Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... not exactly!
This is worth the read...
When we did our last design team call, it was right after I chose our first guest design team of Jeanne, Sherry, Shannan, Carolyn, Joan and Cambria. Now that we've chosen our new guest design team, it's time to begin the call again for our May-July team.
I've have gotten numerous emails and PM's regarding how and why we do our design call the way we do. Some of you want to know why we just don't pick our designers.
Well, let me begin by saying that I am just like you. I love to stamp and over the years I have stamped with probably about 50-100 different stamp company's stamps. I bet over those years, I've made some pretty darn cute things with those company's stamps too! LOL!
But did they know it? Probably not. A few here and there may have seen something published but for the most part, they certainly didn't know that I had created the all-time best ever card that their stamp had ever graced in my little old basement in McFarland, WI. You get the point.
How am I supposed to know you are out there?
Many of the finest stampers in the world don't have a blog or don't visit splitcoaststampers.
>insert shocked face here!<
They may not even have gallery out there. (Shhh, don't tell anyone but Carolyn King didn't have a blog when I brought her on. I know! Amazing, huh?)
They may not have ever been on a design team before. (Amy R wasn't, neither was Erika, Emily or Kurtis when they joined Gina K.)
I'm a pretty busy girl so I can't spend my day searching the web for designers but if you like my company, then you probably read my blog. By putting out a design team call here on my blog, I get a few very important things:
1. I get submissions from stampers that already like my designs and my company.
2. I get stampers that want to design for me.
3. I get stampers who are newer and maybe aren't well known enough for me to find them.
4. I get to share opportunities with the people who matter the most to me, you- my customers.
So, that's why I do it this way. Now, the worst for me is the choosing. Thank goodness Erika and Emily help me narrow things down a bit. However, I want you to know that I am very involved in the process and I even look at every submission that didn't make it into the final 12. I can always change the final 12 if I think I need to. Emily and Erika know that and they don't mind at all. They know how important this is to me.
Why didn't you get chosen in the past?
Well, lots of reason. Here are a few random examples from former batches of submissions.
A couple didn't get chosen due to poor photography skills. That doesn't mean you aren't a top notch designer, just that you need to work a little on your photography skills. Kurtis has a great tutorial on his blog on how to photograph your work.
Another submission from the last batch didn't get picked because I already knew through the grapevine that this designer was being chosen for another team that I knew she would want to be on and that team had restrictions about who she could design for or how many teams she could be on. (Some companies don't like you to be on too many teams or teams with similar styles. I don't care for that myself. I feel like if you are spread too thin, it might be hard to keep up and do your best work.) I didn't find out from the company owner that she was chosen, I found out through the grapevine- loose lips. LOL! But she ended up in a great place so it was actually a blessing for in disguise for her. (I hope someday she'll forgive me! LOL!)
Another submission didn't get picked because, although her cards were good, they were all cased. They were copies of what some of my design team had already done. I really do need your ideas, not stuff that was already created.
And the last and most common reason- I just can't choose everybody! If I got 100 submissions that were all equally great, I would still have to choose. That's just life. That's why you should try again. We really do get a lot of submissions but each submission shows dedication and a real desire to be here. It all counts.
What about stamps?
Not everyone chosen used Gina K. Designs stamps. But a lot did. It's always a little easier to see how someone fits in when they use my designs. But it's not mandatory.
Let me show you one of the cards from the last batch of submissions that really took my breath away. It's by Jana Weaver. This is the card that gave her a spot on our team.
The card is so different. My entire design team and I have loved this stamp set but none of us ever put that cell phone in a pocket like that. Very clever! LOL! I love that. She got me! It's a well thought out card and I loved that she gave me more than one view. Not that every card needs it but it was great for this one. Cute, huh?
Design Team call:
If you would like to be considered for the Gina K. Designs Team of Designers, please email three of your best projects to ginakteam@yahoo.com.
Please include your name, phone number, email contact and any other info you would like us to know about you. If you are chosen, you will be notified sometime near the end of March.
Please feel free to post this info on any message boards you are part of.
I hope you enjoyed getting a peek into the Gina K. Designs Design Team process.
Hugs,
Gina K.
When we did our last design team call, it was right after I chose our first guest design team of Jeanne, Sherry, Shannan, Carolyn, Joan and Cambria. Now that we've chosen our new guest design team, it's time to begin the call again for our May-July team.
I've have gotten numerous emails and PM's regarding how and why we do our design call the way we do. Some of you want to know why we just don't pick our designers.
Well, let me begin by saying that I am just like you. I love to stamp and over the years I have stamped with probably about 50-100 different stamp company's stamps. I bet over those years, I've made some pretty darn cute things with those company's stamps too! LOL!
But did they know it? Probably not. A few here and there may have seen something published but for the most part, they certainly didn't know that I had created the all-time best ever card that their stamp had ever graced in my little old basement in McFarland, WI. You get the point.
How am I supposed to know you are out there?
Many of the finest stampers in the world don't have a blog or don't visit splitcoaststampers.
>insert shocked face here!<
They may not even have gallery out there. (Shhh, don't tell anyone but Carolyn King didn't have a blog when I brought her on. I know! Amazing, huh?)
They may not have ever been on a design team before. (Amy R wasn't, neither was Erika, Emily or Kurtis when they joined Gina K.)
I'm a pretty busy girl so I can't spend my day searching the web for designers but if you like my company, then you probably read my blog. By putting out a design team call here on my blog, I get a few very important things:
1. I get submissions from stampers that already like my designs and my company.
2. I get stampers that want to design for me.
3. I get stampers who are newer and maybe aren't well known enough for me to find them.
4. I get to share opportunities with the people who matter the most to me, you- my customers.
So, that's why I do it this way. Now, the worst for me is the choosing. Thank goodness Erika and Emily help me narrow things down a bit. However, I want you to know that I am very involved in the process and I even look at every submission that didn't make it into the final 12. I can always change the final 12 if I think I need to. Emily and Erika know that and they don't mind at all. They know how important this is to me.
Why didn't you get chosen in the past?
Well, lots of reason. Here are a few random examples from former batches of submissions.
A couple didn't get chosen due to poor photography skills. That doesn't mean you aren't a top notch designer, just that you need to work a little on your photography skills. Kurtis has a great tutorial on his blog on how to photograph your work.
Another submission from the last batch didn't get picked because I already knew through the grapevine that this designer was being chosen for another team that I knew she would want to be on and that team had restrictions about who she could design for or how many teams she could be on. (Some companies don't like you to be on too many teams or teams with similar styles. I don't care for that myself. I feel like if you are spread too thin, it might be hard to keep up and do your best work.) I didn't find out from the company owner that she was chosen, I found out through the grapevine- loose lips. LOL! But she ended up in a great place so it was actually a blessing for in disguise for her. (I hope someday she'll forgive me! LOL!)
Another submission didn't get picked because, although her cards were good, they were all cased. They were copies of what some of my design team had already done. I really do need your ideas, not stuff that was already created.
And the last and most common reason- I just can't choose everybody! If I got 100 submissions that were all equally great, I would still have to choose. That's just life. That's why you should try again. We really do get a lot of submissions but each submission shows dedication and a real desire to be here. It all counts.
What about stamps?
Not everyone chosen used Gina K. Designs stamps. But a lot did. It's always a little easier to see how someone fits in when they use my designs. But it's not mandatory.
Let me show you one of the cards from the last batch of submissions that really took my breath away. It's by Jana Weaver. This is the card that gave her a spot on our team.
The card is so different. My entire design team and I have loved this stamp set but none of us ever put that cell phone in a pocket like that. Very clever! LOL! I love that. She got me! It's a well thought out card and I loved that she gave me more than one view. Not that every card needs it but it was great for this one. Cute, huh?
Design Team call:
If you would like to be considered for the Gina K. Designs Team of Designers, please email three of your best projects to ginakteam@yahoo.com.
Please include your name, phone number, email contact and any other info you would like us to know about you. If you are chosen, you will be notified sometime near the end of March.
Please feel free to post this info on any message boards you are part of.
I hope you enjoyed getting a peek into the Gina K. Designs Design Team process.
Hugs,
Gina K.
Awesome! It's cool to hear so much feedback on the process.
Reply to this
How fun! I am so excited to participate! I just received my new stamps and can't wait to ink them up! Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Reply to this
I really like how you choose your deigners Gina. All of it makes good sense.
Whoa!I *love* the card that Jana made using the cell phone. That is one very creative card. I am looking forward to seeing more of her work as well as the other new designers that have been chosen.
Mary
Reply to this
Thank you so much for sharing that info. I think maybe I'm even getting brave enough to jump in!!! And what a super FANtastic card!!! I LOVE that pocket with the phone!! I can't wait to see more wonderful creations!!!
Reply to this
Hi there,
Thanks for all the wonderful info, but I just have a quick question...until when are you accepting submissions? I would LOVE to enter!
Reply to this
We will keep the call open until about the third week of March.
We'll announce and exact date soon.
Reply to this
Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply! Have a super day! Happy Stampin!
Reply to this
Thanks so much for the info & insight Gina!
Reply to this
I guess I should have read the comments before I posted my question! LOL! I am just so excited!!!
Reply to this
Great post! I almost spit out my drink when I saw Jana'a card, I bought the Text message set to make a jean pocket card, too!(but haven't yet, and this is different than I would have made it, of course, hers is better) Thumbs up Jana, outstanding execution, love it!!
Reply to this
Wow very interesting process!!! Thanks for sharing it with us! Jana's card is awesome!!!
Reply to this
Gina you are just the sweetest. Thanks for sharing the process! *Wish* I could own all of your stamps...ahh what a dream that would be.
Now that jean pocket card was quite brilliant. Looks like a teenager's pocket to me! *wink*
Reply to this
WELL. Finally; a lady with your talent, ethics, honesty, experience, and visibility acknowledges that the world of blogs and stores full of stamps may be visited by card makers that are not devoting their lives to card making and just have enough time to crank those puppies out as needed. But we are all getting experience (and investing money) in a hobby we are loving. We gobble up all the fantastic ideas out there and get inspired and grow. We realize (or not) that we don't need every single tool, paper, and ink out there but are coming to love what we create. Many have thoughts of some day . . . And you can bet as we get more serious, acquire more time and funds that we will run to places like gina K. designs! Thank you for the continuing education and inspiration.
Reply to this
Thanks for sharing how you choose your design team. Jana's card is delightful. Absolutely perfect for any teenager.
Reply to this
Wow...fantastic card Jana....love it!!!
Reply to this
GinaK,
I just love you straightforwardness!!!
Reply to this
Thanks for all of that info, Gina...and good luck with your next team!
I LOVE Jana's card too!!
Reply to this
Jana's card is beyond AWESOME! And a bug thank you to Gina for giving us all the info! Much appreciated!
Reply to this
I so appreciate the info re: how you choose your DT members. As a new submitter (goofy sounding, I know!) I appreciate knowing how a choice is made, and how I can make my submissions look better! Thanks Gina!
Reply to this
I was wondering, do you want the submissions to be with your stamps? Seems very logical, but from a financial standpoint, and all the stamps I'd love to own, they do not equal out.
Reply to this
Leona,
That's totally up to you.
Reply to this
Thanks so much Gina for taking the time to enlighten those of us who want to get involved but not sure how the process worked. Just received my 4 sets of Gina K's and want to get the creative juices flowing with them. Thanks again!
Reply to this
I would SOOOOO have loved to try out for this, but I am terribly busy with moving and such. I will definitely try to get in on the next one!
Reply to this
Gina, thank you so much for giving us a peek into how the process works! Thank you for giving those of us new to stamping as well as those well established artists, a chance to work with you!
Reply to this