Welcome Jennie & upcoming Certifications

Note: commenting is now closed on this prize drawing

New Certification Instructor
The other bit of exciting news from CHA that I've been holding back is that we have added a new Regional Certification Instructor-

Jennie Lin Black - U.S. Southwest Region

Jennie is a fabulous crafter, who has been stamping for many years. Now she spends her days teaching cardmaking classes all over Southern California. I met Jennie last year while teaching a certification class in Southern California. I was warned to keep an eye on "this one" as she was a fabulous teacher and very inspiring. Sure enough, after she was certified and began teaching Copic classes I kept hearing nothing but the most fabulous comments from stores and students who had taken her classes. Jennie is a perfect fit for the Copic team and the sparkle in her eye really inspires others to craft.

The day before CHA we announced to Jennie over breakfast that she had been chosen for our team, and with many tears of joy she accepted! I know that Jennie will have a lot of fun teaching and inspiring people to use Copics.

To welcome Jennie's sparkling personality onto the team we are offering a prize today of a Glitter 12pc set, retail value of over $30. Just leave a comment on my blog and when you're done, go leave a comment on the other Instructor blogs for a chance to win a prize from some of them as well (note: Some people will be posting prizes Tuesday, others will be posting prizes Wed. Read each blog closely to see when prizes are being offered) I will randomly choose a winner from my blog on Friday at 10 am.

Colleen • Debbie • Jennie • Lori
Sally Lynn • Sharon • Sherrie

Certification Instructors & Locations
If you are looking for either a Certification Class near you, or if you are a store and would like to have someone from Copic come and host a special event at your location then you can contact the instructor who lives nearest you and arrange a special get together. Our team is dedicated to teaching in a positive atmosphere and helping beginners to advanced users learn all they can about Copic products.

For those of you didn't get a chance to stop by the booth and meet with our team of instructors we have this fabulous photo created by Sally Lynn and Sharon Harnist of the whole Copic Instructor team:


top row (l-r) Lori Craig, Sally Lynn MacDonald, Sharon Harnist, Debbie Olsen
bottom row (l-r) Nancy Zenke, Sherrie Siemens, Marianne Walker, Jennie Black, Colleen Schaan


Check the lists below to find upcoming classes near you. If you have a location you would like to see in the future leave that comment on this post today as well. Other locations taught by our instructors around the country in the next few months include (this is an almost complete list, but be on the lookout for more locations):

Feb. 17th Frankfurt, Germany Taught by Marianne Walker and Debbie Olson
Note: This class is taught in conjunction with the European Copic Distributor, Transotype. Space is VERY limited, you can contact Britta Rumpf, Management Assistant, E-mail: b.rumpf-burblies@holtz-gmbh.de for more information.

Feb. 21st Shawnee, KS Taught by Sally Lynn MacDonald Almost Full, Open to Public
March 6th, Des Moines, IA Taught by Lori Craig and Sharon Harnist Open to Stores & Designers
March 7th, Memphis TN, Taught by Sally Lynn Open to Stores & Designers
March 13, Lafayette, LA Taught by Colleen Schaan Open to Stores & Designers
March 21, Long Island, NY Taught by Sally Lynn Open to Stores & Designers
March 28th, Columbus, OH Taught by Sally Lynn Open to Stores & Designers
March 28, Portland, OR Taught by Sherrie Siemens, and Jennie Black Open to Stores & Designers

Applications have not gone out yet for the following locations:
April, 18 Calgary, AB Taught by Sherrie Siemens
April 11th, St. Louis MO, Taught by Sally Lynn
April 19th, Ft. Lauderdale FL Taught by Colleen Schaan
Mid- April (Date TBA) Phoenix, AZ Taught by Jennie Black, assisted by Marianne

May, TBA Central Michigan, Taught by Debbie Olson
May, TBA Las Vegas, NV Taught by Jennie Black
May, TBA Salt Lake, UT Taught by Jennie Black
May 2nd, Portland, ME Taught by Sally Lynn
May 23, Anchorage, AK Taught by Sherrie Siemens
May 23, Charleston, WV Taught by Sally Lynn
May 30th, Vancouver, BC Taught by Sherrie Siemens

June, TBA Branson, MO Taught by Lori Craig
June, 13 Toronto, Ont. Taught by Sally Lynn
June 13 Boise ID, Taught by Sherrie Siemens
June 27, Seattle, WA Taught by Sherrie Siemens
June, TBA Santa Barbara, CA Taught by Jennie Black
June, Los Angeles, CA Taught by Jennie Black

July, Northern California Taught by Jennie Black

and many more locations this year. If you need an application for a location that is currently open please e-mail nancy@copicmarker.com Please do NOT e-mail about locations that are not yet open! Just sign up on the mailing list through the green box on the sidebar of my blog.

What about the new manuals?
I am still trying to finalize a few changes to the Student Certification manual. I am hoping to have them available at the end of this month for people who have already been certified to purchase. They will cost about $10.

Retaking the Certification class:
Now that more certification locations are coming up you might consider re-taking a class from a different instructor and getting the manual that way. Retaking the class only costs $40 and you get the new manual plus a chance to refresh your memory on things you may have forgotten the first time around. Also, you can take advantage of special offers from our partner companies...

NEW for 2010, Partner Company Offers
Stores who send someone to the Certification class leave with a page of special coupons from our partner companies. This is valid for a one-time wholesale-only order to over 8 different companies (you may only use the partner company offer once, valid 6 months from date of class). Some of the companies include:
Couture Cardstock • Hero Arts • Inspired Crafts •
JustRite Stampers • Our Craft Lounge • Preserve Your Memories II • Prima •
regional advertising with SplitcoastStampers •

By taking advantage of the coupon specials you can easily save the amount of money you spent to attend the Certification. Design team members and avid crafters get a coupon for a discount from My Creative Classroom as well. These offers are ONLY open to people who have taken a Certification this year however, and are not available through any other offer.

If you are a wholesale company you may contact me directly to become a partner company. During times of a tough economy we need to work together more, and helping stores bring in new products through our Partner Company Program is a great way to build new business for everyone.