Entrepreneur sells bows around the world

People all over the country have seen Sandy Sandler on television, but she swears she's never been spotted in a crowd or asked for her autograph. She's also pretty sure none of her southeast Las Vegas neighbors know about her frequent television appearances.

"My neighbors never see me. They think a couple of Siberian Huskies bought the house next door," Sandler said.

Sandler is convinced nobody notices her, they usually just see her hands when she demonstrates her bow-making gadget, the Bowdabra, on the cable shopping network QVC.

Sandler started working on the Bowdabra about four years ago when she became frustrated with all the other bow makers she had bought. Sandler owned a corporate gift business and she was having a hard time finding enough employees who could tie bows quickly for gift baskets.

She went to a design engineer and told him she wanted a bow maker that worked. Sandler presented the engineer with examples of all the bow makers on the market, sat down with him and showed him how to make hand-tied bows. The engineer worked on several different models and through trial and error they finally arrived at the design Sandler sells today.

"I've always considered myself creatively challenged," Sandler said. "I know, I don't just assume, that there are a lot of other people just like me who want to be able to do all the crafts but they can't, because they don't' have the ability or they don't have the time to try."

Once Sandler's product was finished, she tried to sell it in America first. She went to a few big hobby shows and heard craft-store buyers rave about her simple yet effective design and then tell her they wouldn't buy it. Many buyers told Sandler they knew the Bowdabra worked better, but they already had bow makers that sold well.

Sandler said the icy market reception frustrated her.

"I felt like I had a better mouse trap," she said. "So I said, `To heck with the U.S. market; I'll sell it in Europe.' "

Sandler has a master's degree in international business, and she already had some import and export background, so she took her contraption on the road. She took the Bowdabra to an international trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, and sold it through ribbon manufacturers.

She made how-to videos for the European market that had a music track with no talking, so the product could be sold in any language.

"When that came out, my family finally stopped telling me I had to get a real job," Sandler said.

Soon Sandler was selling the product in America to gift wrappers, florists and other people who made bows professionally.

Sandler broke into the mainstream American market two years ago when she went on QVC for the first time. She is still astonished the shopping show can sell so much in such a short amount of time. Sandler will go on for an eight-minute segment and sell thousands of Bowdabras.

That's much different from the Canadian shopping channel; Sandler sells more in eight minutes on QVC than she can sell on the Canadian channels in a whole day.

"In Canada you go on for half an hour, five times a day," Sandler said. "You start at 7 a.m. and you don't leave the studio until midnight."

While Sandler loves QVC, she is also trying to get more United States retail exposure for her product. She now sells the Bowdabra in the A.C. Moore craft stores on the East Coast. She's hoping to expand to other areas.

Locally the Bowdabra is sold at Green Valley Drugs, 2712 N. Green Valley Parkway, and the Postnet at 2245 N. Green Valley Parkway. The kit, which includes the Bowdabra, a how-to video and 100 yards of ribbon, is also available on Sandler's Web site at www.bowdabra.com or by telephone at 898-3839. The kit sells for about $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Sandler's other big project is Crafters 4 Kids a philanthropic organization geared toward exposing children in hospitals and in less advantaged circumstances to arts and crafts.

"That's my baby," Sandler said of Crafters 4 Kids. "I've done a lot of entrepreneurial things, and I have never been as excited about something I wouldn't make any money with as I am about Crafters 4 Kids."

Sandler is putting her own money into the organization, and she's hitting up craft and ribbon manufacturers and retailers all over the country to contribute supplies.

"I just believe I'm fortunate and it's my way of giving back," Sandler explained. "It's just a great self-esteem and creativity builder for kids."

Crafters 4 Kids had its kickoff project at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in December. Sandler plans to start with local projects and eventually build the organization into a nationwide effort.