86-87_Craft Buddy.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 09/01/2025 17:07 Page 1
IN CONVERSATION WITH… CRAFT BUDDY
Craft Buddy, the arts and crafts company behind the popular Crystal Art and Paint By Numb3rs brands, started life as a side hustle, selling on eBay 15 years ago. Now the company is a global player, with a growing portfolio of licensed ranges, with much more to come.
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2018. Craft Buddy has developed a portfolio of licensed arts and crafts products that appeal to fans young and old. According to Gary, the key to Craft Buddy’s success in licensing is the interactive nature of its products. “With our products you can interact with your favourite characters in a much more intimate way than a regular toy or collectible, because you are playing a role in creating and building the end product itself. There is something very powerful about this. You feel more connected to the end product, and more inclined to keep and display it and show it off on social media.” Today, Craft Above: Harry Potter has Buddy works with been a stand-out success for Craft Buddy. an impressive Left: Crystal Art Junior is aimed at young crafters range of with larger gems. licensors, Below: he Disney 100 Crystal Art sticker album including Disney, has been a huge success. Warner Bros.
ary Wadhwani, along with his younger brother Dino, co-founded Craft Buddy in 2010 when Dino spotted an opportunity to sell craft supplies on eBay, a marketplace that was in its heyday at the time. After selling on eBay, the brothers tried a domestic trade show, and from there on the B2B business grew. Gary recalls “by 2014, we had a healthy mix of both B2C and B2B sales, and could count the likes of QVC, Hobbycraft, Paperchase and John Lewis among our customers. Success for Disney Today we have a team of sticker album approximately 40 people; can count One standout best-seller in the past toy chains, supermarkets, hobby 12 months has been the Disney 100 chains and gift stores among our Crystal Art sticker album, a valued customers; work with licences collaboration with Disney, to celebrate Disney’s centenary year. “This was a like Disney and Warner Bros; and have marriage of crafting and collectible just crossed eight figure turnover in stickers and was phenomenally well the year ending 2024.” received by consumers with more A major milestone for Craft Buddy than 2 million units sold by the end of 2024,” says Gary. came with its entrance into licensing in
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK 2025