The craft industry recently lost one its finest demonstrators and greatest advocates of crafting and needlearts with the passing of Syl(via) Pearson, education director at Clover Needlecraft.

Every manufacturer should be so lucky as to have an educator like Syl on their team. Diminuitive in stature but huge in heart and knowledge Syl could demo a new product like nobody's business.

From punchneedle embroidery to pom-pom makers when Syl showed you how to use a product, you not only wanted it, you wanted the three other products she showed with it. Her knowledge ran far beyond Clover products and you could ask her any question and she would have the answer.

Syl would sit at a high table so you would be face to face with her, enhancing the demo experience. She always had an array of tools on the table in and out of the package so she could show you how to use the tool and what it looked like when it arrived in your store. She was great at the upsell, showing a product and how other Clover tools and products could be sold with it. Syl really understood the power of suggestive selling and offered retailers ideas on how they could sell more to their customers.

Syl's enthusiasm would gather folks around, often drawn in by the laughing and sound effects. Lots of days she wasn't feeling so great, but you'd never know it. She had this tremendous upbeat spirit. You could tell she genuinely loved the business.

If you have a Syl on your team, you are very lucky. Great demonstrators are the lifeblood of the creative industry. So... in honor of this fine lady be sure to say thanks to "your" Syl today.-- Beth