This is a transcription of an interview with Linda Fulghum – she gives us her take on State Line Bag Company’s products. You can find out more about Linda and her custom printed muslin bags for product packaging at LindaFulghum.com.
Ben: Hello. Is Linda there?
Linda: This is Linda.
Ben: Okay. This is Ben from [inaudible 00:00:08]. I was calling you in behalf of the State Line Bag Company. We’re reaching out to some of their customer-based to get a qualitative assessment of their experience so far and also just to learn about how they use their products.
If you have a couple of minutes, I just have some questions for you that will really help them out and help them assess what they can do better and what they’ve been doing well. Did you have a couple of minutes?
Linda: Sure. That’s fine.
Ben: Okay, cool. First, we usually like to learn just a little bit about what you use the bags for, if it’s for personal interest or it’s for business. What do you use them for? What’s the application?
Linda: I have a business that I run out of my home in my studio. I’m a designer and so I will use the bags to create product packaging for either companies or for weddings or party planners, event planners. Really just a whole bunch of whatever you could think of to use for a bag, that’s what I decorate.
Ben: Okay. So then you’re sometimes taking people’s designs they give you and you give them on bags and other times you’re using some of sack carts you have and things like that?
Linda: I developed ways. I have thousands and thousands of rubber stamps or polymer stamps that either I made or that I purchased are available for bags. But most frequently, I’ll have clients who will actually send me their designs or their logos for monograms and I have the equipment to then create the polymer stamps and I will then custom-make it for them so it was just personalized for them.
Ben: Okay. Do you use a variety of sizes from the State Line Bag or there are a couple of decor sizes that you use?
Linda: I carry all the bags. I do have them, I offer them to all my clients. The most popular ones are either the 3 x 5 or the 4 x 6. Those seem to work really well because it’s cost-effective either for weddings also for businesses. I’ve done … the largest bag that they have is 16 x 20. Also, they have their backpacks, which is 14 x 18, which is cool.
I just finished an order now for, I believe he’s some sort of a military veteran because it has something to do with, it had the eagle on it and it had something to do with nautical. Very interesting. It’s just funny sometimes. I wish I knew the stories behind all the bags that I do.
Ben: You have a wide variety of clients and needs to fill for them?
Linda: Yes.
Ben: How did you find out about State Line Company? For some people it’s a word of mouth, some people actually received one of the products. For most people, they’re searching on the web. Is that something you found?
Linda: Actually, I found them on Craigslist and so I found them through there. I also get a little bit of design work for them. I worked with Kevin just a little bit when he was first starting out with selling the bags and marketing the bags, and that’s from design standpoint. That’s how I got started. I just loved the bags and so I ended up, I carried them and, like I said, I just do it on my own now.
Ben: Awesome, awesome. You would you say then that you found that they are good value and that they live up to the price point they’re sold at?
Linda: They’re excellent value. To be honest, I’ve searched around and looked to see if there were some other companies perhaps that were closer to me. I live in Kansas City and they are maybe five minutes away from me. I really couldn’t find anything that was close either in quality or with the price.
I’ve gotten a lot of compliments from clients who have come back to me and said they really loved the bag, how they held up. Especially from corporations that use it for their products, it’s very important that it’s a good product because it’s not only carrying State Line’s name and my name but it’s carrying corporate name too.
Ben: Yes. It’s carrying the brands that you’re producing it for as well.
Linda: Right. It represents very well their quality and also our quality.
Ben: We found from talking to other customers that they’re very into the idea that they’re made on a small scale and that they’re actually a pretty green-minded product. They’re made from all natural materials and they’re very low impact. Is that something you found people to be receptive of?
Linda: They do appeal. I have a lot of companies who will use it just because the green thing is now trendy and very ecologically correct. The natural fiber, the natural color just shows up really well with whatever design type put on there.
Ben: So they’ve just got overall good simplicity and utility then?
Linda: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah. It’s really kind of cute. With the little drawstring, it’s just a natural color string. It just looks very cute, also very stylish too.
Ben: Cool. Have you actually recommended the product to anybody else, referred it on demo line?
Linda: I have. I have several clients who have approached me and asked. Honestly, I carry the bags myself but for some larger quantities or if they have a custom size that I don’t particularly carry, they work with the company and we’ll go work directly from the manufacturer to create the custom sized bag for them. Me, as LindaFulghum.com, I mean I try to sell them on my own.
Ben: Are you an online e-commerce platform like Etsy or Amazon or something like that?
Linda: I have several venues. I have an Etsy store, Linda Fulghum. You can search there, L-I-N-D-A F-U-L-G-H-U-M. I also have a website, LindaFulghum.com, which focuses also on my greeting cards and I do a lot of party goods with paper craft and things like that, scrapbooks. Then I have a WEB store, which is, you can click on right through LindaFulghum.com, where I sell either the plain bags or the custom bags.
The customization is mostly through Etsy because Etsy is actually really geared towards that, the handmade personalized, but I do have the three venues.
Ben: That’s the platform of the people or the market for your kind of bags, that’s where they shop?
Linda: That’s correct, where they would find me or call me or … yes.
Ben: Okay, cool. Also, for your experience with State Line Bag Company, where we would you say, on a scale of one to five, with five being the best.
Linda: I would say it’s a five. That’s very rare for me to say. It’s just been super. I’ve always been able to get my product when I need it. Sometimes I’ll get a last minute request and there’s not an issue with me calling them and just running down and getting it, or they’ll deliver it to me if I’d like but it’s usually faster for me to go pick it up. [Crosstalk 00:07:52] very good customer service.
Ben: Okay. Well, I believe that covers all the points of interests here. There’s a lot of good insights that will help them out and we will definite relay all this information to them and let them know that they’re doing well.
Linda: Okay, well, you definitely do that.
Ben: Thanks for your time and good luck with all your enterprises.
Linda: Thank you.
Ben: Okay. Thank you. You have a good afternoon.
Linda: You, too. Bye.
For more information about State Line Bag Company, you can visit their website at www.StateLineBag.com – for custom muslin bags, check out LindaFulghum.com.
