“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” — John D. Rockefeller.
The friendships we welcome into our lives will always enrich us. New acquaintances have experiences to share and often open us to possibilities we would never have dreamed of on our own. When the going gets tough it’s wonderful to have friends to prop you up. They can provide the support you need, not just helping you find the strength to keep on trucking, but supplying it when your store is depleted.
True friends will always be there, not just sharing in the fun and adventure, but in toil too. When a goal lies before us they will work with us to its fulfilment. It might just be providing that extra push when we lag in our commitment, or making lighter work of manual labour but either way, without hesitation their presence can be counted on.
When we think about it, it’s really not that much different with friendships founded on business. Brainstorming together, forging a strong union are integral components of building success into the future. Connecting with companies that complement the ideas and ideals of another, forming partnerships that inspire growth are important for businesses if they want to remain competitive in today’s commercial world.
Vital Imagery Ltd., an online subscription graphics industry leader, loves making new friends in business. As the parent company of several popular image sites, including Clipart.com, iCLIPART.com, iPHOTOS.com and Animation Factory, VI can provide clients diverse content for creative success. In the royalty-free subscription market they offer the world’s largest collections of wholly-owned content, as well as fresh and original photos, illustrations and animations. Exclusive packages mean great value on quality images. As the company is proud to say, “We help you do great work.”
Just like any good friend.
One of the newest relationships VI has formed is as an Affinity partner with the Craft and Hobby Association. With over 2,300 member companies from 50+ companies, the majority of whom are small-business owners, CHA Director of Membership Jason Baum said the opportunity to take advantage of the vast quality of images available to them from VI is a big benefit. “They’ll have easy access through the CHA website complete with great discounts.”
CHA’s roots date all the way back to 1941 as the Model Industry Association (MIA). Many big changes have happened in the years since. Most notably, in 2004, the two prominent organizations serving the industry, The Hobby Industry Association (formerly MIA) and the Association of Crafts and Creative Industries combined to form a “more robust association with a greater purpose,” said Jason.
“CHA was constructed by the hands of creative arts product leaders and inventors with decades upon decades of experience. Today, CHA is the global non-profit trade association for the creative arts products industry.” Companies are engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution, education and retail sales of creative arts products worldwide.
Among the myriad of resources that CHA offers its members is the annual trade event in January — Creativation. This award-winning gathering is the largest and longest-running event of its kind in North America. In addition, CHA members get valuable research on the size of the industry, craft participation by category and trends.
Other exclusive member benefits include business webinars, industry news, networking events, chapters and sections and affinity discounts, like the one offered with VI.
“We knew our members would love the image content available from Vital Imagery Ltd.,” said Jason. Not to mention the great savings.”
From our side, to recognize the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I’ve sourced some wonderful craft and hobby themed VI clipart and animations. As well, there are some links to some collections from our Pinterest board which inspire design and inspiration.
iCLIPART.com Craft and Hobby Illustrations
iCLIPART.com Swirls and Elements from Our Pinterest Board
iCLIPART.com Scrapbooking Backgrounds from Our Pinterest Board
iPHOTOS.com Small Business Photos
