Smart Creative Women

When I was in NYC judging the Louie Awards (like the Emmy’s for greeting cards) I met THE mostlovely people and one of them was Sarah Schwartz. She is the editor of Stationery Trends Magazine!You will hear me gush about the publication.  When I attended Surtex and the National Stationery Show last year, I picked up a copy of this magazine and immediately thought, “Surely this is not a trade publication!” It is really PRETTY! It is also well thought out and well laid out so when I found myself sitting behind her judging 900 greeting cards (that’s right, 900!!) I knew I had to have her on the show. Sarah has a good eye for sure! In this interview you’ll find out how she became an editor, how the magazine works (including submissions) and about her letter writing campaign! Oh, I love a girl that takes the time to put something pretty on the mail! Over at her blog The Paper Chronicles, she has started a letter writing campaign!! Ok ladies (and gentlemen) I KNOW you have some REALLY pretty art to show Sarah, so let’s send her some mail! What do you say? Are you up for it? Her address is below!

Move over Martha! There is a new girl in town and she is F-U-N! I just love meeting someone who bubbles over with enthusiasm for simply being on the planet! Alison Faulkner is THAT GIRL. Graphic artist by trade, DIY Diva Priestess by design. Ok, she may not call herself a DIY Diva Priestess, more like a DIY Disco Diva. Alison is a bundle of energy and smarts over on her corner of the web called The Alison Show where she claims to be a compulsive, crafter, baker, and sharer.  instgram-a must  You know I think bloggers understand their audiences and rock social media, Alison is no exception! (She is a crack up on instgram-a must follow!) She talks about how she does it in this interview!

So tune in!!! Listen how she channeled her high school craftiness (when crafting was decidedly NOT cool) into a full blown super blog. You name it, she has made it and she will probably bring a big smile to your face.

 As you listen in to this interview, you’ll  hear what Alison offers to brands that want to work with bloggers. She is crafty, savvy and vivacious, an awesome combination of talents. She also adds her unique perspective over on the Babble blog, I particularly liked this post.  She has her own You Tube channel and I think she is one to watch! She would be my choice over ANY daytime TV show on the market!!

Listen in to this very special interview with Whitney English. Whitney is stationer, designer,entrepreneur and most importantly, a mother of three. She shares her journey in this interview, the highs and the lows. If you have followed Whitney’s blog you may know she has been talking very openly about what it means to her to be authentic and open. In this interview she gets very candid about her business, the stationery industry and her future plans.

You’ll also hear what went into designing her new organizational products including the best selling Day Designer . You can check out Whitney’s etsy shop here.

I was so so thrilled to interview the amazing Virginia Johnson because not only is she a fabulous creative entrepreneur, she is also a fabulous watercolorist. OH! And she designs scarves!!!!  Hello, if you know me, you know I am in heaven about now.

If you don’t know Virginia, she is a Canadian born designer who owns a lifestyle company. Her colorful prints decorate clothing, shawls, stationery, and home furnishings and are carried in more than 100 stores worldwide, including Barneys, Liberty’s, and Holt Renfrew.

She has also collaborated with Anthropologie, J.Crew and Chronicle books. Total yum, right?

If that isn’t enough Virginia has illustrated several books, including Deborah Needleman’s The Perfectly Imperfect Home, Teddy Jam’s This New Baby, and Kate Spade’s Occasions, Manners and Style.

She has the art career I dream of, so I LOVED doing this interview!

Quick take away for you: Listen to how she receives  collaboration information from brands like Free People and J.Crew. Each brand has their specific approach and they are hiring Virginia for her unique aesthetic.  I love that these brands trust Virginia’s creative style.

Sheila Meehan from Meehan Design Group is my guest today! She has been in art licensing for YEARS! And she is sharing her experience with you, yippee! Not only is she an agent to some of today’s brightest artists (you know Cori Dantini is a fav of mine!) she also consults and is now teaching! She has a webinar coming up on putting together  your portfolio and presenting yourself to manufacturers.  Presentation is a biggie! It is on Nov 7th. If you attend live, you get the chance to ask her questions but if you book it and can’t attend, you can still get the recording. The info is on J’Net Smith’s page here.But you know me, I don’t let Sheila off the hook! I love to ask my “state of the industry” questions. I think it is always HELPFUL to get  the opinion of someone who has a large amount of experience and someone who is in the trenches selling art everyday! (When did selling art become a trench activity?!!Haha!) Tune in and hear what Sheila has to say!

Children’s book artist and cartoonist Sarah McIntyre is just a bundle of fun. She is an original spirit for sure. She is a prolific illustrator and writer  (and cartoonist) she also seems to be quite passionate about enjoying herself. What a breath of fresh air she is. She has a terrific active blog and web presence.   She works tirelessly at keeping  everything up-to-date  but I didn’t get the sense for one minute that it was a “chore.” She challenges herself to show up online in all sorts of unique ways, I just love it. You have to tune it and let some of her fun rub off on you!

You can hear how she has collaborated in a really unique way with Philp Reeve for their new bookOliver and the Seawigs.  (Note: all the activity sheets that she has added to her site with the release of the book…she is a smart cookie too!)

Sarah loves to draw, she has certainly found her calling, don’t you think? Just take a look at this travel comic she did from a recent trip to Alaska!

Yipee! Another “live and in person” chat!  Rachel is the owner of Pins and Needles, a fun and stylish craft boutique on the upper East side of Manhattan. Rachel and I sat down in her  darling shop to talk about how she developed the  look and feel of her shop and her brand. This was fun and quick, people were starting arrive! S he talks about how her past experiences working with luxury brands has influenced how she treats her own business. She really had vision when it came to opening her craft  and sewing boutique. What a bare and unattractive space, ack! Not sure I could have seen the potential she saw! You’ll love  hearing how she communicates her personal style within her own business!

(AND YES…that is Molly, her dog, on the table with us. Talk about a relaxing atmosphere!)

Rachel will also be helping inside the Smart Creative Style course. We will be helping students who share their exercises decipher their creative style. It is going to be fun, fun, fun!

I have an exercise that might just help you out! Sometimes we force ourselves to make big decisions under deadlines, sometimes we just simply TALK a decision to death. I know because I have done it ALL! My poor family!  In this video, I am sharing a method that I have used  to make hard choices that really worked for me. I call it the “index card method.” I wish I had something more sophisticated to call it! What I have realized is that some of my biggest breakthroughs have come when I don’t get obsessive. I have learned to trust myself (and God!) to know what is right for me as an individual. This method doesn’t have to be relegated to big business turning points. It can work on anything where you might have several options and are unsure of which one to choose. Go into the exercise with peace, calm and a little bit of time.

What do you think? Tell me how you have gone about making tricky decisions in the comments!