Craft Genius was created to bring friends together and share our love of crafting. The uniqueness of the products we offer gives our Crafters the opportunity to create modern, quality crafts they can be proud of. Our Craft Boxes save money for Crafters by eliminating the need to buy expensive tools, ingredients or supplies. Our Boxes and Master Crafters have everything you need for the craft. All you need to bring to the class is yourself (and perhaps a bottle of wine)!
Furthermore, Crafters save time with Craft Genius by eliminating the need to go to multiple retail outlets to find everything needed for a craft. You’ll never have to run out to get more craft supplies to complete a project again! Successful projects are guaranteed with Craft Genius. By providing proven products and supplies, you will produce a reliable, aesthetic final product every time.
Our projects are unique and customizable. Unlike other DIY crafting companies, we do not use canvas, wood planks, ceramic or paint as the main focus for our crafts. We love introducing you to new mediums and there is so much more to crafting than paint! With our Craft Boxes, multiple features are customizable, such as colors, size, and fragrance. This allows Crafters to use the same supplies, but produce unique projects.
Our Values
- Creativity – We encourage others to create what appeals to them, understand our differences, and support others’ ideas.
- Kindness – We enjoy helping others, strive to make people feel valued, invoke an atmosphere of mutual respect, and avoid judgment and negativity.
- Acceptance – We respect and appreciate all of our Crafters regardless of class, religion, political affiliation, appearance or lifestyle, and avoid controversial topics.
- Fun – We laugh together, create together, and share our love of crafting.
- Ethical – We do the right thing at all times.
Our Vision
Our Crafters use their creativity, originality, and preferences to create unique works of art for themselves and others. Master Crafters are compensated with a transparent commission model and can receive residual income for future sales outside of the classes.
“Anyone can craft.” (Or something like that) – Chef Gusteau, Ratatouille
Meet the Founders!
Jolie Raufeisen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Jolie’s love of sewing and crafting started at the age of eight when she sewed her first dress from her mom’s scrap fabric. Her sewing and designing skills led her to Purdue University where she received a scholarship to the School of Consumer and Family Sciences. While there, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Retail Management with a background in Apparel Technology. Jolie worked in the Human Resources field until she was named Director of Corporate Culture and Employee Happiness at Angie’s List. After more than a decade in management, Jolie gave up her corporate career to follow her entrepreneurial spirit and passion for creativity and making people happy.
Jolie started Craft Genius when she noticed producing crafts was not only expensive but rarely turned out as expected. Jolie decided to start a company where people could enjoy friendships and produce customizable crafts at an affordable price with guaranteed results. Her favorite mediums are fabric, metal, paper and non-traditional materials. Jolie and her husband live in Indianapolis, close to their grown children. As the CEO of Craft Genius, her goal is to make fun crafting projects affordable and customizable to crafters.
Crystal Crider, Chief Creative Officer (CCO)
Crystal has always focused on helping others. She has enjoyed working with patients as a Medical Assistant, X-ray Tech, and Cast Tech. When she was growing up, she was the go-to among her classmates as a creative friend when it came to decorating for prom, homecoming, and other celebrations. The crafter inside of her eventually led her to find a way to add glitter to the casts of her patients, not just the children. Crystal’s favorite story was a 72-year old patient who used the glittering cast to strike up conversations with ladies at Starbucks. Although she has been crafting most of her life, her favorite crafts have been the ones she did with her children when they were young.
She likes crafting and decorating for celebrations of her family and friends. Crystal specializes in refurbishing old furniture, crafting seasonal decor, and is a power tool aficionado. Crystal’s husband, David, is an amazing carpenter/woodworker and they make a great crafting team. Her adult children are the light of her life and her daughter has followed in mom’s footsteps by studying at Indiana University to become an Art Teacher. As CCO, Crystal is excited to help Master Crafters live up to their potential as crafters and business people. She is focused on the details needed to produce successful craft projects while also embracing the training of future Master Crafters.
Meet The Team!
Derek Raufeisen, Director of Finance and Analytics
Throughout his childhood, Derek excelled at numbers and problem-solving. Following high school, he enrolled in community college studying Business Administration. He was especially fascinated with economics, which made him a perfect fit for the finance role at Craft Genius. In Derek’s time off, you can find him playing Ultimate Frisbee™ or competing in gaming competitions. As Director of Finance and Analytics, Derek’s goal is to help Master Crafters achieve their financial objectives.
Bryson Hile, Web Developer and Content Writer
Bryson graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing. He found his love for writing through the movies, television shows, and games he experienced growing up. He aspires to become a video game journalist later on in his career. After graduating from the University of Indianapolis, Bryson relocated to Houston, Texas. In his free time, he likes to take his dogs, Lily and Jarvis, to the dog park, play video games, and write. As the Web Developer and Content Writer, Bryson strives to keep the customer experience flawless.