Aleene - A Tacky Lady

It was 57 years ago today that my mother Aleene was featured in the January 5, 1953 issue of LIFE Magazine. There is such an amazing, rich history of how today’s craft industry started and I am blessed to have been born to a creative legend.

As a child, I certainly didn’t realize my mother’s role in the craft industry. It really wasn’t until I started digging into the Aleene’s archives and started putting the people and places together through photos and news clippings that I started to truly realize what Mom accomplished starting at a very young age.

Aleene & Woody Hershman - Aleene's of Arcadia Florist 1944

Mom started a florist business at the age of 19 when my Dad went off to serve in WWII. She knew little about flower arranging and nothing about running a business.  Years later, a student introduced her to Formosan Wood Fibre and after securing the west coast distribution rights to this fascinating product, her business took off!

When she was featured in LIFE Magazine, she was 28 years old with 3 very active children at home (with two more children to come in the years ahead including me!).

Aleene talks to the crowd of over 20,000 at the Pasadena Convention Center

In the 1950’s and 1960’s Mom built her California based business by making regular appearances on local Los Angeles and west coast television shows, but it wasn’t until the late 1960’s that today’s craft industry burst onto the scene when Mom came up with the brilliant idea to take her crafting business “on the road” with the Aleene’s Craftmakers Caravan. At that time, hobby stores and 5 and dime stores dotted the map but there were no craft stores.

I can go on and on with the history of this amazing woman who I call Mom and who inspired me to become a hard core crafter but you might enjoy your own tour of the history archives at my Inspired at Home website.  There are lots more archive photos for me to sort through and post but I think you will enjoy the early years archives!

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