Elaine's Bio:

Elaine has always been busy creating something.  Her love of sewing and weaving led her to major in Textiles and Design at Carnegie Mellon University.  She worked in the education and design departments for Vogue and Butterick patterns, was the design coordinator for The Ribbon Outlet, a chain of retail craft stores, and served as product development director for an import craft and gift company. 

She has developed new concepts for a variety of companies who manufacture products for the craft and hobby industries – from fabric to paint to wire and more.   Elaine has become known as the “Ka-Jinker Thinker” for developing the Ka-Jinker™ embellishment program with Blumenthal Lansing Company. 

Elaine’s original designs have been featured in hundreds of magazines and books, as well as project sheets, advertisements, websites, trade show and showroom displays and TV segments for HGTV, DIY and QVC. 

Elaine Schmidt Designs corporate clients include: Creative Publishing International, Blumenthal Lansing Company, Lark Books, Sterling Publishing, Berwick Offray Ribbon, EK Success, The Testor Corporation, Springs Industries, Colorbok, Natural Science Industries (NSI), Artistic Wire, Caron International, Staged Homes.com, Krause Publications, Better Homes & Gardens, Dynamic Resource Group (DRG) and Creative HomeArts Magazine. 

Elaine is a designer member of the Craft and Hobby Association and has served two terms as a member of the CHA Designer Council.  Her original product concepts led her design teams to win CHA Innovation Awards in 2005, 2003 and 2001.  Elaine is also a member of SAQA, the Studio Art Quilt Association.

Elaine and her husband Ken are the proud parents of three amazing daughters and a bichon, named Daisy.  She lives in Long Valley, NJ where she is surrounded by her growing stash of fabric, fibers and the "fun stuff" - buttons, beads, ribbons, trims............ 

Press about Elaine

"Woman turns lifelong passion into successful career"

Daily Record
Morris County, NJ
January 3, 2010