The Supply Side: Bentonville-based Hillfolk gets craft kits into 1,500 Walmart stores

For lifelong crafters Bea Apple and Trisha Logan, getting their Hillfolk craft kits into Walmart was a dream come true. The partners launched Hillfolk in 2018 as a studio and maker space for craft enthusiasts and beginners of all ages.

Hillfolk is a workshop space located in Bentonville where the partners offer on-consignment Ozark-inspired crafts. They also sell supplies for serious crafters and regularly host workshops and crafting classes for the community.

Hillfolk, as the name implies, was inspired by the partners’ passion for crafts that are consistent with Ozark history and allow crafters to work with their hands. Over the past three years, Apple and Logan have worked with Design Group Americas, a global craft supplier to retail, and Walmart’s craft design group to bring more entry-level craft kits to Walmart shelves.

Apple said top crafting stores continue to go out of business because they do not diversify income streams.

“I worked for a local yarn shop in Fayetteville when I was in school, and I knew how slim the margins were for just selling crafting supplies. When Trisha and I founded Hillfolk, we knew we would have to try to find new markets and revenue streams if we were going to make it. We worked to try and unite the local crafting community and foster growth by inviting newcomers to come out and join free workshops to gauge their interest,” Apple said.

The partners said when they were approached by Design Group Americas local office, they were immediately interested, given the scale and scope of massive crafting suppliers across the globe. Through that introduction, Hillfolk also worked with Walmart’s buyer and design teams to revamp the craft aisle for younger customers.

It’s been a long three years, but in October, Hillfolk landed 31 crafter kits into 1,500 U.S. Walmart stores. They are also sold on Walmart.com. The kits range in price from $9 to $15 and cover a wide array of crafting skills from needle felt, cross-stitch, embroidery, crochet, stamping and paper art projects. Each kit comes with all the materials needed to make the craft, concise instructions, and a web link to tutorials and other crafting videos.

“We think the timing of the launch is also great because they are available for holiday gifts and activity buys for family gatherings. The crafts are appropriate for older kids and adults and younger kids with adult supervision,” Logan said.

The partners said the Walmart business is a new growth area for Hillfolk, and while it began with craft kits, they can foresee adding Hillfolk-branded craft supplies as the business builds. The kits were designed and curated by Hillfolk and then distributed by Design Group Americas under the Hillfolk brand, exclusively for Walmart. Apple said the company got special permission to sell the kits at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art gift shop in Bentonville and at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View.

HILLFOLK BACKGROUND
Apple, who grew up in Rogers, received her electrical engineering degree from John Brown University in 2001. She taught herself to knit as a child, and it remains a passion that helped to launch Hillfolk. Logan studied textiles and apparel design and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2001 and then pursued a master’s degree in design and merchandising at the University of Colorado in 2003.

Apple and Logan are active bikers and are raising kids the same age. They were also involved in the entrepreneurial community for the past 12 years. Apple founded the Pressroom restaurant in Bentonville and ran it for four years before selling it to Ropeswing. She then returned to her engineering career working with design teams for hospitality and retail establishments in downtown Bentonville, such as The Record, Preacher’s Son, The Holler and 8th Street Market, where the Hillfolk studio is located. She said around 2017, she was ready to try and make her crafting love a sustainable business.

“The female entrepreneurial community in Northwest Arkansas is pretty small, and I have known Trisha (Logan) for several years. She owns and runs Shindig Paperie in Fayetteville. Her background is in textiles and paper, and she has impeccable design acumen. We started talking and decided to take the plunge,” Apple said.

Logan has run Shindig Paperie for the past 12 years and also logged just under two years at Walmart as a creative manager between 2003 and 2005, and then eight years as art director and designer for Inviting Company. Apple said Hillfolk is a passion, and most of the time, there has been more excitement than money.

“We bootstrapped the business with our savings and retirement funds and have continued to look for ways to drive new revenue sources,” Apple said. “I took out an SBA loan during the pandemic to keep us going, and we are in a Kiva crowdfunding round to help market our new retail business,” she said.

At its core, Hillfolk is about hands-on creativity. Apple said it’s a place where everyone is welcome to explore their unique style and dive into traditional techniques with a modern twist.

The global arts and crafts industry was valued at $43.4 billion in 2023, with projected compound annual growth of 8.96% through 2030, according to Verified Market Research. While much of the business has moved online, Apple and Logan said they remain committed to the physical studio and retail center they run in Bentonville.

BUILDING COMMUNITY
Logan and Apple said the timing of the Walmart product launch also comes as more young people became interested in crafting during the pandemic. During that time, Hillfolk made more videos and hosted virtual and in-person camps and sessions to try and foster the love for crafting.

“We have been a place for bridal showers, baby showers and team building events over completing a crafting project. But a big part of why we do this is to provide more programming and crafter education,” Apple said.

Weekly crafter classes continue at the local shop and online, and many are free with the help of grants and Hillfolk Crafter Club, the company’s nonprofit group. Apple said it remains important to Hillfolk that future generations of crafters be raised with a community around them. The business continued to grow its younger audience through TikTok and YouTube videos while also seeking to redefine the crafting industry.

The partners said profits from the craft kit sales directly support Hillfolk Craft Club, providing free workshops, micro-retail opportunities, and inclusive online content with a focus on children and underserved groups. Apple and Logan said the business model aligns profitability with social impact, offering an example of purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

Editor’s note: The Supply Side section of Talk Business & Politics focuses on the companies, organizations, issues and individuals engaged in providing products and services to retailers. The Supply Side is managed by Talk Business & Politics and sponsored by Firebend.