Cape native takes on the world of scrapbooking

For many people, the fact that Piggy Tales products' popularity has skyrocketed in recent months isn't nearly as astounding as the fact that a woman managed to rope her husband into a scrapbooking business.

But it's true, says Ryann Juden, a Cape Girardeau native who, along with wife Debbie, started the Piggy Tales scrapbooking company in 2005.

Since then, their self-designed paper products have taken off in the $2 billion scrapbooking industry. At a recent trade show in Chicago, the couple's sales escalated.

"I guess we didn't set our goals high enough because we accomplished it in just the first couple hours," said Ryann Juden, who graduated from Central High School.

In June, the Piggy Tales Web site had a few thousand hits. In just the last two weeks of July, there were more than 150,000 hits.

"We're getting orders every day," Ryann Juden said. "The growth has been fun and frightening, especially since we haven't really advertised so far."

The idea for Piggy Tales started with Debbie Juden, who previously created paper layout kits for scrapbooking. After moving to Las Vegas, where Ryann Juden is a lawyer who works in land development, his wife decided to try designing her own paper line.

Her first two paper lines debuted in November and December 2005. Three more lines have been created since, with more on the way this October. The couple will soon expand to embellishments such as stickers, die cuts and ribbon.

Ryann Juden's sister and scrapbooker Brandon Brazel of Cape Girardeau attended the recent Chicago trade show and got a taste of Piggy Tale's popularity

"It's very new, but there's just been such a really great buzz," Brazel said.

Local stores are now carrying the products.

Each line carries a fairytale-inspired theme, a carryover from Debbie Juden's time as an elementary school teacher.

"There are a lot of whimsical colors and patterns that come naturally to her," Ryann Juden said.

He handles the business side of the company while his wife handles the designing, though Juden said some of the creativity needed comes naturally to him as well.

"My mom is an interior designer, so I grew up having to paint and repaint our house I don't know how many times," he said.

cmiller@semissourian.com

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