
The question "if you could make anything for kids, what would it be?" generates enthusiastic answers from the boys and girls gathered at Fibre-Craft Materials Corp.® during a Kids Day™ event held July 13, 2010, at the corporate headquarters in Niles, Ill.
“An evil robot!”
“I’d make an action figure look like you.
“I’d design clothes for my doll. When I grow up, I want to make Barbie dolls.”
“I want to design stickers!”
Inviting kids into our office to create arts and crafts projects, learn about how products are made, meet the product designers and tour the huge warehouse is a monthly event at Fibre-Craft®. But the slim blonde woman walking from table to table, leaning down to talk to the kids and helping them with their crafts, is not a regular sight.
In fact, Carolyn Kepcher is a reality TV celebrity who visited Fibre-Craft® last month to film part of the Back-to-School episode for her new show, “Work Her Way.” She is best known for her appearances on the first few seasons of “The Apprentice.” Her new show is aimed at working women. The Back-to-School episode featuring Creative Hands® and our Kids Day here will air nationally on WE TV at 7 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010.

In keeping with the episode’s theme, the kids work on back-to-school crafts, including foam folders and pencil toppers.
“What’s your favorite subject in school?” asks product designer Natalie Rozansky.
The kids shout out:
“Gym—you don’t have to work.”
“Lunch, recess and gym.”
“The playground!”
“I like reading and art.”
“I like science a lot—we get to do experiments.”
Natalie leads the kids on a tour of the warehouse. They watch in amazement as the shrink-wrapping machine whirls and does its job. They get even more excited seeing the forklift in action.
“Whoa!”
“Cool!”
“Yeah!"
“It’s pretty neat!”

Back inside the Fibre-Craft® showroom, the kids, ages 4 to 10, are seated again. Another project they create is called All About Me, where they decorate a foam person cut-out with Creative Hands® foam stickers, glitter glue, feathers and other craft materials to reflect their personality. One girl adorns her “me model” with star-shaped foam stickers for shoes and feathers for hair. A boy puts music-related foam stickers and popsicle sticks all over his.
John Porubsky, the product designer in charge of the project, asks for volunteers to come up to the front and show off their creation.
“This is you as a rock star. Cool,” he says to one girl. To other kids: “I can tell you like cars. I like your big smile … I think we have a Blackhawks fan here. That’s pretty cool.”
The last project before the pizza party is a friendship bracelet the kids make by twisting two Fuzzy Stix™ together. Some of the kids make the bracelets for their newest friends—the helpers who have been stationed by their table all morning.




































