The QUOTEpourri® Story
QUOTEpourri®
Inspirations were born during a time when professional speaker and
writer Diane Y. Chapman lost a brother and both parents, and
desperately needed inspiration to keep going each day. Researching
“wisdom” has been a part of Diane’s life for many years. She found that
while she grieved and tried to mend her heart, the words of others gave
her the strength to keep working and to keep functioning; to keep her
faith strong and to swear to a sense of purpose. She laughed with the
words of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Dolly Parton. She prayed with the words of
Mother Teresa, and marveled at the words of Helen Keller. She found
herself making resolutions to the words of sports stars like Wayne
Gretzky and Mario Andretti.
Diane had started collecting quotations for the speeches she gave
across the country. Her collection grew to hundreds as she researched
different topics for clients, and audiences were asking how they could
get their hands on them. “My instincts about the motivational and
inspirational value of my quote sets were confirmed by audiences over
and over again,” says Diane.“Before long my collection became my
signature style as a speaker. That’s when I realized that perhaps there
was a way to package quotes by theme in attractive sets.”
When
Diane first packaged her quotes to sell to audiences, she used a
utilitarian approach, much like the sets of cards you find in
bookstores. Although some of the sets sold that way, it became apparent
that she needed to create packaging that was “irresistible.” Then, it
dawned on her: why not make the quote packaging beautiful? She did her
test marketing at a number of speeches, and found that she was on to
something! “The women in my audiences were drawn magically to the
pretty organza bags I had decided to fill with quotes, and they sold
like crazy. The more beautiful the bags, the better they sold! That’s
how QuotePourri® Inspirations came to be.”
Each
QuotePourri® set has been carefully selected by Diane and her
production team, keeping in mind the goal of inspiration and healing
through words. “My search for the perfect words of wisdom has helped me
time and again. With QuotePourri® Inspirations, I hope these words help
others, too. We all have our own ways of coping with life’s up’s and
down’s, but I believe a well chosen thought can be just the perfect
compass for steering us through our most challenging times.”
For
Diane, that literally meant preparing for a family funeral. “On July 1,
2001, my sister and I took our brother, mother and father back to our
hometown of Park River, North Dakota to perform a funeral service and
burial for them. I wrote the service using my favorite bible passages
and inspirational quotes. We buried all three of them next to another
brother who had died when we were young. The pearls of wisdom I had
collected during that difficult time were life changing for me, and I
know they can be for others, too. I thank God every day for the
abundance of inspirational words that have been spoken throughout
history. Those words are meant to be shared!”
