys and we sold brushes online.
But both are products allaround my house and I've had
(03:07):
them for a long time and boy arethey good and do they last.
Yvonne (03:11):
Lifetime warranty on those handles.
They are definitely some days Idon't know why, it still amazes
me.
But we'll get emails fromconsumers and they'll be like
you know, I'm missing a littlewasher or something like that,
and we ask that they send apicture of the handles so we
know which one they're talkingabout.
And they've got the originalhandles.
(03:33):
That are 40 plus years oldAmazes me.
I'm like oh wow, I haven't seenone in a while.
But it's our consumer, our userand user.
They still have those handles,whether it's 20, 30, 40 years
old.
That speaks to the quality.
Jeff (03:49):
Yeah, it's nuts, because I have put, you know, competitors
of yours in my hand, but Ialways seem to go back to my
alpha one because I know it'sgoing to work right.
Yvonne (04:03):
It's kind of work and they spend a lot of time on the
design, like our, let's say, our, what we call our.
Our ty2g Rotary cutter is ourclassic straight handle.
If you look back at the photosit's changed a little bit here
and there, but the overalldesign handle has stayed the
(04:23):
same.
They've made updates.
They're always looking at waysto make the better and it may be
Is that the consumer may notsee, but they're constantly
looking at those.
But at the same time we don'tcome out with a ton of new
designs and handles because theones we have were designed
properly in the first place andthose designs have endured and
(04:46):
that that style.
And it really comes down towhat.
Which one of those handles isyour handle?
Jeff (04:53):
Yeah, I'm looking and kind of from a forty thousand foot
level.
So you guys make like rotarycutters and blades and mats and
rulers and scissors and Artknives is does that kind of
cover about 80% of all the stuffthat you make?
Yvonne (05:10):
If you throw the utility knives in there, which is our
pro business?
Yes, because there are somecrafters that will use some of
those pro pro utility knives aswell.
But from the crafting sense,yes, that's our grouping.
Jeff (05:24):
Well, what would be the difference between a, a Pro
product and a craft product?
Yvonne (05:30):
typically it's going to be the use so well, and then
even that gets a little graysometimes because it's a crafter
as an artist, as a maker.
We will pull two from anywherewe can find them if going to get
the job, going to get the jobdone.
But we have them like rotarycutters, mats, one of the three
(05:52):
scissors, art knives, rulers,those are going to fall under
crafting simply because theirmain, their main use is going to
be quilting, sewing Crafters,okay.
But we do know that our rotarycutters are used on and blades
are used on industry, inindustrial settings and in
(06:14):
professional settings.
So they're definitely ascrossover.
You can't, we can't, say justbecause the rotary cutter it's
stuck in craft and no one elseoutside of that we use it
because it's not the case.
Jeff (06:26):
It's really kind of you use it in a lot of different
Applications, right?
Yvonne (06:31):
I mean you just, whatever you think you can do,
try it at the end of the day,it's a knife, it's a rolling
blade.
So, as long as you have yourmat underneath, I mean, when I
when I am gonna back up just asecond when I came to all five
came as a paper crafter and andand they, you know like, oh, we
(06:52):
use rotary cutters for makingquilts, and I was like I Use it
for paper at chipboard, like Ihave one.
That's not what I use it for.
So and that's one of the one ofthe Really fun parts of my job
is finding out what people usethe rotary cutters for and
making sure that in all of ourinformation we're letting people
(07:13):
know it's not just for fabric.
You may want to have a differentblade for fabric and then, as
you know, as that you know isn'tworking on fabric the best,
then you switch it to paper andchipboard.
But it's a knife.
You can cut a lot of differentthings with it.
I would not just as a generalCrafter.
It's a knife, it's a tool tocut something.
Jeff (07:35):
So you're a crafter yourself, then right from the
time I Scissors.
Tell our audience a little bitabout the crafts that that you
do and and how OLFA has beenable to help you get better at
your craft.
Yvonne (07:56):
I Originally started with sewing because my mom was a
sewer.
She would make her clothing andHer scraps box.
I would go in and pull outscraps and I would sew pillows
for my you know, for second,third-grade teachers.
And then evolved into paperwhen I had kids, because I
Brought booking and paper was avery Something that made sense
(08:18):
to me and I loved creating withpaper.
And when I came on board withOLFA close to eight years ago
now, I Knew that our core ForNorth America, our core
followers, were quilters.
That's not all of them, butquilting is one of the like.
Quilters took a hold of therotary cutter when it came to
(08:39):
North America and they have notlet go of it.
In order then to talk to whatis now going to be the consumer
that I'm, that I'm talking to, Ineeded to understand their
crafts.
So now you nobody can see, butyou can see behind me A small
the fabric that I now have tomake quilts.
(09:01):
So it's definitely a bit pushesme to do more crafts because I
want to be be able to providemore Informing, more education
to our consumer.
So I have to know our tools andI have to push them and see
what else they can be used for.
Jeff (09:19):
Well, I was looking on your, your website, to try to
figure out all the differentuses and, and I saw it on like
Leather and and and you can useit in the garage and use it when
you're on your boat andscraping Tape up off the off the
cement.
What, what are some of thecraziest things you've heard
people use OLFA for?
Yvonne (09:40):
I this is always one of my favorite question.
Oh, do you know that some ofthe rotary blades are used in
sale making?
It would be our stainless steelblades for not rusting.
But my favorite one is we havethree specialty blades, one of
which is a way.
I believe it's the wave blade.
(10:00):
But one of the three specialtyblades there are stainless steel
which can be used in foodprocessing.
So one of them is used to makewavy microwave bacon.
What I know that was that wasone of my favorites.
Jeff (10:17):
Wait a minute.
How do they make wavy bacon?
But I can't even see the visual.
I'm trying to figure it out.
Yvonne (10:23):
It's to cut the.
I believe I would have to lookit up, but it's it's.
It does the.
It gives the bacon its wavinessfor the microwave.
I don't use microwave bacon, soare your blades food safe?
Jeff (10:38):
Is that what I'm hearing?
Yvonne (10:39):
The stainless steel ones , which would be the.
There's three steel, so we'vegot an 18 millimeter size, that
is, and there's three of the 45sthat are stainless steel and
they're under specialty on thewebsite If you look under rotary
, rotary products blades, andyes, there is a stainless steel
(11:01):
pinking, a scallop and a waveblade.
Jeff (11:04):
Really, yes, I would.
I would have never bacon.
That just kind of threw me fora loop.
Now all of a sudden I'm hungrybacon.
Yvonne (11:18):
In my house.
I made some this morning.
Jeff (11:21):
I'm glad it's not like smell of visions, because I'd be
smelling it and I'd be cuttingthe podcast off right now.
One of the crazy things I sawand we've done a couple of
podcasts on this is you havepeople that use them for cosplay
to right.
Yvonne (11:39):
Yes, they do.
Because, again, well, a coupledifferent, couple of ways.
One, we had a cosplayer we'veworked with at the past.
She, her name is Jed Amanda,and she does these amazing,
amazing costumes, mostly fabric,so rotary cutter, your, you
know, cotton fabric, makingthese, these wonderful clothing
(12:00):
pieces that want these costumes.
And then some of the other onesthat we've worked with, they
have a lot of like foam andother materials where you would
then pull from the pro sidewhere they have the larger
industrial, you know, the largerutility knives which would be
(12:21):
perfect for that.
That's why I'm like you can'tjust look at the craft side of
the business when you're lookingat crafts, because as crafters
we're going to take fromeverywhere.
Jeff (12:29):
Wow, there's just so much that you do so.
When they go to your website,you have your catalogs on there
that give them pictures andproduct numbers and all that
kind of stuff.
Right, correct, so they can.
So if people have a realspecialty need for an Ulfacutter
probably where they would go.
Yvonne (12:52):
You can.
Certainly you can start there,but honestly, our product pages
we load them with anything andeverything and then the catalog
kind of comes from that.
So if you want a moreinteractive, I would start with
the product pages.
Look through the utility knives, look through the art knives,
look through the rotary cutters.
Each one of those pages isgoing to have all the
(13:13):
information about that cutter.
It's going to let you know whatit cuts, what the blades are.
That goes with it.
It's going to have the bladechange information.
It's going to have productvideos for you.
It's going to have reviews.
Everything is pop is again thatuser experience.
We want to make sure that theycan find any information they
need and the best place is goingto be to start is those product
(13:35):
pages and just poking around.
Jeff (13:38):
So one of the unique products I saw that I didn't
know you had was somethingcalled an ergonomic rotary
cutter.
Well, tell our audience alittle bit about what an
ergonomic rotary cutter is.
Yvonne (13:52):
That is our number one rotary cutter for a lot of
reasons.
All of our handles, all of ourrotary handles are right and
left handed for right and lefthanded users.
That particular one, you lookat it and you're like, no, a
left hander can't use it.
That one's a little unique inthat on the on the product page
(14:13):
there's a video on how to how toactually change it.
But when you remove the bladeyou simply have to turn the
handle over and then refast andeverything.
So you have to swap the sidethat the blade is on to turn it
into a left handed, so thatone's right and left handed.
It has the blade lock, which isreally nice.
(14:34):
Especially if you're a crafterand you've got small kids in the
house, you want to be able tolock that blade.
So it's to pick it up.
They can't open the blade andthen when you're ready to use it
, you, you know, flip the bladelock and then you can use it and
it has an auto retract on theblade, which all of the other,
all of the other handles have ablade cover.
(14:55):
But as a crafter you have tomake it a habit to always close
that blade If you make a cut andyou set it down, you've got to
close the blade lock to be safe,whereas the ergonomic
automatically closes.
So there's multiple safetyfeatures in that one that that
really make it a number oneseller, and then, additionally,
those three specialty bladesthat I told you about fit with
(15:19):
that handle.
There's actually a spacer, aplastic spacer, on the backside
of the set that would move tothe front, between the blade and
the handle, to give it room,those specialty blades room, to
properly cut.
Jeff (15:33):
Oh, there's one, an incredible product that looked
at it and it's almost like it'sgot a on the handles.
So you squeeze it and then theblade, the rotary blade, comes
down, and then you do yourcutting with it.
With it, with it, the triggerclose and then you and the
blades protected again, but it'snot locked.
Yvonne (15:55):
Correct.
So that makes it especially forfirst time users, or again
someone that's got smallchildren around, or just them,
you know, just themselvesthey're.
You know, I'm not good atremembering to close my blade,
so this one is the one that'sgoing to.
You know, keep my work surfacea little bit safer.
Jeff (16:14):
Now, is there a I don't know the answer to this a safe
blade for kids, for them to beable to use, or would you say
that your products are more forthe adult crafter and the adult
professional?
Yvonne (16:29):
They're definitely adult supervision, adult type
products or older, older teenageproducts.
That being said, we know that Iwas a very hands on, like my
kids, had the craft roomavailable to them.
However, they didn't just usetools without knowing how to use
(16:50):
them, or I was with them, or Ican't say my kids had ever used
a rotary cutter at a young age,because I really didn't have one
until they were a little bitolder.
Each parent needs to make thatdecision, like our products.
I, I, 18 and above, you know,or high school and above, for
sure, but it's going to dependon each one.
(17:11):
Like we know, we've worked withsome high schools that have
quilting.
I will absolutely support that.
I mean, that's some.
They're teaching them, they'retraining them, they're
supervised, they're taught howto use the tool, the same as if
you've got like kids in in, likeBoy Scouts.
They use pocket knives, butthey use them when they're,
(17:32):
they're taught to understandthem, to use them properly.
It kind of falls within that,because I would never say don't
ever teach.
You know, let your, yourchildren touch rotary cutters
until they're such and such ofage.
It comes down to the parent andthe child working together on
those crafts.
We have crafters, they, theyand there are kids that are
(17:53):
using rotary cutting educationand supervision, because a great
tool and used properly.
Jeff (18:01):
Yeah, that's really the thing with almost anything when
it gets into crafting, isn't it?
I mean we don't want kidsputting glue in their mouth or
on their fingers.
I mean, you really they can.
They have glues for kids andscissors for kids, but yours are
for 18 and older, who know howto use those things, and then
kids have to be supervised.
Don't let them do it on theirown.
Yvonne (18:21):
Correct.
It's the same with cooking.
You're not just going to like,hey, here's the kitchen and have
fun.
You're going to teach your kidhow to use the pots and pans,
how to use the knives.
It's again and every kid'sgoing to be different and the
parents and the children canwork, work together on that.
Jeff (18:36):
So, so smart.
So when we look on the website,you, you have a place to tell
people where to go to buy yourtype of product, right?
Yvonne (18:46):
Correct Under.
Again going back to thatproduct page, we've put the top
retailers on each of the productpages.
It doesn't mean that there'snot somebody else that uses them
, especially when it comes tocrafting.
Your local quilt shop, yourlocal, whatever the craft shop
is that you go to, they may notbe listed on our site because we
(19:07):
can't list everybody.
However, you know, depending onwhere you're at I'm in a busy
area I can probably hit 10 shopswithin 10 miles and find the
product.
But national retailers forcraft is going to be Joann's and
then definitely your localquilt shops.
I very rarely walk into a quiltshop and do not find Ulfa
(19:28):
product on the wall.
Jeff (19:29):
I want to go back to.
I forgot to ask you in thebeginning stages.
When I was looking at aboutUlfa on your on your website, I
noticed there was an explanationfor why the original inventor
of this made the product yellow.
Yvonne (19:49):
Yes, it was Mr Okada.
His son is the one that isrunning the company now.
He is family company, sothey're they're great people to
work for.
The yellow is for safety.
Oh, so I know you're like ohyeah, that makes sense.
Jeff (20:07):
Now that you say it, it makes perfect sense because it's
almost like you know.
You go into an intersection,you see red, yellow, green and
when that yellow comes on itgoes.
You better be safe because itcould work out poorly if you're
not.
Yvonne (20:20):
It is, and you know what ?
It's great when you're at acraft table and it's so easy to
spot that I mean we have I meanI have my wall behind me of all
of our colors, but the yellow isstill.
It's that identifiable colorand it just stands out in the
craft table, unless you'reworking on a yellow project, in
which case pick a differentcolor.
Jeff (20:43):
I'm actually holding.
I don't know if you can seethis or not, but I'm actually
holding and I think this isbecause it's the yellow knife
cutter and it's so easy to see.
Yvonne (20:55):
Yeah, the yellow is definitely easy to see.
Jeff (20:58):
I never thought of that, so it's kind of like duh, think
about it.
Now.
You have a lot of videos andblogs that tell people about the
product and some of yourartists that talk about how they
use your product right.
Yvonne (21:15):
Yes, correct.
So, on all sides of thebusiness.
Again, it comes back toeducating and inspiring our
consumers, and we do thatthrough Common topic how do we
change our rotary cutters?
How do we change the blades,even in utility knives?
How do I change the blade?
And we probably have 10different ways minimum to tell
(21:37):
that story, whether it's a video, whether it's a step out sketch
, whether it's photography thatwe've stepped out Because we
realize everyone learnsdifferently.
And while somebody will bescrolling through our Instagram,
you know, every day they'rechecking stuff and we may send
across three different ways onhow to remember to change your
(21:58):
rotary cutter, but it's notuntil that fourth or fifth way
that they're like oh, I get it.
Some of the basic stuff we tellin a lot of different ways.
Again, so that we catcheveryone, or as many people as
we can, and then inspiring them.
You know, yes, I may use arotary cutter to cut fabric, but
(22:18):
, oh my gosh, we've got adesigner that uses leather and
she deconstructs, you know oldother coats and makes a bag out
of them.
We want to be able to give them, to inspire them, to inform
them, to educate them, because,in my opinion, crafting makes
the world go around.
It's, it's, it's, it's afabulous.
(22:41):
There's so many ways I don'tthink I could ever be one type
of Crafter like make one thing.
It's like oh, I think I can trythat.
Jeff (22:50):
You know, give them easy instructions, give them some
guidance and let them try it andif you think about so, I'm an
oil painter and it took me along time to learn how to do it.
I still don't do it great.
But when you come into crafting, Almost anybody can do some
sort of craft right.
Yvonne (23:11):
At that.
I am absolutely on board withthat.
The first thing the people youknow as they, as you're talking
or like well, I do this crap, oh, I can never do that, well,
what?
do, you do and though, oh well,I've tried doing this, I've
tried doing this.
There's so much that craftingis such a broad Category, so
many things, whether it's it'sjust such a broad thing, there
(23:34):
are so many things that fallunder acting, from the people
who do woodworking to the peoplewho Make tiles that go on your
wall, like art and craft arejust, it's such a huge Thing you
can see people making thingsout of popsicle, sticks and and
toothpicks and, yes, I've seenmixed media artists go out into
(23:58):
their backyard and find sticksand twigs and rocks and leaves
and Turn it into stunning pieceof art and that is one of the
cool things with social media isbeing able to see so much of
that life that you know,previous to the internet, we
(24:19):
didn't have you, didn't?
you had to like go get up orsomething had to come in front
of you, but watching all ofartists emerge and seeing the
tools that they're using, and itjust blows your mind what
people can do, and I love beingable to see that and be a part
of it, or to share it with otherpeople and inspire other people
(24:40):
, because it's just going tokeep getting bigger and better.
Jeff (24:45):
I was on a cruise ship last week and, believe it or not
, I saw art Made out of bowlingballs.
They stacked them up likesculpture and I don't know how
they did it, but it was kind ofspain actually the, the the
creative mind is is an amazingthing.
(25:06):
Yeah, I wished I was thatcreative.
I'm not, but I sure enjoyseeing what other people do, and
I guess it's just don't beafraid to try it.
If you fail, whoever knows justkeep doing it till you find
something you like, right?
Yvonne (25:24):
Exactly, you find that niche, I know.
When I started quilting, I'mlike, okay, I'll follow a
pattern.
It makes me a little nutsfollowing a pattern, because
with paper crafting, it was allit was, it was mine, it was.
Whatever I cut, whatever I made, whatever I put on paper,
however, I stacked it.
And then I finally did.
I had come back from Japan andBrought a whole bunch of work
(25:47):
with me which I'm obsessed with.
It's just stunningly beautifulfabric and I'm like I can't find
a pattern for it.
I'm like you know what?
I'm just gonna cut a bunch ofdifferent sizes and To start
laying it out freestyle on thefloor.
I'm like, oh, I Get it, this ismine.
(26:07):
So I know.
When it comes to quilt making,yes, I've done patterns and
there are patterns that I like,but like heart and soul into
into a quilt.
Jeff (26:16):
I just want to cut the fabric and I want to lay it out
how my mind sees it so, and thecool part about all four
products is it's the type ofproduct that allows you to be
free, and I mean, that's reallytool, just you can almost do
anything you want with it, can'tyou?
Yvonne (26:36):
So many options.
It's, it's insane.
I mean, I love my Again.
Nobody can see it, but behindme I've got my wall of tools.
You can see it?
It's actually bigger See.
Oh Wow, look at those two watertools.
And it's nice to just sit downTo put whatever it is in front
(26:56):
of me, because I'm one of thosepeople.
You know we'll open up boxes andI'm like, oh, I can you, I'm
gonna you, I'm you know, I cutthat section box out and I put
it in my bin of stuff and To beable to know that everything in
front of me is going to help mecreate whatever it is that I
want to create.
You know, with between theknives and the rotary cutters
(27:17):
and the different type of kniveswith the different types of
blades, like one of the thingsthat we kind of dug into that I
we have a knife, it's called theAK-4 and it's our cushion grip
art knife and it comes in thepackage with three different
blades.
One is a chisel blade, which isgreat for, you know, miniatures
and stuff like that, but youcan also make buttonholes if
(27:37):
you're a sewer.
And then there's the standardnumber 11 blade for your paper.
And then there's a using littleblade in there called the
curved carving blade and it'sholding the same as our rotary
blades.
So guess what you can cut likebutter with that thing Fabric.
Jeff (27:55):
Oh really.
Yvonne (27:56):
And it has a beautiful tip on it and you can fussy, cut
little things.
You can get into little cornerswhere sometimes the rotary
blade even if you go down to ourmillimeter, sometimes it's you
end up overshooting and withthat, that precise blade and
that perfect honing is just.
It opens up a whole notheravenue.
(28:17):
You're like, oh my gosh, okay,this is my tool.
I can use this in so many otherways.
It's not just for paper or youknow, paper type products.
That's one of my sewing orfabric tools.
Now that until we kind of duginto those blades, I will go
that way.
Jeff (28:38):
I am so sorry we're at the end of our chat together.
I think I told you before wecame on that this would go by
quick but darn it's really goneby really fast, so give
everybody again the website.
Yvonne (28:54):
It's going to be OLFAcom .
Jeff (28:59):
Well, yvonne, what a great time this was.
You've been so considerate andgiven our audience some really
cool insight, and if they have aquestion, can they ask you a
question through the website orcall you.
Is that something you guys areokay with?
Yvonne (29:19):
Yes, all of our social media is at the bottom of the
website, lower right corner.
If you follow us on socialmedia, I'm usually the one on
the other end if you havequestions, but we do have a
contact link at the bottom ofthe website Absolutely, ask
questions away.
That's what we're here for.
We do have a great customerservice team and if they can't
answer it, it ends up in myinbox.
Jeff (29:42):
Well, it's OLFA.
com.
You owe it to yourself.
Go to the website, see theproducts that you haven't been
using.
Yvonne, thank you so much for areally, really wonderful
interview.
Yvonne (29:54):
Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure being here.
Jeff (29:56):
You've been listening to the Art Supply Insiders.
Check back with us often as wetalk about the world of art and
craft supplies.
If you'd like to hear more ofthese podcasts, please hit the
subscribe button on yourpreferred podcast platform and
we'd really appreciate it if youtell a friend.
If you want to show yoursupport, please consider going
to our website and hitting oursupport button at
artsupplyinsiderscom.
(30:17):
Now go out and create something.
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