Behind The Shop – TPC Nation
Behind The Shop is an ongoing series that features our talented and devoted shop owner community. Each time, we talk one-on-one with a shop owner/s to hear first hand what shop life is all about. Whether it’s a new shop that just came onto the scene or a popular community favorite – we want to share more about their journeys and stories with you.
The TPC Nation Shop is not your typical shop in the planner community! The shop, which officially opened in June 2020, is an extension of The Planners Collaborative (TPC), a Facebook group and collab sale which has blossomed into a true collaborative community of talented artisans and makers. In the past year since it opened, the TPC Nation Shop has had thousands of sales and created a space to showcase so many amazing, new crafters and products.
The Planners Collaborative (@therealTPC) Facebook group, founded by Caitlin LoCascio-King (AKA #mamaadmin), truly is the heart and soul of the TPC brand. The group holds monthly collab sales with dozens of shop owners in the community. But since the beginning, Caitlin envisioned so much more. In the past few years, she has expanded group activities to include things like book club, holiday card exchanges, in-person events and more plus the “off-shoot” opening of the TPC Nation Shop.
We spoke with Caitlin (#mamaadmin) about all things TPC, her personal planner journey as well as the incredible team of shop owners, admins and group members that help her make TPC a reality. Take a listen to our chat below plus hear about what exciting things are coming up:
TPC NATION
TPC Nation is the official home of the TPC Nation Shop and all TPC events, parties, meet-ups and more. It is also a way to help crafters and artisans from around the community – whether they have a shop or not – gain a platform for selling their products. With more than 20 product categories on the official shop website, you can shop everything from planners and paintings to t-shirts and tumblers to mugs, official merch and more. TPC Nation has also given members the opportunity to launch collaborative projects such as the recently launched TPC Nation Planner with The Penny Pages and the upcoming Tipsy Dog Doodle Planner (Nov. 1st).
BLACK FRIDAY BOX & MAILER
Another exciting collaborative project coming to the shop is the third annual Black Friday Box & Mailer. The box and mailer are two separate “products” that can both be purchased exclusively at the TPC Nation Shop. Each one contains approximately 2o full-size exclusive items plus two bonus times which will be sold at less than 50% of the total retail value. The items included are a collaborative effort of the following talented participating creators, Avalon and Ninth, Beyond Paper Flowers, Caffeine Queens, Coffee Break Planner, Craft Penguin Planner, Itty Bitty Sticker Co, Keep It Simple Stickers, Perfect Prints Co, Planner Pixie Co, Plannin With Manny, Pretty Cute Planner, Punky B Designs, Purdee Planner Sammy Doodle Designs, Tarin’s Sticker Shop, The Penny Pages, The Sticker Patch, Tilly Bee Plans, Tiny Little Tulip, TPC Nation Shop and Wonder Stickers Co.
The mailer is specifically focused on stickers with only a few bonus items while the box is filled with a variety of planner items, accessories, exclusive merch and more. Both the box and mailer are available for purchase in the TPC Nation Shop on Monday, October 25th at 6pm EST through Friday, October 29th at 11:59pm EST or until they sell out. The mailers will be available for purchase at two launch dates: Monday, October 25th at 6pm EST and Thursday, November 25th at 11am EST.
TPC NATION 2022 CONFERENCE
Hosting local planner meet-ups, parties and events in different cities is also another important community building part of the TPC brand. The most recent being a “Garden Party” Event in Maine and a meet up in Houston.
For 2022, TPC has announced their plans for a conference in July which will take place in Cincinnati, OH. It will be a fun-filled time with speakers, workshops and vending. Speakers, which have been announced so far, include Chaz Jorgensen@shamelessstickers and Sandra Spitaleri @thesassyclub. Stay tuned for more information to be announced.
For more information about The Planners Collaborative (TPC) and any of their sales, projects or events follow along: @therealtpc and @tpcnation on Instagram, The Planners Collaborative on Facebook and TPC Nation Shop official website.