Kate Harper's Blog, page 4

Do you make "mail art?"

Mail Art is a process where strangers (or friends) mail each other their handmade art on the back of a postcard. Often it is done around a specific theme.  Here are some more examples from my blog mail art gallery. 

Also check out Kim's



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Anatomy of a Christmas Card

Here's a great infographic on the greeting card business (click to enlarge) from moo.com printer.






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Photoshop Cat Hair Remover

I'm feeling humorous today.

For those of you who have cats (or pets) and find that you always have cat hair all over your clothes, wouldn't it be great to have a photoshop cat hair remover?  This just happened to me recently when my husband had professional photos made for his job and he noticed our cat's hair showed up in the photos.  I had to go through them and remove all the hair in photoshop.

No matter how much you try, you can never get rid of it.


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New (and Free!) Podcasts for Designers

Do you listen to podcasts?  A lot of people don't even know what they are, but they've been around for over ten years.  The best way I can describe them are: homemade radio show subscriptions that are automatically delivered to your computer, iphone or any digital device.  Once they became popular, major broadcasters threw their hats into the ring and started creating their own podcasts too.

I've been listening to them for years and I believe they provide the best, most relevant news and information on any subject.  They are made by people who have personal passions and extensive experience and best of all -- they are free.

I subscribe to about 100 podcasts and I learn more from them than I do from google searches.  These programs are made by real people who have a wealth of experience.  They are also a good way to tell people about own business or skill if you can get an interview to appear on a show.  Or perhaps you can even start your own podcast. Today I just found a new show on how to start a foodtruck business. I've also listened to odd shows like firetruck collectors (no joke) and Australian knitters.  You name the topic, it exists.  Most shows are between five to sixty minutes, so they are perfect to listen to during down times such as when you take a walk, ride the subway or stand in line at the grocery store. 

There are over one billion podcasts in the itunes database.  If you don't like these new ones listed below, check out the others on design.  Here's a link to just the first page of thousands on design.






Full Time Photographer with Josh Rossi
Make photography your full time job, travel and live life to its fullest. The only podcast that reveals insider information into the mind of photographers and their clients. Make more money, get bigger clients and learn to avoid the mistakes other have made. Fast track your success by learning from the best in the photography industry.










Design in Conversation
A unique talk series bringing together designers, artists, and celebrity tastemakers for remarkable conversations.















Creative Insurgents: Living a Creative Life by Your Own Rules
Creative Insurgents is all about living a creative life by your own rules. We address topics like living a more fulfilled creative life, marketing, selling art online, and more.















Documentary Photography Review Podcast
Interviews of documentary photographers from around the world who are documenting stories local to them.














Make/Work: A Rumpus Podcast
Scott Pinkmountain speaks with people working in a wide range of creative mediums about how they survive, how they make a living, how they maintain their work over the long term. Every creative laborer has a different story to tell about how they negotiate their relationship between their creative work and their paycheck and how they balance their lives to sustain their creative practice.











Presentation Skills For Design Students With Christina Canters
This podcast is dedicated to helping design students everywhere improve their presentation and communication skills. It doesn't matter whether you study architecture, graphics, fashion, industrial design, landscape design or photography...whatever your creative field, there's something we can all do to get more confident and communicate our ideas and designs more effectively. So get ready to take your next presentation to a whole new level!












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Should you license or self publish your designs?

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A lot of card designers ask me this question.  Based on my experience of self-publishing for 15 years and licensing for about 5 years, I can say they are completely different ways of working in the greeting card industry. Here are the main differences I've found between the two. My opinion comes from running a full-time, self-supporting business in both industries.

Studio Space
The amount of space you need to run your own self-publishing business is dramatically larger than licensing.  When you manufacture cards you need a large space for storage, packing, shipping and possible staffing. In licensing, at bare minimum, all you really need is a computer for sending digital images.

Decisions Over What Gets Published
When you self-publish, you have complete control over what gets published. If you want to create edgy, bohemian cards, you can do it. It is easy to design, print and sell a new design in as little as 2 weeks.  If you try to license those same designs, you might not be able to get a publisher to take a chance them, especially if the topics are controversial. Also it might be 18 months before the card ends up on store shelves.

Costs
When you manufacture cards you take a financial risk.  It’s possible you could spend several thousand dollars printing your own designs and not be able to sell them (that’s why you should start small with local stores), whereas in licensing there are very few costs other than buying a computer and a graphics program (which you probably already have).  I do not count trade shows and advertising as an expense because I have not found them to be a very significant factor for success in either businesses.

Time Investment
Manufacturing cards is very time consuming.  If you are successful, you will find most of your days involve the movement of card stock and packing boxes.  In the evenings you will probably be doing paperwork, paying reps, tracking orders and other details. Also, employees, sales reps and stores depend on you, so you can’t just stop working and take a spontaneous vacation. In Licensing, you can work as much or little as you want, but the less you work, the less you will make. Also, when you submit cards for licensing, you don't know how many will be selected, so you may spend time creating several designs that are never published.

Income
I found self-publishing to be a more profitable and reliable income, mostly because I could respond to trends and steer the direction of my business. For example, the odds of my cards selling good one day in 2,000 stores, and then suddenly failing the next day was pretty slim. I could rely on those accounts, and I could add sales reps slowly as my business expanded. In licensing, an artists does not have control over what gets published or how long cards will stay on store shelves. Therefore, it is hard to predict income.  The upside is that it is satisfying to create one piece of art and continue to get royalties from it several months or years later.

What is your experience licensing or self-publishing? Share your comments below or on my facebook page.




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Best Greeting Card Supplies under $12

I did a search on Amazon for the best deals in greeting card supplies. Here's what I found (as of this posting). All have free shipping option with Amazon membership.













100 card cello bags for $10.95 for 5x7 cards
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.











50 cards and envelopes heavy weight 5x7  75-lb card stock $11.49
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.











Script and Cursive Alphabets:100 Complete Fonts $3.99
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.















100 Envelopes $11.95 for 5x7 Cards, Square flap.
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.

















100 Sheets Japanese Rice paper  9x13 $6.75
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.









Yuzen Chiyogami Japanese Paper - $9.99 for set of 40 sheets
Free Shipping with Amazon Membership.












1000 Greetings: Creative Correspondence for All Occasions,
Book $8.00
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Most Artistic Christmas Cards

Here are the winners of the most artistic Christmas card contest!

From over 300 entries, these twenty cards were selected for their artistic qualities and marketability, and the final winner was determined by Kathy Krassner.  See her comments and suggestions below.



JUDGE
Kathy Krassner is the Director of Communications for the Greeting Card Association, Editor-at-Large of Gifts and Decorative Accessories magazine, Editorial Consultant for the National Stationery Show, Senior Editor of NobleWorks Inc., and columnist for the U.K.-based Gifts and Greetings Review.  She is also the owner of Krassner Communications.




 

Kathy's comments:

Based on this year's contest theme, "most artistic," with the additional consideration of salability, the winning card design is Grassroots Cards. The black-and-white image featuring the bright pop of holly-red color is right on trend, and this beautiful image captured so brilliantly, with wonderful crispness and dimension, shows that nature itself is perhaps the greatest artist.




~ Additional Editor Picks  ~





 





Kathy's comments:
I was also impressed by the manger scene so skillfully painted by Rosemarie Adcock. The amount of detail that went into this work, along with the gentle expressions she achieved on each of the animals, would no doubt make this card design very salable.





















Kathy's comments:

I enjoyed Janet Nelson's colorful, graphic reindeer paired with a hand-drawn font and snowflakes, giving this card design a personal, handmade feel.




















Kathy's comment:

I liked the bold use of color and shapes on the snowy Christmas tree design from Greetings from Linda.



















  




Kathy's comment:

I liked the contrast of colors and textures on the angel design from Janelle Nichol.











  









Kathy's comment:

The playful ice-skating scene painted by K. Mertikas would also make a lovely holiday card.









 




















Kathy's comments:

Ernestine Grindal's juxtoposition of an ethereal angel with Scrabble tiles spelling the word "PEACE" is very artistic and definitely caught my eye; however, I think the use of the Scrabble tiles may limit its salability to an older audience more familiar with the board game, while a younger audience might better recognize the tile style used in the "Words With Friends" app. Rather, I would have preferred to see "Peace" rendered in paper cutouts that better complement the rest of the card.




~
Kathy's comments on additional cards: All of the other entries were also very well done and would certainly make great cards, although some had a look reminiscent of holiday designs I've previously seen.




















































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New Books for Card Designers

A gift for an artist or yourself?

Here are four new and unusual books I found that were interesting:




Creative Lettering: Techniques and Tips from Top Artists

Sixteen calligraphers, painters, collagists, card makers, fiber artists, and graphic designers—give their personal perspectives on lettering. They all offer their favorite tools, how they use them, their signature technique with step-by-step instructions and photos, and an alphabet sampler of their own font.





Uncommon Cards: Stationery Made with Found Treasures, Recycled Objects, and a Little Imagination

This DIY guide contains eight sheets of cardstock and basic stitch patterns that can be completed with nothing more than a needle and thread, either by hand or machine, transforming a blank card into a whimsical, inspired, one-of-a-kind design. The perfect expression for birthdays, graduations, or a simple thinking- of-you note, each design incorporates inexpensive and easy to find household items such as strips of fabric, brightly colored plastics, handmade stamps, and more. 







The Print Making Book: Projects and Techniques in the Art of Hand-Printing

Techniques include relief-, screen- and mono- printing – all using tools and materials that are easy to source and use at home in your kitchen, bathroom, or garden. There are easy-to-use templates, step-by-step illustrations, and full-color photography throughout.




 Clean and Simple Cards: Celebrate the Basics of Design Theory

More than 45 card designs are provided, with full instructions and close-ups that display card details, and the book includes source lists for recommended supplies to replicate the designs at home. The uncomplicated projects make the book suitable for beginners, and more advanced crafters will appreciate the outline of design theory that enriches their existing card-making experience. The basic tools and techniques of card creation are also covered, from stamping to hand-coloring.







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Christmas Card Submission Deadline December 1st

Have a Christmas card you'd like to submit?  Do it this week to be included in our contest.  See submission guidelines here: GUIDELINES→ New! Online Class: Getting into the Greeting Card Business
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New Greeting Card Newsletter

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