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51-563: Cinécraft pioneered the use of teleprompters, rear screen projection, and multi-camera filmmaking in the early history of television. The studio is said to be the longest-standing corporate film and video production house in the U.S. Cinécraft was founded by Ray and Betty Culley in 1939. Promoting "Sound Business Pictures in Natural Color," the studio began in rental space in the Card Building on St. Clair Ave. in downtown Cleveland. In 1947,

102-555: A Canadian subsidiary. Also that year, the Hi Brows humor studio card line was launched. In July 1957, the company moved its headquarters to One American Road, Brooklyn, Ohio. In 1958, American Greetings went public. Jacob Sapirstein became chairman of the board while Irving assumed the company's president post in 1960. In Forest City, North Carolina, the company built a cabinet manufacturing plant in 1960. A Mexican subsidiary in Mexico City

153-575: A few thousand units in mass-merchandise outlets in the US. By early 1994, 7,000 were installed. The kiosks generated modest profits off healthy revenue. With the Touch Screen Greetings and the Personalize It! method, Hallmark in 1992 sued AG over patent infringement with a 1995 settlement that allow both to use the technology worldwide. By 1995, the kiosks were being left behind by personal computers and

204-582: A lower loss than in the prior year. In 2003, Morry Weiss's sons, Zev and Jeffrey, became CEO and President respectively; Morry Weiss remained Chairman. American Greetings had also branched out onto the internet and owned a network of websites. In October 2007, American Greetings bought Webshots from CNET for $ 45 million in cash. In July 2004, American Greetings sold MagniVision to an affiliate of Foster Grant sunglasses manufacturer. In October 2005, American Greetings recalled its Sesame Street toy sunglasses sold from December 2003 through August 2005, because

255-428: A massive building and development boom in recent years. As such, the neighborhood has attracted young professionals, microbreweries, artisans, and locally owned shops and restaurants. It is widely regarded as one of Ohio's most trendy and welcoming neighborhoods for all ages, ethnicities, and lifestyles. The demographics of Ohio City have changed rather dramatically in the latter half of the 20th century and first part of

306-446: A net income increase of 613 percent over ten years, Hallmark still maintained its market share. Gibson Greetings started a price war in 1986 and ended in 1987 which had the three major greeting card companies taking a loss. With a drop in licensing revenue, American took until 1989 to recover. Those Characters From Cleveland was started up by Tom Wilson on behalf of American Greetings in 1980. The first property out of Those Characters

357-509: A new facility at Crocker Park within the nearby city of Westlake , but in 2013, the company delayed to move its operations to Westlake. Construction had been scheduled to start in early 2013. In 2014, American Greetings sold its Brooklyn, Ohio headquarters to developers and began renting its current offices from the new owners until the move to Westlake. American Greetings opened their new Westlake headquarters in September 2016. The company leases

408-469: A newspaper cartoon strip generating additional income. By 1977, Holly Hobbie became one of the top female licensed character in the world. Morry Weiss, Irving's son-in-law, and Irving Stone in 1978 were appointed president and chairman & CEO, respectively. Also that year, the corporation set up two new subsidiaries Plus Mark, Inc. and A.G. Industries, Inc. Plus Mark was formed to manufacture Christmas gift wrap, boxed cards, and accessories. A.G. Industries

459-597: A population of 2,400 people in the early 1830s to over 4,000 in 1850. The municipality was annexed by Cleveland on June 5, 1854. James A. Garfield , who became the 20th president of the United States , frequently preached at Franklin Circle Christian Church in 1857. Franklin Circle Christian Church is located at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and Fulton Road. The birthplace of John Heisman , famous for

510-500: A profit, was announced in June 1999 to be taken public, but was withdrew due to the early 2000 tech stock collapse. In March 1999, Hallmark started a price war with the introduction of a 99-cent card line forcing American to do the same. In 1999, the implementation of a new inventory system slowed shipments to retailers, but this reduced sales by $ 100 million, a 1.5% decrease, ending a 93rd consecutive year of increasing revenue. Fruchtenbaum

561-731: A suburb of Cleveland , the company sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, gift packaging, stickers and party products. In addition, the company owns the Carlton Cards , Tender Thoughts, Papyrus, Recycled Paper Greetings and Gibson brands. American Greetings' former toy design and licensing division, initially called Those Characters From Cleveland , subsequently renamed AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment and now separately owned as Cloudco Entertainment . American Greetings also holds an exclusive license for Nickelodeon characters. Sapirstein Greeting Card Co.

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612-678: Is located on West 25th Street and Chatham Avenue adjacent to the W.25th Street Station on the RTA Red Line . Serving as the only auxiliary location for the Cleveland Museum of Art , the Transformer Station, located at Church and West 29th Street, functions primarily as its contemporary art gallery space. St. John's Episcopal Church , located at Church and West 26th Street, is the oldest consecrated building in Cuyahoga County and

663-545: Is the mother church of the current Episcopal cathedral located in downtown Cleveland . The church was one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Ohio, and the remains of an entrance to a tunnel leading to the banks of the nearby Cuyahoga River can still be seen in the basement. Several nearby streets retain church-related names, such as Vestry. An Episcopal parish continues to worship in

714-539: The Ohio Bell Telephone Company . The Ohio Story was based on the Frank Siedel -created radio series from 1947 to 1953. In 1954, the format switched to two radio episodes and one television show per week. The radio series ended in 1955 after over 1,300 radio episodes had been produced. Premiering on October 4, 1953, The Ohio Story TV-series lasted nine years, with 175 TV episodes being produced. Cinécraft

765-467: The 1990s, the studio embraced digital technology with interactive computer-based medical training programs. This early period of digital technology was improved upon through the years as Cinécraft Productions became known for e-learning and producing national and international projects for Fortune 1000 companies. In 2018, Dan Keckan was named Chief Executive Officer, and Matt Walsh was named Chief Operating Officer. The Hagley Museum and Library acquired

816-555: The 21st. Originally composed mainly of English and German descendants, many Eastern European immigrants moved into the area during the migrations in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1960s and 1970s, as Cleveland expanded and the wealthy moved to the surrounding suburbs (including Parma , Brooklyn , and Lakewood ), the percentage of African Americans increased. The size of the Latino community has also increased. However, Cleveland City Council , with an eye on redevelopment and with

867-1006: The Cinécraft film archives in 2021 and initiated a ten-year project to digitize the films, scripts, and records in order to make them available on the Hagley Library website. In 2023 the studio was still operating out of the John Eisenmann -designed building that had started as the home of the West Side Branch of the Cleveland Public Library in 1898. Cinécraft's major film client's included DuPont , Hercules Inc. , Standard Oil of Ohio , Seiberling Rubber Company , Firestone Tire and Rubber , Goodyear Tire and Rubber , Bethlehem Steel , Owens-Corning , Ohio Bell , General Electric , Westinghouse Electric Corporation , American Greetings , Carling Brewing , and Republic Steel . Most of

918-577: The Forget-Me-Not brand was launched in 1993. In July 1997, American Greetings launched its "The All New American Way" marketing strategy that consisted of massive revamping of its everyday card lines over the next year and a half to meet nine American cultural trends. In the 1990s, American Greetings pushed more into international markets. Acquisition occurred in 1995 with a purchase of 80% share of S.A. Greetings Corporation in South Africa and in 1996 with

969-515: The Forget-Me-Not card line. Irving and his brothers changed their last name to Stone in the 1940s. American Greeting Publishers was incorporated in 1944. John Sands Pty. Ltd. of Sydney, Australia and the company signed a licensing agreement, the firm's first, in 1949. The company changed its name to American Greetings Corporation as the company went public in 1952, issuing 200,000 shares. The funds raised were earmarked for acquisitions and expansion. In 1956, American Greetings formed Carlton Cards, Ltd.,

1020-514: The Market Tavern, a pub frequented by Eliot Ness . ) Saint Ignatius High School , a Jesuit college prep school, is located near the West Side Market. Founded in 1886, the school has a long list of distinguished graduates and is a perennial contender in several OHSAA sports. The Cleveland Hostel, which opened in 2012, is the first and only hostel in the city of Cleveland. The hostel

1071-698: The US, in March 1996, which was rejected. In 1999, the company agreed to buy rival Gibson Greetings and united the second and third largest U.S. greeting card makers. Through the Gibson purchase, American gained its strong UK unit and a 27% stake in Egreetings Network Inc. In 1998, the company shares moved from trading on the NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange . AmericanGreetings.com, Inc., while not turning

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1122-461: The annual Heisman Trophy awarded to the best player in college football , is located in Ohio City. He was born in the neighborhood in 1869, and an Ohio Historical Society marker stands in commemoration near the corner of Bridge Avenue and West 29th Place. The salient feature of Ohio City's business district is the historic West Side Market , built in 1912. The European-styled market, located at

1173-822: The building from the Wiess family until August 2031. American Greetings forced Clinton Cards PLC in May 2012 into administration. In June, American Greetings acquired assets from Clinton Cards together with some of its subsidiaries including UK Greetings. UK Greetings' card brands at the time were Camden Graphics, Hanson White, Forget Me Not and Xpressions. Clinton operated stores under the Clinton and Birthdays brands. American Greetings brought in Dominique Schurman, CEO of Schurman Retail Group, to lead Clinton. American Greetings went private once again in mid-2013, thus removing itself from all

1224-616: The company closed its DesignWare plant in Kalamazoo as the company moved to Amscan for manufacturing their party goods. American Greetings received $ 25 million and a warrant for 2 percent of common stock in AAH Holdings , Amscan's parent corporation, while Amscan received inventory, equipment and processes. In Mexico, the company moved strategically to a third party distributor model and closed its warehouse there. In 2010, American Greetings planned to move its headquarters from Brooklyn, Ohio to

1275-587: The company from his older brother Ray Culley, the original founder. Paul led the transition from film to video in the 1970s. For over 50 years, a member of the Culley family had run the studio, and many Culley family members worked there. Then, in 1985, Neil McCormick, a Cinécraft employee, and his wife, Maria Keckan, a video producer, bought the studio. Together they completed the change from film to broadcast-quality video as industrial and commercial clients demanded faster and easier ways to make effective motion pictures. In

1326-455: The company purchased Blue Mountain Arts (BlueMountain.com) from Excite@Home with Excite to buy ads on American Greeting websites and Blue Mountain would continue providing ecards for Excite. The company thus had four online greeting cards website including BeatGreets.com, a musical greetings website. While the online operations expected to become profitable by the fourth quarter 2002, the division had

1377-550: The development of software to aid the sales force, to managers and their retailers in order to track inventories and trends. The following year, Weiss and Fruchtenbaum were promoted again to chairman/CEO and president/chief operating officer, respectively, with Irving Stone becoming founder-chairman. Custom Expressions, Inc., the CreataCard producer, was acquired in 1992, The CreataCard units had 1,000 card options and printed cards in under four minutes for $ 3.50 each. The company placed

1428-548: The incentive of tax breaks, has lured an increasing number of suburbanites of all backgrounds back into the Ohio City area. This has led to a diverse community. 41°29′03″N 81°42′41″W  /  41.484195°N 81.711295°W  / 41.484195; -81.711295 American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately held American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards . Based in Westlake, Ohio ,

1479-466: The internet. The units were partially written off. American had also made deals with online services, Prodigy, CompuServe, and Microsoft Network in early 1996. Their website was redesigned to allow the cards to be designed on the website then mailed from its Cleveland fulfillment center in 1997. Two CD-ROM products, Personal CardShop for Home and Office and CreataCard Plus, were published. Both allowed for personalization. CardShop had 150 card choices and used

1530-599: The intersection of Lorain Avenue and West 25th Street , draws an estimated one million visitors annually. Located north of the West Side Market is The Ohio City Fresh Food Collaborative, one of the largest contiguous urban farms in America. The operation includes a farm, retail farm stand and community kitchen on a 6-acre city parcel. Ohio City chef Parker Bosley was an early farmer's market supporter. Ohio City contains

1581-536: The largest concentration of craft breweries in Cleveland, which includes Hansa Brewing, Market Garden Brewery , Nanobrew, Platform Beer , Saucy Brew Works, Bad Tom Smith Brewing, and the state of Ohio's oldest microbrewery, the Great Lakes Brewing Company . (Both Market Garden and Great Lakes have fullscale brewpubs adjacent to the West Side Market , with the latter occupying a building that formerly housed

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1632-545: The lenses can separate from the frames, posing a choking hazard to young children. American Greetings purchased Recycled Paper Greetings in February 2009. Two months later, in two cash deals with Schurman Fine Papers on April 17, the company sold its remaining 341 stores to them, and in the second deal bought Schurman's wholesale division, Papyrus brand cards and paper products, and a 15% equity stake in Schurman. In April 2010,

1683-454: The market. Sapirstein Greeting began in 1932 making its own greeting cards. In 1934, the company began hiring sales representatives. Harry, the youngest son, joined the business in 1935. In 1936, the company opened its first branch office and the first major manufacturing facility. Sapirstein Greeting Card Co. was renamed in 1938 to American Greetings Publishers. In 1939, the firm first issued

1734-411: The modem to order them to be printed and mailed by their fulfillment center. CreataCard had 3,000 predesigned greeting cards, invitations, stationery, and announcements, and three methods of fulfillment: print on home printer, by e-mail or via the company's center. In the mid-1990s, American Greetings expanded its operations with acquisitions or starting up of new lines of business, and starting in 1996,

1785-614: The name GuildHouse. A supplemental educational products subsidiary, Learning Horizons, Inc., was set up in March 1997, but in August American Greetings sold two subsidiaries, Acme Frame Products, Inc. and Wilhold Inc., producer of hair accessory products, to Newell Company . Contempo Colours, a party goods company in Michigan with licenses included Monopoly and Sesame Street , was bought in August 1999 to add to DesignWare. In Canada,

1836-503: The offered greeting cards to 10,000 from 15,000. The firm also shifted to recognizing sales at the retailer's register, not when it was stocked on the retailer's shelves in order to better control inventory. This cost them $ 300 million, and was highly unprofitable in the 2001 and 2002 fiscal years. In its online sector in 2001, American Greeting purchased the Egreetings Network shares that Gibson did not already own. In January 2002,

1887-477: The promotion of sideline product categories to semi-autonomous units. A reading glasses manufacturer, Magnivision, was purchased in 1993. In 1996, the party goods line was relaunched under the DesignWare name. The same year, American Greetings entered discussions with BEC Group Inc. to acquire Foster Grant Group , a sunglasses manufacturer, but declined to pursue the purchase. A candle line was relaunched in 1997 under

1938-526: The public markets, agreeing to pay $ 18.20 per share, valuing the company at $ 878 million. The Weiss family-owned Century Intermediate Holding Co. purchased the public shares. In 2018, the Weiss family sold a 60% majority stake of the company to the investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). The Weiss Family would continue to operate as directors and shareholders of American Greetings as well as retain ownership of American Greetings Entertainment, which

1989-476: The purchase of John Sands , the top greeting card company in both Australia and New Zealand. In 1998, Camden Graphics Group and Hanson White Ltd. were purchased to add to its UK operations, while in 1999, a majority stake in Memory Lane Sdn Bhd , a Malaysian greeting card company, brought American to Asia for the first time. American Greetings made a bid for Gibson Greetings , the third top card maker in

2040-643: The retiring CEO Beeder was replaced by Joe Arcuri. In January 2020, partially owned Schurman Retail Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , resulting in the closing of all of its stores, including American Greetings locations. Acquired in 1999, Gibson was founded by brothers George, Robert, Samuel and Stephen in 1855 as Gibson & Company, Lithographers in Cincinnati . It eventually began making greeting cards in 1860s and 1870s, sold to brother George as Gibson Arts in 1883 and Gibson Greeting Cards Inc. in 1960. After being under RCA Corporation and other owners it

2091-461: The space, although membership has dramatically declined with the demographic changes in the neighborhood. The Carnegie West Branch of Cleveland Public Library has been in continuous operation since opening in 1910. Designed by Edward Tilton, the architect of four buildings on Ellis Island in New York, Carnegie West features a modified Renaissance and classical style exterior. Ohio City has experienced

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2142-538: The studio moved to 2515 Franklin Blvd. in Ohio City, Cleveland . Cinécraft was an early user of rear projection , teleprompters , and filming using a multi-camera setup . Using two or more cameras with teleprompters to film the same scene from different angles simultaneously cuts production costs tremendously. The studio used the technique when it produced The Ohio Story , a TV-series that it filmed and ran from 1953 to 1961 for

2193-532: The studio's film business came through advertising agencies, including Fuller & Smith & Ross, Inc. and McCann-Erickson . Ohio City, Cleveland Ohio City is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Cleveland , Ohio . It is located immediately west of the Cuyahoga River . The City of Ohio became an independent municipality on March 3, 1836, splitting from Brooklyn Township . The city grew from

2244-592: Was Strawberry Shortcake , which generated in 1981 $ 500 million in retail sales, followed by the Care Bears with $ 2 billion in sales over its first two years. AG came back with a doubled net income by 1991 with 10 percent growth in sales to Hallmark's 1 percent. Weiss was promoted to CEO while Ed Fruchtenbaum was elevated as the fourth and first non-family president. Weiss had streamlined operations, cut costs, and decreased its card idea development time frame to market. Fruchtenbaum stressed information systems technology with

2295-442: Was a display fixture manufacturer. American Greeting had seen itself as a mass-marketer and was serving pharmacies, variety stores, discount stores, and supermarkets with low cost cards. Meanwhile, Hallmark Cards ignored the mass market outlets until 1959 with issuance of its Ambassador card line. The company then used its licensing revenue on national advertising and other efforts to gain market share from 1981 to 1985. While they had

2346-507: Was a source for many actors used in Cinécraft films, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra provided elaborate music scores for the company. Occasionally, they recruited Hollywood actors to appear in their movies at their client's request. Popular personalities that appeared in Cinécraft productions included Danny Kaye , Tim Conway , Ernie Anderson , Joel Grey , Chet Huntley , and Basil Rathbone . In 1970, Paul Culley bought

2397-546: Was founded in 1906 by Polish immigrant Jacob Sapirstein (1885–1987), who sold cards to stores from a horse -drawn cart, American Greetings has been run by members of the family since its inception. Irving Sapirstein , Jacob's oldest son, became Jacob's first partner in 1918 at age nine. Irving's brother Morris started working at the card company in 1926. Morris and Irving in 1928 got a post card contract worth $ 24,000. The company started using self-serve display cabinets for its greeting cards in 1929 further cementing its position in

2448-427: Was set up in 1969. In 1971, a retail subsidiary was formed called Summit Corporation, later called Carlton Cards Retail, Inc. Holly Hobbie premiered in 1967 as a line of greeting cards by American Greetings. The character's public appeal lead to the formation of Those Characters From Cleveland Inc. Sale the next year topped $ 100 million. In 1972, the company introduced Ziggy, created by Tom Wilson , which soon had

2499-610: Was spun off as Cloudco Entertainment . UK Greetings continued with American Greetings under CD&R while the Clintons retail chain in the UK remained with the Weiss family. On closing of the deal, David Scheible was named Chairman in place of Morry Weiss and President John Beeder was promoted to CEO (the former chairman and co-CEOs remaining on the board). In January 2019, the Weiss family placed AG's headquarters up for sale. Scheible had been replaced by John Compton as chairman. On March 1, 2019,

2550-580: Was terminated in June 2000 for insider trading policy violation after the board learned that he purchased stock via options, then sold them in December 1998 before the announcement of the new inventory system implementation's expected loss. Board member James C. Spira was then appointed vice-chairman. In November 2000, Spira was appointed to oversee a massive overhaul. The company cut 1,500 jobs, closed six manufacturing and distribution centers, discontinued Forget-Me-Not, one of its four main U.S. card brands, and cut

2601-490: Was the first to film a TV infomercial . It featured William Grover "Papa" Barnard selling Vitamix blenders. The studio assembled many early productions featuring Cleveland-based Louise Winslow , a pioneer in television programming focused on sewing, cooking, and crafts. A pioneering, five-part series was created for The Austin Company in 1948. It explained how live television was produced and broadcast. The Cleveland Play House

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