Two Peas in a Bucket

Designer Interviews: Brandin O'Neill

We hope you're enjoying our CHA Winter designer interview series.  Today we're excited to share what Brandin O'Neill has to say about the new collections from Webster's Pages!

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What are your upcoming collections? Modern Romance, New Beginnings, Composition & Color by Allison Kreft & Sweet Notes by Allison Kreft

What was the inspiration behind them?  Where do you look for inspiration? Color, color, color! Everything starts with a color palate & what makes us happy. Clippings from home décor, parties, live events, textures, fabrics, coffee shops…ha…lots of coffee shops.

Once you have a concept for a collection, what is the design process like? Everything starts with pantone selections and then the unexplainable “mood” designing comes in. What I mean by that is putting uplifting music on, filling the air with great scents & surrounding myself with happy, pretty things. Then designing on paper & on the monitor with the selected colors just starts to  “happen”.

How do you decide on the name for a line?  How do you name the papers? Sometimes we start with a name that gets us the mood that we want to create & we use that as a design springboard, but sometimes as the designing starts, we come up with great images that were not a part of the plan and puts a twist on the collection name….honestly, I love when that happens!

What is the most rewarding part of developing a collection?  What is the most challenging? Rewarding & challenging are the same for me…sending it to our international fan base for the first time. We have so many loyal fans & friends that we consider family & that’s great. But sometimes family gives you opinions that sometimes are hard to hear…but that’s GREAT, because we design for them. Not us. So with every collection, we take the inputs from our fans & try our very best to create the perfect blend of lines for them…because that’s what it’s all about. Our customers.

What is your favorite piece from your new releases? It has to be our new relationship with Allison Kreft Designs. I love all of our new collections but I cherish our new brand added to our family. Allison knocked her two new collections, Composition & Color and Sweet Notes, out of the park. And I think Modern Romance & New Beginnings collections will make our classic Webster’s Pages customers very happy. That’s our ultimate goal :o)

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Thanks so much for sharing with us, Brandin!

Designer Interviews: Lisa Dickinson

We are so excited for Garden Girl + Graphic Designer Lisa Dickinson as she's partnered with Jenni Bowlin Studio to release her first paper line.  We were lucky enough to get a little background behind the collection from Lisa!

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Tell us about your upcoming collection: "Modern Mercantile" is my debut line with Jenni Bowlin Studio and it combines the classic vintage charm you expect from JBS with a bit of modern flair. The collection features fresh color palette in aquas, greens, and yellows that coordinate with the Jenni Bowlin Studio for Ranger ink colors. There are six double-sided papers, a journaling tag sheet, and a mini pattern sheet, along with coordinating Printed Chipboard, Flatbacks (metal "flair buttons") and Mini Deck Card Sets.

What was the inspiration behind it?  Where do you look for inspiration?  I started with several inspiration pieces from Jenni's personal collection, including old quilt squares, fabrics and trims, along with printed pieces:  catalog pages, advertisements and books.

My goal was to incorporate these antique elements with simpler, more modern designs like chevrons, stripes, and polka dots in a fresh and bright color palette.

Once you have a concept for a collection, what is the design process like? 

I start with (very rough) sketches to get an idea of which elements are going to work together.  I also start brainstorming about a color palette, selecting swatches that will both coordinate with existing product and work well together across several patterns.

Once I have a basic idea for several papers, I begin by translating my sketches into digital images on my computer. Some of the vintage pieces were scanned and incorporated into the patterns. I worked on the "A" sides of each paper first, trying to get a wide variety of scale, patterns, and colors throughout the collection.

How do you decide on the name for a line? 

The collection has its roots in antiquarian imagery, with trendy and modern colors and patterns mixed in. Modern Mercantile was the perfect name because, ultimately, the collection is a fusion of contemporary and vintage. 

How do you name the papers? 

I sought out terms that you don't hear everyday to christen these papers. The names are somewhat old-fashioned monikers for items you might find in a mercantile: Sundries, Patchwork, Novelties, Miscellany.

What is the most rewarding part of developing a collection?

 After weeks of viewing/tweaking/critiquing/ adjusting the digital images on a computer screen, I was thrilled to actually hold the printed papers in my hands!  Having something tangible to show for your work, and being able to put the papers to use on a scrapbook page is definitely the most rewarding part of this process.

What is the most challenging?

Because this is the first paper line I've ever designed, I had countless ideas floating around in my brain. Narrowing down all my brainstorming concepts into just six designs was difficult, but it forced me to focus on the overall theme of the line and choose only those images that best reflected that theme.

What is your favorite piece from your new release?

I am partial to the paper Sundries, the large chevron pattern. It was the first piece I designed and It's definitely the boldest, brightest piece in the collection. 

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Thanks so much for sharing with us, Lisa!

CHA WINTER '13 Designer Interviews: Jenni Bowlin of JBS Mercantile

We're excited to have Jenni Bowlin sharing with us today!  Read all about her inspiration, design process and favorites.

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What are your upcoming collections?  For the first time ever we have partnered with another artist to design our paper collection for this show and it is none other than new Garden Girl, Lisa Dickinson!  We are so very excited about it (and know you will all love it).  We also have some great embellishments, the return of our high quality rub-ons and several additions to current lines (like Mini Decks) that are sized perfectly for Project Life!

What was the inspiration behind them?  Where do you look for inspiration?  It’s no secret that I love the past – from 150 years ago to 30 years ago.  I am always inspired by classic design and giving new life to something that needs a new audience.  You will always see that same vein running through everything I design.

Once you have a concept for a collection, what is the design process like?  Since I am not a graphic designer, it involves a lot of sketching, scanning and note-writing to convey exactly what I want!  I don’t typically work in organized collections (meaning here’s your paper that matches your stickers that matches your embellishments).  I always stick to 12 core colors (for the most part) and rely on the classics so that everything can intermingle – even if it’s something you bought from us 3 years ago, it’s still going to match something new just released. 

How do you decide on the name for a line?  How do you name the papers?  I must admit this is always last minute for me.  I let the papers show me the way I guess, once they are complete.  I once named papers in a line after family members!  That was my favorite.

What is the most rewarding part of developing a collection?  What is the most challenging?  I think the answer to both questions is the same – it’s rewarding when a collection is well loved and well received, but it’s challenging when it’s not.  I’ve been around long enough to know that you won’t always get it right.  I try to stay true to what I know and love and put it out there.  There is always a vulnerability to that though.

What is your favorite piece from your new releases?  As I’ve been playing around with everything on my desk this week, I would have to say the Clear Stamp Book Sets!  They are so adorable put together as little mini books but they are perfectly sized too for Project Life or for page embellishments.  We produced a set of Mini Decks with the same images, but there is such a versatility with the clear stamps – you aren’t stuck with one color option!

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Jenni!  Be sure to check out her video here giving you a closer look at the new product, as well as enter our giveaway!

CHA Winter '13 Designer Interviews: Stephanie Hunt of Bella Blvd

We're excited to have Stephanie Hunt of Bella Blvd chatting with us today about her newest collections!  Enjoy!

Tell us about your upcoming collections. The upcoming collections are very close to my heart as they were directly inspired by my current life. My boyfriend of 7 years proposed last January....which means I have been planning a wedding for almost a year  now ;) the newest collections include Engaged at Last which is geared specifically towards the planning process. I found it hard to find scrappy supplies for things like food tasting, appointments, dress shopping and bridesmaid fun like wedding showers and bachelor/ette parties! Naturally, the second collection followed, Love & Marriage. This collection is a wedding collection, featuring everything about the actual wedding day!  And finally, the honeymoon inspired vacation collection, Sand & Surf. 

In addition to these three paper collections, I've designed some awesome new Freestyle Sophisticates that are great everyday basics, hand drawn by yours truly :) Crochet Hearts are to die for and the new feathers are getting a lot of attention already from press and designers alike :)  

Where do you look for inspiration?  The inspiration for the Engaged at Last and Wedding collections came naturally as I have been searching web sites, bridal magazines, color trends, wedding blogs and Pinterest for the latest and greatest in wedding events! 

Once you have a concept for a collection, what is the design process like? The design process, for me personally at Bella Blvd, usually follows the same suit: first, I must be inspired by a theme or idea (ie. wedding), then I gather plenty of inspiration in that theme and form a color palette based off my narrowed down mood board. After the color palette is decided it's all about prints, patterns and illustrations. I draw the majority of the elements within a collection. It's one of my favorite parts of the process.

 How do you decide on the name for a line?  I make a list. Then google to make sure no one owns a copyright. And I pick my favorite! How do you name the papers? The papers are always a lot of fun to name. It's one of those little details that creative people and designers alike really appreciate. I poll the DT team or my Bella Blvd staff, but sometimes when I hear a name suggestion I "just know that's it!" This time around I personally named a lot of the wedding papers with details about my wedding (ie. Turner Hall Ballroom patterned is the chevron stripe. This is the name of my reception venue. My florist has also been given credit in a paper name this CHA, and an ode to my new last name "Smokovich" is a long-time family knickname, Smokey. Hence, the patterned paper "Smokeys in Love" was born!

What is the most rewarding part of developing a collection?  What is the most challenging?  This is really hard to answer, because there are so many rewarding parts. Seeing the first round of samples arrive is amazing. But then seeing the first round of Design Team layouts is even cooler. The DT often plays with the product before I get too (since I still scrapbook :) and so it's so fun to see how they take my products and play with them! 

I would definitely say the most challenging part of the developing process is trying to be original. Because the industry is very secretive, you never quite know what everyone else is working on, and you have to hope and have confidence that your idea is original and unique. At the end of the day, all art of any sort is subjective. So there is always the fear, "will everyone love this as much as I do?"

What is your favorite piece from your new releases?  LOL. I hate this question because it's not fair :) It's like choosing your favorite children. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the feathers. They are fluffy and pretty and I just want to lay in them. I also LOVE the color palette in general of the Love & Marriage collection. I think it's so versatile for just about every wedding....my hope is that no one feels limited.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Stephanie! Read more designer interviews here, and check out all of the fun activities we have going on for CHA Winter here.

CHA Winter '13 Designer Interviews: Amy Tan

How would you like to hear about the new Yes, Please! collection from the girl behind the collection herself? Garden Girl and Designer Amy Tan tells us all about the behind-the-scenes design process.

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Tell us about your upcoming collection: It's called Yes, Please and it might be my favorite collection thus far.

What was the inspiration behind it? I wanted a softer watercolor look than Sketchbook. We wanted to stick with hand drawn elements but incorporate a bit of nature - flowers and trees, with grey details like concrete and pencil lines. 

Where do you look for inspiration? I look at the world around me. It can come from travel (near or far) as well as movies and magazines. But mostly from just experiencing life and connecting with interesting people.

Once you have a concept for a collection, what is the design process like? The development is one of the best parts of my collaboration. I get to work with talented designers at American Crafts who can help hone in on the concepts we most want to convey. Sometimes we come up with too many ideas that it's hard to narrow them down. But it's important to have focus. Every line I have had so far has had cameras. They're so versatile and fresh each time. Oh back to the process. We do these things in random order sometimes, but the color scheme, design elements (like the camera for example), and overall feel have to be determined rather quickly. From there, a style sheet (similar to a mood board) is made from all the inspiration that was gathered. Then we can focus on the products and specific designs. We doodle, paint, and experiment. Then the designers will get on their computers and do their magic.

How do you decide on the name for a line? I like to have a general idea of the name near the beginning of the process, so I just write down what comes to mind. Usually it's left until the end though so we can see how the line has evolved. How do you name the papers? Typically a theme is chosen, and we will try and stick with it. This process is rather time consuming, but I find myself just going with what first came to mind. For example if a paper makes me think of "hope", I wouldn't want to later name it something that differs from that, especially since hope is such an uplifting word.

What is the most rewarding part of developing a collection? Truly it's seeing what crafters do with it. I love to see how many creative interpretations can be made from the same products. 

What is the most challenging? Sometimes we have some great ideas, but because of production issues or pricing, it may not get made. It can be difficult to deal with the fact that these factors are out of our control.

What is your favorite piece from your new release? It's hard to choose just one. Because we are introducing so many brand new products, it's a bit difficult to narrow down. I would say that I love the embroidery template stencil kits as well as the calendar stamp. Oh and the pencil rub ons.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Amy!