Tender Heart Treasures creates 90 percent of its own products—and considers this one of its competitive advantages.

By Alicia Orr Suman

More than 30 percent of each season’s product assortment consists of new items. “The focus of each book changes seasonally as we introduce new product lines that reflect the given season,” says Pat Olsen, product design manager.

To come up with such a volume and assortment of new product ideas, product development is an ongoing activity at Tender Heart Treasures. “We usually are working about 18 months out,” says Watanabe-Gerdes. “Right now, we’re designing for the spring of 2004.”