Where do you think Mommyish, Just Jaimee, Jen Martakis, Jen Reed, Dianne Ridgedon, Angie Kovacs, Truman Studios and the rest of the designers from 2P's, etc, will go or would fit?
I think Jaimee fits at TLP, and Mommyish and Truman Studios would fit at ScrapMatters. I think Angie fits at SO. Not sure about the others.
4, I don't see you adding anything effective... I'm happy there's a new space! Thanks, blog owner! (Is that the right word? "Owner"?)
6, ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place. I've never DLed Truman Studios work, but I like her previews. I'd LOVE to see Angie at SO. I love her work and I've been a fan of hers for years. (Oh, semi-related tangent: I'd love to see her collab with Amanda Heimann or Kristin Agaard.)
Hopefully everyone displaced from 2Ps finds a store. Or alternatively, retires from designing to find a job that pays a living wage.
Anyone know why the new "special" SO collab is regularly $15 instead of $10? Is it cuz everyone contributed? I mean, that's great for them, but I'd never spend $15 on it. http://scraporchard.com/market/Happy-Skies-Digital-Scrapbook.html
I'd be surprised if it's ever actually sold for $15. It's $5 now. Yes, 8, I think it's because more people contributed. The Advent Kit and their Now Showing Collab had high retail prices, but both were either free or super low priced.
Not everyone participated in the SO special collab, but more than usual. It's not much larger than a regular collab if you remove all the greyscaled copies of most of the elements.
11 - greyscaled copies of elements? I haven't ever bought on of their collabs before, but they do this? Why? -------------------- They don't normally do it with their collabs, it's just this one because of the theme.
Bingo 13. Post 7 gives it away. "ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place" The post sure makes it sound like that person doesn't actually spend time at SM but just thinks it seems like a nice place. Why would someone who doesn't spend time there care what designers end up there? Sounds to me like someone was bashing her yesterday, and someone else - either CT or herself - is defending her today by posting nice things about her. I wish they would stop because I actually do like her but this is making things look worse for her.
16 - not 100% sure I agree with you but what seemed wierd to me about #6 was that I can't think of many people who would post about all of those designers. If a fan of one of them was wondering where she was going, she might list a few others from Two Peas with similar styles but that list is too varied and obviously created by someone who is fishing for compliments and likely to get insults.
OMG, why would anyone bring themselves up on a smack blog?! Would you? Nobody wants their name on this thing. Ever.
I guess time will tell about where people will end up. Speculating here isn't very helpful because if it's a designer you like, it's way more likely to hurt her chances somewhere.
what would make Angie fit at SO any more than the others? she wants to be there and you're posting for her? or mommyish or anyone else fitting at SM more than the others? those designers all seem the same to me, and saying one fits better at one shop than another seems like someone's either got inside info or is reaching.
I really do not see what the big deal with Angie Kovaks is. She is a great layout artist, but designs are ok at best.
Mommyish needs to just concentrate on CU. If she wants to do PU, maybe a personal store wouldn't be a bad option, or Facebook freebies. Especially now that she's expecting.
not smack sorry, but I'm sure there was a designer a while back who was pregnant and found out there was all sorts of things wrong with the baby including missing limbs etc - can anyone tell me who it was? want to see if there's been any updates etc.
Also... I know a few are going to TDC but not sure who.
16- I'm just a customer, varied taste doesn't mean that I necessarily buy from all, but I do know their work. I don't design, don't CT for any, and I'm just curious where they are going. I am post 6, and 27 - no others.
#26 - My Memories takes anyone and everyone...so just email them (they have a contact page on their site or message them through their FB page). They're not very discriminating about the designers they take on. This is no reference to you, but to many of the designers they've brought on in the last year.) It's starting to look like a designer dumping ground. I know there are good designers there, but they really need to boot at least half of their team. They're well over 100 designers. And no, I don't sell there, by choice. Lol, how's that for encouraging you?
25 - Thanks! I sent in my application. I hope they at least download my stuff. A couple of places that have rejected me in the past haven't even downloaded the sample I sent them.
I applied at MM once and they told me to build up my product and fan base. So they do reject some people. I applied a year later and got in. The money is not bad at all. I have recently applied to a couple of other stores and never heard back from them or they have not downloaded my sample. These stores were not having calls. If they don't like me just say they don't have openings or just flat out say my style is not theirs. Don't just ignore me!
A couple of places that have rejected me in the past haven't even downloaded the sample I sent them.
-------------
If your style doesn't suit the shop, why would they download your stuff?
You were considered and rejected on the basis of your style by looking at the previews.
I can't speak for any other store owners but the order in considering a designer for me is:
1. style - does it suit the shop and will it enhance it? If no, reject. If yes then go to 2.
2. Is the designer a valued member of the community or does she (or he) have an immature attitude. If no reject, if yes go to 3.
3. Did she/he include a download? If yes, download and QC with a vengeance. If download is not included, go back to 1. and see if I really want to bother with writing to her and asking her because I have another 30 designers that just wrote to me that I want to look at before I go back to this designer.
Store owners don't sit and wait for designers to write to them. They will actively look for someone and invite them if they want them or need them or they will have a call. The store owner knows the capacity ratio of designers to customers.
If you can't find a store, MM will put you on regardless because their philosophy involves quantity of designers.
#32. No actually MyMemories won't just put you on regardless - not as designer. They have a marketplace program that new designers or designers that aren't quite 'there' can be a part of until they're accepted as a 'designer'. Maybe that's why you think anyone can sign up.
You do have to put out a lot of product there. Two new releases a month plus two full free kits as your 'fee' each year. Also, where you are in the listing on the first page is determined by how much product you put out, what your sales are, how much traffic you generated and how much participation you had. There are winners each month and those designers are listed first on the home page.
What do you guys think of Scrapvine.com ? I'd never heard of them, but it looks like a club sort of thing...only $25 a year and you get access to 40+ kits and all future kits for the year? Sounds like a good deal, and the previews don't look bad. I have never heard of the store owner, Chelle Stein. Does she design it all? Anyone have any experience with this site?
#32, please do us all a favor and shut up. Your business sense is stuck somewhere up your ass, along with your sizable melon. Your obvious ego and know-it-all attitude makes me want to puke.
How exactly do you go about determining whether someone is a "valued member of the community?" I can't wait to hear your vast bank of knowledge on that subject. *sarcasm*
#36, I'm not 32 or a shop owner but I'm naive enough to believe that sooner or later the venom you show in your post will show in the way you treat others even when not posting on an anonymous blog. Good luck with whatever owner's ass you're trying to crawl up to get a design job.
I bought the scrapvine sub when the site first opened but it was like $10 for an opening special or something. Tbh i never once used anything from there and just tried to look for one of the kits to check quality but it seems ive deleted them all. But its been around for a few years now and the owner/designer was very nice on the forums.
Oops me again - just found some old scrapvine kits and will say the bits i quickly checked had no glaringly obvious quality issues. If you like the previews then youll probably be happy with what you get.
32 - I'm 30 and if you'd read my post you'd realize that I was referencing post 25 in which she mentions that Gotta Pixel is having a designer call. So my application is not unsolicited. I'm aware that store owners are not waiting in anticipation for MY application. It was another poster that mentioned My Memories. And I didn't express anger about my samples not be downloaded - just disappointment - I'm sorry if that offends you.
I applied at the last Gotta Pixel Call and never had any answer... not correct !! i won't never send them any application. Even store owners need to be professional...
Regarding gotta pixel, the customer base is not as big as it's made out to be, it's very loyal to the long standing designers and their style and tend to resist doodle type, original work or different and innovative or artful work. If you look at what the other designers put out, it's the same stuff over and over and the same designers there are top designers at MM.
Also, there are a lot of non-requirements that you are "encouraged" to participate. None of them are listed in the call and some are onerous. If you don't participate, you are "strongly" encouraged to participate. The marketing requirements are high and you get little support back no matter what is stated in the call at DST.
I also found that the customers only bought $2 stuff and there's plenty of sales at $2, or 40% sales. Anything less than 40% and there was resistance.
The forum is slow. They don't have a scrapping CT, they have "praisers" and that's basically who posts there.
What I did like was the daily newsletter. You could release any time and you didn't have to wait a week for your products to end up in a newsletter or have products sitting doing nothing, hidden away, waiting for release day.
On the daily newsletter, the designer writes her paragraph with an image she created herself and blogs it on the site designer blogs and it's picked up by RSS feed so don't think for a moment that someone writes a newsletter daily.
There is little marketing support done by the site. They don't advertise anywhere. All the marketing is done by the designers themselves.
47 - I'm assuming you design there or did? If so, thanks for the info. I do know one designer that used to sell there and would definitely ask her opinion before accepting a contract. (If I were even offered one.)
As a customer, and CT member of a designer that is currently at GP, I just don't like the site. Like someone said, almost all the kits look the same. I love the artsy type of kits, and you won't find many there, if at all. I also don't like that they don't have a site CT. I don't like how the challenges are run. The forum isn't that friendly. I don't know Stacy, so no comment there. I like how Scrapbook bytes challenges are run.
I'm not looking to move to GP (especially now after this info) but this info has been very informative. Thank you. Would love to hear this kind of thing from various stores in case I do move.
I'm #47. The only way I can describe how the site is run, is tyrannical. The mentoring mentioned in the call is crap. There is a daily (mon-fri) thread in the designer forum that you must check in and it is a question of a personal nature and a reminder (eg, on a monday you will get a reminder to do the tuesday $2 sale and on the wednesday a reminder to change your category back. That's the extent of the "mentoring" and selling tools to help you better sell. I'd hardly call that mentoring.
I sold at GP and found nothing wrong with Stacy. I imagine her style would be offensive to some and not to others - just like everyone's personality. Some will like you and some wont.
My sales were decent and steady month to month as long as I made a lot of product and sold it cheap. This didn't bother me as long as I sold a lot of it, which was the case 90% of the time.
Anyone who looks at those designers as "not serious" designers is an idiot, IMO. They are business savvy and professional (for the most part) and know how to make products people want.
Seems like a regular producer who makes what people buy would be any store owners dream. They may not make what YOUR customers want, but that doesn't make them a bad designer. I think saying anything other than that is snobbery and foolish.
I disliked the daily check-in threads as I tend to keep many aspects of my personal life to myself, but I did like the daily reminders. I thought that was good communication.
I also think putting the marketing in the hands of the designer is the right thing to do. It's YOUR business. A shop is just providing customers and a newsletter to those customers (which Stacy provides). I don't know what other kind of advertising is effective that a store could do, so maybe I'm just ignorant in that respect. I'd like to hear what stores could do that are proven to increase sales if there are things. Not just attract freebie hunters to your site, but real, paying customers.
I also liked that there were no required store collabs. Commissions are industry standard and aren't higher or lower than most stores.
I think if you're a high volume designer who has a more traditional style, you'd do well there sales wise.
Weren't there a big number of designers let go last August by GP with less than a weeks notice? I remover Roseytoes was one of them, and like maybe 5 others who just disappeared from gp
If GP is treated like a real business, maybe those let go were not bringing in what was expected of them? I have no clue as I don't follow that store, but if a store has a quota, well you should produce that much or you are out. That would make sense if it were the case.
Haha I'm 39 and seriously? because I told someone it wasn't all crap I must be the owner. Sometimes people on this blog are so pathetic. Someone asks a question and if anyone dare answer in a positive way, they must be affiliated with whatever it is. Sorry but no, I'm not a designer or an owner or a CTer or even a shopper. I don't digiscrap anymore. I moved onto scrapping with like, you know, paper and crap. I was being honest. I found a kit in a folder inside my scrapkits folder - that folder was labeled "rubbish" and has yet to be deleted from the last time I purged my supplies. I haven't visited scrapvine since a few months before my subscription to their site ran out because as I discovered the digi world, I discovered they weren't my style. So stop acting so foolish and thinking you know who people are purely because they don't tear strips off everything that's mentioned. It's not like I said they were a favourite site of mine and OMG BUY THE SUB.
MyMemories is actually a decent place. Not to much side stuff to do unless you want to but a lot of potential if you want to put the time in. Don't listen to 46. Just because its not SO or TLP does not make it a worthless place full of crappy designers. There are lots of customers who disagree with 46.
Bingo 13. Post 7 gives it away. "ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place" The post sure makes it sound like that person doesn't actually spend time at SM but just thinks it seems like a nice place. Why would someone who doesn't spend time there care what designers end up there? Sounds to me like someone was bashing her yesterday, and someone else - either CT or herself - is defending her today by posting nice things about her. I wish they would stop because I actually do like her but this is making things look worse for her. --- I'm post 7. I don't CT for anyone at 2Ps. I said SM "seems" like a nice place because I'm not a designer: I have no idea what it's like behind the scenes, which is what a designer would care about. I only know what it's like in the chatter forums, and that doesn't tell the whole story.
My sales were decent and steady month to month as long as I made a lot of product and sold it cheap.
^^^^
47 here again. Mine were too as long as I stayed in style with what the others were making which didn't sit well with me because I'm happier making original stuff that I draw and paint myself.
The designers that do well there are cookie cutters.
As for Stacy, I didn't mind her either but she's tyrannical and lacks tact. She just doesn't know how to word things professionally. It comes out like bullying instead of just simply asking.
As for the marketing being all up to the designers? Are you serious? I would not work in a shop that did not show support to the designers or only focused on some and only marketed to the current customer base which is what GP does on all counts. If there wasn't a link between MM and GP designers, GP wouldn't stand a chance.
If anyone is going to cookie cut products in the style you see at GP and MM, my choice would be MM since the shop marketing there is phenomenal and the tie of products to the software is just brilliant. The products purchase is available inside the software. The layout posting to FB is done from inside the product. The customers are spoon fed stuff like you wouldn't believe, also brilliant.
I can't think of a single store I follow that does anything other than newsletters, Facebook, forum challenges, and the occasional birthday/nsd/other event type of celebration as far as marketing is concerned.
All of which GP does. Not sure what else you're hoping they would do, #61.
MM is different because it started as software. You can't really compare that to stores like GP, SSD, TLP, etc.
I also agree that it is the designers responsibility to market themselves in addition to the store. Far too many designers ride on the shirt tails of others marketing and hard work and do very little to help the site or their own business.
MM basically is software. Although you can download kits to your laptop, every kit also has the option of being compatible with the MyMemories software. Templates and photobooks have to be made in the MyMemories software and then loaded up to the site for sale.
It isn't a question of making things in a cookie cutter way, but rather of what the MM customers can use in their software and what kind of scrappers they are.
I think Mommyish's style would fit in at SO. Unfortunately, I don't shop at SO anymore cuz I hate their ScrapPin gallery. I know you don't need to post in the gallery to buy from the store, but I'm so annoyed with the new gallery that I've given up on the store too. ---
This is one of the dumbest things I've read on here and that's saying a lot. You don't like the gallery so you're screwing the designers over by not buying their product?
I've been at MM for a little less than a year. I do little advertising (of MM) and make double or more what I normally make at my mainstream store (which I advertise daily). I'm consistently in the top 20 or so designers, so I know there are others that do much better than I do, but I feel I'm doing well there.
#61, I am one of the 130+ designers at MM and I disagree with you about the shop marketing being "phenomenal." They do not evenly promote their designer base at all. You accused GP of doing that and while I can't say whether they do or not, I can say for certain that MM only promotes some of their designers, and definitely not all of them. I find it hard to get noticed there at all and I've tried many times. I've considered giving up my store there because all the effort I've expended trying to get on the customers' radar hasn't really come back to me. When you look at the stuff that is selling well there, it is clear their customer base is not very discriminating when it comes to quality, either. If it's $1, they will buy it, whether it sucks or not.
Yes that is true that is how the MM system works so if you work hard you do get the extra advertising. But there are a lot of things you can do that are offered from MM that will help you. Like FB things all the time, weekly Featured Designer, DL of the day, and all kinds of things that are available to everyone. Plus when your fee kits are up you get a whole month of advertising. Do you take advantage of the software and make photo books or albums? 5 different stores that your product gets seen in and the list goes on! So much more than other stores I have been in where I had to do way more work to get myself out there. Guess it is all how you look at it. No I am not a top designer but I am seeing steady results which is more than I can say from other places I have been.
Two Peas in a Bucket announced a 30-50% sale. Does anyone know until when the sale will last? And why can't I find any 50% off products? I only see 30% off prices.
Just skimmed through, and it looks like it might be by designer choice. Angie Kovacs, Dianne Rigdon, and Chrissy W. are all at 50% off, while the rest look to be 30%.
Interestingly, Hero Arts (who buys that crap?) is still full price.
I was just checking out DigiScrappers Brasil. They have a $2 Wednesday sale. I found a designer that I personally think has potential and we'll be seeing more of her soon.
I don't think it's awful but I don't think it's great either. I did like the sale though. Last week I bought three bundles from Maria Designs and this week they have a lot of CU stuff on sale.
how many times is CRD going to have "her biggest sale ever" and then say she doesn't do them very often in her newsletter. That's like, three this year.
Store packaging can totally change a kit. Make it look ten times better than it already is or worse of course. Which store packaging is your favorite? Mine is Sweet Shoppe.
No idea who CRD is. I like ScrapMatters packaging. I can't stand SO's packaging at all. SSDs is ok, but nothing great. I really liked 9th and Bloom's packaging, too, when they were around. I like the clean, simple packaging so the product stands out.
I know it's very selfish, because the world doesn't really revolve around me; lol! But I am actually happy that some of those designers at 2Peas will be hopefully returning to main-stream digi stores. I hated 2Peas! They're overpriced and the store is so disorganized!
64 said: I think Mommyish's style would fit in at SO. Unfortunately, I don't shop at SO anymore cuz I hate their ScrapPin gallery. I know you don't need to post in the gallery to buy from the store, but I'm so annoyed with the new gallery that I've given up on the store too. ---
This is one of the dumbest things I've read on here and that's saying a lot. You don't like the gallery so you're screwing the designers over by not buying their product?
----------- Why is that dumb? I search a store's gallery to find non-CT LOs before I buy something. I want to see a LO in action by regular scrappers. CT LOs can really just be CTMs trying to shine shit. So if a gallery is hard to navigate or search (or an uneven mess of LOs, like the SO gallery), then I don't shop at that store. It's not screwing over the designers. I didn't tell them where to sell.
How do you shop? Do you randomly click on your keyboard like a drunk monkey and buy whatever your screen shows? I'm going to assume you don't, so why go all outhouse-rat crazy over someone's mode of shopping?
"all outhouse-rat crazy" --- Now that's classy. Aren't you overreacting just a tad? Your remark about the creative teams is weird. Are you saying they're doing something fraudulent? If they aren't then why wouldn't you want to see how the kit can "shine?"
Choosing not to support a store is really the only way we can communicate to the owner that we don't like a change they made. I can't tell you the number of times people say 'well, customers are still buying so obviously most people don't have a problem with X.'
It's not punishing the designer, but it's a necessary reaction to something as stupid as that pin gallery.
101, I agree with 102. Your comment about the CT layouts is odd. Why should designers bother to hire CT and give out their products for free if suspicious people like you automatically dismiss their CT's layouts when considering the purchase of a kit?
It's worth pointing out that if a CT layout is just trying to "shine shit" then it also must be true that a regular customer layout can make a great kit look like shit, too! Sometimes it is hard to believe what some customers will do to a great kit to make it look terrible. Even the most amazing designers' work will look awful without proper shadowing and good layout technique, not to mention all the crazy things people will do with their software like adding weird styles or incorrectly recoloring things.
CRD used to be a really well known designer and the hordes flocked to her for some reason, but that was back in the days when Gina Miller was popular too. CRD went from grunge to vintage overnight, ditched her CT, moved to SBG and now you rarely ever hear about her.
#105 Now that you mention SBG and CT's, do any designers there have any? That's my problem with SBG, I always like to see the products used on layouts before buying. If I like the layouts and they inspire me to make something similar with my own personal photos then I'm buying it. But when I don't see any layouts I can't see the product and I usually step away without buying anything. It has to be something very very good or at a very low price for me to bite. I checked out CRD's shop, I never heard of her. I like a few things but I don'y know if I'll buy them. Which Gina Miller? The designer at TLP?
The retirement sales going on these last few months are killing me. I'm buying and buying stuff and I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these products and when I'm going to organize them. I wish I could hire someone to organize them for me. That would be great.
Choosing not to support a store is really the only way we can communicate to the owner that we don't like a change they made. I can't tell you the number of times people say 'well, customers are still buying so obviously most people don't have a problem with X.' -- This is a rational explanation of the reasoning and I get it. Thanks!
As a CTM, I've had to shine a few pieces of shit in my time. Every designer has a stinker once in awhile. If it becomes a habit, it's clearly not the place for me and I leave the CT. I'd hope other CTs do the same.
As a CTM, I've had to shine a few pieces of shit in my time. Every designer has a stinker once in awhile. If it becomes a habit, it's clearly not the place for me and I leave the CT. I'd hope other CTs do the same. ++++++++++++++ Have done the same and I totally agree!! As a retired designer I was constantly asking my creative team what they liked to see in a kit and what made it the easiest to scrap with. I am very lucky to work with designers who are have that same mindset. But, even the best designers have a bad one, once in awhile.
#106 I completely agree about the CT pages. Previews do not show enough of the product. Elements are crammed on and you either get a strip or small square grid view of papers. CT pages, particularly from a team with varying styles (unlike those of the minimalist designers whose CT all produce the same pages) definitely encourages me to buy.
The Gina Miller I referred to is the one at TLP, though I believe she used to only sell at her own store. GMD used to be all the rage, along with the likes of Natalie Braxton, Hollie Haradon, Annie Manning, Corina Nielsen and so on. It feels like such a long time ago now, even DST was busy!
Anyone see the FB post about tomorrow's next project mouse release? Britt is asking for guesses of what it'll be. I'm dying to post " blatant copyright violation and half ass ripoff?"
Our school has a poster advertising for the upcoming yearbook. The caption say, " Yearbook. The Original Facebook." Another yearbook poster has photographs of things like an Iphone, Twilight novel and other recognized brand items. At the bottom of the poster there is a claim that they followed copyright law because they had those tangible items in their studio. When I saw those posters I thought about all the copyright discussions over here.
I know I am late to the party with the My Memories discussion, but I love it there. I dont have to do a ton of extra stuff, my sales are consistent and the support is wonderful. And I do know of at least one designer who has been declined by MM.
I do however wonder how a few of the top designers do as well as they do (ahem- Touched by a Butterfly??? WTF?), and the only thing I can think of is volume.
sorry 59 I don't shop at those places. MM is full of hog wash and they only advertise designers that they want to advertise....stuff only sells if its cheap. Designers should value their time more than to see a product for 2 bucks. I know a lot of designers that have left MM. as far as selling more product because it's linked to 3S and more is crap. With a 137 designers how can they have any sort of fair market strategy
Touched by a Butterfly won 2 categories in February: referrals and traffic. So consequently, her name is one of the designers that is listed on the home page first. People see her name when they click on the home page and she gets more hits, etc., etc.
On some CTs you get a cut of the sales. So you get a little income without setting up shop for yourself and you're under no pressure to constantly be releasing product.
I have a Google Reader Emergency. There was a pop up today saying the last time Google Reader will work is July 2013, but that we can use other software and import our list. What other software? This is important because I don't use facebook for designers. I use newsletters for my faves and Google reader for the rest. You are ALL on there!
I'm not keen on the color (a lighter gray would have been fine) but I like the style of it. I prefer stores that have uniform packaging, doesn't look so messy.
101, I agree with 102. Your comment about the CT layouts is odd. Why should designers bother to hire CT and give out their products for free if suspicious people like you automatically dismiss their CT's layouts when considering the purchase of a kit? --- The CT is there to show off the kit. I totally understand that. But sometimes CTMs can make a kit look great, but a regular scrapper--who isn't required to scrap with the kit--can show off the kit in a different light. Sometimes designers ask their team to use different papers in the kit, in order to show off all the papers. BUT, if the results in the gallery only use two or maybe three papers, then those are probably the only really good ones in the kit. I'm not suspicious, I'm just trying to see as many different LOs/types of LOs as possible. What if you see a really cute pair of jeans in a True Religion ad? Do you automatically assume "Oh yeah, my size 32 ass is going to look EXACTLY like that model's size 24 rear end!" Or do you perhaps ask people you know "Have you ever tried on True Religion jeans? Are they worth it?" Checking out the gallery is how I ask "Are they worth it?" People come here and do the same thing. They ask "Hey, have you ever bought from "Designer X?" or someone just says "I don't like Designer A's color palettes" (which someone just said on this page).
So, do you look at only the preview and just click "buy"? I'm really, truly asking. I'm not trying to be snarky. CT LOs are meant to drive traffic to the store (when posted in galleries) and to entice you to buy (when used in the store). But CT LOs aren't the only thing you look at, is it? What if there aren't any CT LOs? Hell, what makes you decide to look at a kit in the first place? Do you impulse buy or do you use the search function to find something? (Oh, that's a pet peeve of mine: when designers don't use meta info properly! Add enough words to both your description and to your tags so that people can find your stuff. But add *only* relevant stuff. If it's a Halloween kit, don't write "Perfect for everything, including your daughter's first birthday photos!")
After you download your digi kits (free or paid), how ruthless are you with deleting stuff you don't like? There's usually some stuff that fits in the "maybe it's not too bad & I'll use it one day" category that up to now I've kept.
Have you ever regretted throwing out some of the so-so stuff? Chances are if I haven't used it by now I probably won't miss it if I delete it.
How do you deal with the so-so stuff that you don't love??
I keep everything. I do not download many freebies (NO blog trains). I have a 3TB external. If I bought it, I had a reason. I guess when my external is full, I'll reconsider.
I'm ruthless. Why use up my EHDs' space with shitty stuff (or even so-so stuff) that I'm not going to use? My EHds cost money, so it'd be more expensive to buy a new EHD than to delete some crappy kits. And of course anything of poor quality gets deleted before I even back it up onto my EHDs. I try to imagine my EHD as a physical space, like a closet. Just because my master closet is full of clothes doesn't mean I can build a new closet to keep more stuff, right? I have to purge the stuff I don't use in order to make room in that one closet. I think the same thing about my EHDs. I purge the shit to make room for more (and hopefully better) stuff.
This "ruthless" convo reminded me of a blog post I read (maybe on TDD?) about how a scrapper keeps EVERY photo because "you never know what technology will be like" and maybe we'll one day be able to fix really poor quality photos. I read that and thought "But will I be able to afford that technology? Will I be able to USE that tech effectively?" I go through my pics and delete the bad ones. It's easier to search my pics folder if it's not full of crappy pics as well as the good ones. And again, it's about space. My pics are anywhere from .75 to 2MB. If I kept every pic I took, then I'd already have like 5 2TB EHDs of just shitty pics. We all would, cuz we all take an insane amount of photos. Not all are print-worthy.
One Story Down may have opened but they have very few designers, and I've only heard of one of them before. That packaging may be OK but the strips along the top and bottom take up way too much preview real estate.
There isn't anything there that inspires me to buy,
Polka Dot Plum is having a designer call. Anyone sold there before? The store seems so incredibly small. Also, was there discussion about it earlier or am I imagining things??
Did anyone else just get The Enabler? For some reason the whole thing looks really washed out to me and the contrast is whacky. I'm wondering if its my PDF viewer or is it the same for everyone?
look at page 12 for example - I can barely see the edges of the cards and the white texture is non-existent to me and the reds and blues pop in a really glaring way.
The whole thing just looks awful to me. Anyone else?
I think this is among the most significant information for me. And i'm glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things, The site style is great, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers
The color/brightness problem resolved when I downloaded it instead of just viewing it in my browser, but the whole thing was still weird. The green at the top doesn't line up right and the ads are placed all weirdly random throughout the thing. I wasn't really following what they were trying to do. Feature each designer/kit, but no words, and other people's ads on their page? Weird.
I would avoid Polka Dot Plum like the plague. The owner is unmotivated and has a horrible track record (this is what, the third attempt by her to run the store in a year? and her last attempt resulted in her trying to combine 2 stores and requiring designers to be in, and produce exclusive products, for both, changing requirements a few weeks after taking designers on). The co-owner is brand new with QC issues and no motivation to actually take on responsibility. I see the store lasting 3-6 months, if that, and then it will all be washed, rinsed, and recycled into another unsuccessful attempt to open again a few months later.
Are ct members normally chosen because they scrap really well with the designer's work? The reason I ask is there are some who are really bad. I'm wondering if maybe designers feel compelled to choose ct people for other reasons maybe, like popularity on a store forum or they're friends or family? I'm relatively new and have noticed this a lot! Thanks.
Wow, marvelous blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is great, let alone the content!
149 - The co-owner is brand new with QC issues ----------------------------------------------- Major QC issues...I have one kit of hers, it was free and it looked cute. Took one look at it and decided that I was never spending money on her stuff. I don't want to even think about how shitty it must look if you tried to print it.
Are ct members normally chosen because they scrap really well with the designer's work? The reason I ask is there are some who are really bad. I'm wondering if maybe designers feel compelled to choose ct people for other reasons maybe, like popularity on a store forum or they're friends or family? I'm relatively new and have noticed this a lot! Thanks. ---- If you're relatively new but have already noticed this a lot, then I want to know where you hang out? All the stores where I shop and the forums/galleries I frequent have great LOs by both the stores' and designers' CTMs. There are the LOs that are in a style I don't prefer (super minimalist, for example), but they are still "good" LOs. So, where do you hang out and what do you mean by bad? Not your style, or truly non-artistic and poorly constructed?
151 - I know what you're talking about. I think sometimes designers will take on (or keep on) CT members whose layouts aren't the best out there because they are loyal, dependable, prompt, and willing to go the extra mile. Just as in designers there are good CT members and there are crappy ones there's more to choosing a CT member than just looking at the layouts they create. Obviously this is important but I would hang onto a CT member who was all of the above even if their layouts weren't winning GSOs all the time. That being said I wouldn't take someone on who couldn't construct a half decent layout either. And just as every designer puts out a stinker every once in a while - CT members do the same.
158 - Now I'm curious about the QC issues of the Polka Dot Plum co-owner. Why wouldn't they print out well? ----------------- They are hand drawn extracted elements...which would be great if she had corrected the color and if they weren't blurry. Almost like they weren't scanned at a high enough resolution.
159 - Who is the co-owner? All I see is Katharine posting on the blog. ------------------------ Eh, I'll name drop. Katherine = Katie of Katie Creates.
Thanks #157, that makes sense. I appreciate the information.
#156, when I said I was relatively new, I meant in the past year and a half. Yes, imo, I have seen it A.LOT. at SO, SSD (especially here-they have some who knock it out of the park most of the time and others who are average to below average ALL the time but who post on the forum frequently and seemingly have other duties within the shop or with specific designers, hence, my original question.) and TLP.
#156 I forgot to answer part of your question. The kinds of below-average layouts I'm referring to are those with consistently shitty photos (bad, bad, bad photo editing or none at all); and using elements in such a voluminous and haphazard way that they detract from the journaling and/or the photos.
I like and admire all styles of scrapping. This has nothing to do with style. It's about a shitty work product.
#151: I'm a relatively new designer with a little CT. Few girls asked to being in my CT when I started designing. I was happy what they want help me so picked them. They always posted late or never and there were problems with the proper credits too. And their layouts...! Recently I brought few rules and asked who wants stay with me and who wants leave (hoping that the worsts will leave) - all of them assured me that will stay. What can I do? Can't throw them out. I also do sample pages for myself, because I think my layouts are better than theirs.
I understand what a tough position that would be. I'm not a designer but I would think you're going to have to tell them the truth. I think your ct could definitely be hurting your sales not to mention the stress they cause by not meeting the deadlines, etc. Good luck to you!
Re to the CT question: I think it's a matter of taste. What you may find very bad, the designer likes it or at least enough to keep a person on a CT. ---
Well, a lot of it is preference, no doubt. However, when journaling is illegible and photos are obscured ( sometimes this is good because the pics are AWFUL) by a spew of elements that sometimes appear to have been puked up all over the page, then, IMO, the whole point of preserving memories is long gone.
I found Katie Creates stuff in my folder and didn't find the hand-drawn extracted elements talked about above... did find an element with blurry edges, but overall the kits I have (all freebies) look pretty cute??
#166 - you're the designer...you "pay" them with product. if you don't like their work, let them go. a manager at a retail store would not keep an employee that was not doing their job. you should consider your designing as a business as well. i've learned in the last several years, that you have to have thick skin as a designer in this business. good luck
I would much rather utilize a personal CT than a site CT, to be honest. I have found site CTs to be greedy and WANT WANT WANT everything, but don't really WANT to help the designer. If they are getting a free kit, they should be posting it everywhere and enabling the crap out of it! While I can see how site CTs might keep the forums jumping, I honestly don't see how they really help increase sales of the designers. So what's the point?
While I can see how site CTs might keep the forums jumping, I honestly don't see how they really help increase sales of the designers. So what's the point?
Well, I can put crappy photos and dump a ton of elements on a page myself. Elements are EMBELLISHMENTS, meaning they are to enhance the page not be the focus of it. Further, if these folks' only goal is to show off the kit then they definitely need to learn how to do it better AND to take/edit halfway decent photos imo.
Regarding quality of photos - I think the use of mobile phones has really changed what people think of as 'good' photos. My facebook feed is full of people sharing photos that are under-exposed, over-exposed, blurry, awkwardly cropped, and so on ... photos tat if they came off of my camera would be deleted instantly. Now those photos are part of people's everyday life - to the point where someone even created a new printable size at Persnickity Prints for them.
I also just saw a site do a 'layout of the day' on a layout where the photo was the crop of a girls face who has a really ridiculous expression and isn't looking at the camera ... again, a photo I'd quickly delete.
So I think we have to agree to disagree on the photo quality issue.
Regarding element vomit - some people really like that and I see a LOT of it at SSD (which is part of why I don't shop there). Even some of the layout templates have element vomit issues. Some people really love loads and loads of elements, and other people love the really deep shadows on that element vomit ... so that they all look like they are elevation 3 inches off of the page. Again, to each his own.
So I think we have to agree to disagree on the photo quality issue.
___
I see what you mean. A lot of the photos on the layouts to which I'm referring are obviously edited really, really badly. If the goal here is to show off the kit, and these ladies are getting compensated for that, then they should make a point to have decent photos on their pages. When a designer advertises for ct members, I normally see that's one of the qualifications they're seeking.
Some people really love loads and loads of elements, and other people love the really deep shadows on that element vomit ... so that they all look like they are elevation 3 inches off of the page. ___
149 It seems you're just being a "hater" on the co-owner for no reason. Katie Creates seems to have stopped doing her hand drawn style my guess is because she noticed the QC issues. Since she stopped it seems she doesn't have those issues anymore. So why are you making it seem like she has the worse quality in the world?
There is a difference between scrapping to preserve memories, and scrapping to show off the kit. __
Bullshit.
-------------- Actually, I think that is sadly what comes out of many CT work (not all, but many). They might use stock photo (where is the memory there), they might use the same photo over and over again (memory problem?) or no journalling at all (they must have super duper memory).
I can understand that some CT members might not want to show their journalling, and will just hide that layer for posting in galleries, but sometimes, there is not even room for journalling so where would it be? Scrapbooking can be either for memory keeping or it can be for art only, totally separate from memories. Sure, it is great when there is a balance of both, but it is not always the case.
I'm 182 and that last comment was more toward 155 than it was 149.
I've downloaded her monthly freebies since she started offering them in January and I've found little to no QC issues in any of them. So I'm curious to know which one you downloaded that has "major QC issues"...that has made you decide to boycott her for good.
184 - I'm 182 and that last comment was more toward 155 than it was 149. ---------------------- I'm 155. The ones I'm talking about are the freebies previous to the ones you started with. Her New Year's freebie and the original FB freebie (can't think of the name, but it had a scrapping theme). And I'm not "hating" on her, I was being honest. She doesn't have the worst quality in the world, but it's not the best either. I guess she doesn't do the hand drawn stuff anymore, which is a shame because it was cute...just not up to par quality-wise.
There is a difference for goodness sakes. This has shades of the Harper Finch overreaction. Take a second, get over the sting of having something you do criticized and then USE that information to be better, or ignore it.
Please, designers, name your files appropriately! I'm a customer, spending the weekend organizing my digital EHD. Not all of us keep files by kit; some of us organize by element, or by designer, or by some other system that suits how we work.
If you don't have your designer name on every file, and that name isn't unique, your work can get lost and uncreditable. If you don't have the kit name/short name on every file – that is, if you just do designer_paper_number in every kit, my software will think it's a duplicate and ignore it.
Please, please: designer name_kit name_element (preferable descriptive name)_number if needed.
So you're telling me, that in order to be a good CT member, I have to scrap with perfect photos all the time? I love pictures that are "perfect" from a photography stand point. I've had my children's pictures taken professionally a number of times. I can not scrap those pictures. They don't mean anything to me. They're pretty pictures, they look nice on my wall, but what can I say about them? There's no memory or moment behind them. So I scrap the pictures that have meaning, mostly taken with *gasp* my phone! Or a point and shoot. And probably not perfectly exposed or maybe even focused, because I want to be in the moment with my family and not staging photo ops for a scrapbook page. If you think that makes my photos unworthy for CT work, that's disgusting. I see lots of pages everyday, CT's scrapping with stock photos or the same photos from a photoshoot over and over. A photo on a page with a ton of flowers, it doesn't say anything, it doesn't mean anything. If you see it in a gallery, you forget it instantly. I think there's room for all kinds of pages in CT work. Maybe you're attracted to glossy, perfect photos, but there's just as many people who stop and look at a page for the story behind it. I'm a scrapbooker, not a photographer. There's a lot of things a person can do to screw up a scrapbook page, shadows, too much crap, whatever, but I don't think having perfect photos should be a requirement for CTs.
OMG! I went to download another designer's freebies and I finally saw the video that went with the creepy sounding voice I was complaining about. It was horrid! It was a bullfight, which is bad enough, but the bull turns the tables and knocks over the horse and goes for the madator. I feel for the poor horse! And the bull's rampage continues on against the matadors and it jumps the barrier and is going for the crowd, too! fortunately the video stops at that point. I hope the horse was ok.
So you're telling me, that in order to be a good CT member, I have to scrap with perfect photos all the time?
___
No, what I'm saying is if you are a CT member who regularly uses shitty photos and regurgitates elements all over a page to obscure your shitty photo and/or any journaling then you're not doing your job. Everyone has photos that are not perfect, that are blurry or whatever and they want to scrap them. That's NOT what I'm talking about. I'm referring to those who don't know how to edit, who CONSISTENTLY use bad photos and who throw elements all over a page or stack them on top of each other just cuz. Yes, you, as a CT member, should have a responsibility of using decent photos most of the time..not perfect by any stretch but usually decent. There's a whole big bunch of CT people who do not do even that. If I were a designer, I would NOT want these folks using my work for their pages.
183 said: Actually, I think that is sadly what comes out of many CT work (not all, but many). They might use stock photo (where is the memory there), they might use the same photo over and over again (memory problem?) or no journalling at all (they must have super duper memory).
I can understand that some CT members might not want to show their journalling, and will just hide that layer for posting in galleries, but sometimes, there is not even room for journalling so where would it be? Scrapbooking can be either for memory keeping or it can be for art only, totally separate from memories. Sure, it is great when there is a balance of both, but it is not always the case. --- I don't include all my journaling on pages I post online. Or I edit it not to include names, places, or correct dates. I think you have to be careful what you put out there on the intewebs. I don't use facebook and I've asked my DH, who has a fb account, not to put photos of our kids on there or where he works/lives. Actually, I've asked this of my mom and brother/SIL, too. (Brother and SIL have put pics of my niece online since SIL was in the hospital and in labor. Yikes.) And sometimes I put the journaling in my metadata instead of actually on the page. (I do that on regular JPEG photos, too.) That way, I can show off the pics and the pretty elements/papers that I carefully chose to put on my page but I don't lose the story. And based on what you've been saying, you really like to journal. Good for you. Sometimes I prefer to show off my pics and leave the story off the page. Sometimes I do two pages: one of the pics and one with the journaling. I don't post the journaling page. Please stop assuming that your way of (and reason for) scrapping is the best, and please stop looking down on people who do it differently. I love the designers I CT for and I love the pages I create for them (they seem to, too). But what I put online is a bit different than the the full-size page I save for myself. Sometimes I even blur the pic or put a bad pic on there so you can't see my child's full face or you can't read the museum's name in the pic. But my LO isn't any worse for that. Yes, the #1 reason most of us scrap to preserve memories. But that doesn't mean we have to write 5 paragraphs to preserve that memory. If we did, then we should have taken video of the event and then should hay someone to narrate what happened.
Please stop assuming that your way of (and reason for) scrapping is the best, and please stop looking down on people who do it differently. -- If your designer and you like your pages, that's great! Pat yourself on the back and move on. We have as much right to our opinion as you do yours. Bottom line: there's some very poor quality work out there done by ct members and it has nothing to do with photos taken on a phone or wanting to keep certain information confidential. The work is substandard. Period.
192 - I am 183 and I have no intention of saying that my way of scrapping is THE way. I was also saying that it can be understandable that some pages in the galleries would not be exactly what the scrapper made to preserve memories. And your way of addressing the "memory" issues with the "privacy" issue is perfectly fine with me. What you are doing is what I refered to as BALANCED.
Don't assume that because I mentioned pages with no journalling that it is refering to you specifically.
146 - I had a bad Enabler, too, but I downloaded mine, so I just deleted the whole thing.
197 - I don't buy because of CT Los, too. If there is NOT one of them that includes journaling, then I figure the kit was not meant for that kind of LO and move on. Likewise, if all the Los use similar or the same items and BGs, and/or if I don't care for the LOs, then I move on, too.
For the person asking about deleting stuff, I'm a deleter. I used to keep it it found I never used it and it just took up space. I firstly delete all shadowed elements, then the elements I don't like. If there is word art, I delete all the sayings and phrases I know I will never use. Then I will delete all the patterned papers I don't like, followed by the plain papers I don't like. Generally, I end up deleting 25% to 30% of a kit.
I have never regretted deleting stuff but I have wondered why I've kept some stuff
722 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 722 Newer› Newest»Weee! First!!
WOW!!! :)
Finally, a new spot for us to bitch and moan!
and so far it's being used so effectively, thank god we got this space
Well holy shit, who woulda thunk it!
LOL @ 4
Where do you think Mommyish, Just Jaimee, Jen Martakis, Jen Reed, Dianne Ridgedon, Angie Kovacs, Truman Studios and the rest of the designers from 2P's, etc, will go or would fit?
I think Jaimee fits at TLP, and Mommyish and Truman Studios would fit at ScrapMatters. I think Angie fits at SO. Not sure about the others.
4, I don't see you adding anything effective...
I'm happy there's a new space! Thanks, blog owner! (Is that the right word? "Owner"?)
6, ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place. I've never DLed Truman Studios work, but I like her previews. I'd LOVE to see Angie at SO. I love her work and I've been a fan of hers for years. (Oh, semi-related tangent: I'd love to see her collab with Amanda Heimann or Kristin Agaard.)
Hopefully everyone displaced from 2Ps finds a store. Or alternatively, retires from designing to find a job that pays a living wage.
Anyone know why the new "special" SO collab is regularly $15 instead of $10? Is it cuz everyone contributed? I mean, that's great for them, but I'd never spend $15 on it. http://scraporchard.com/market/Happy-Skies-Digital-Scrapbook.html
Cause they need money? lol
no idea otherwise.... I wouldn't spend $15 on it either.
I'd be surprised if it's ever actually sold for $15. It's $5 now. Yes, 8, I think it's because more people contributed. The Advent Kit and their Now Showing Collab had high retail prices, but both were either free or super low priced.
Not everyone participated in the SO special collab, but more than usual. It's not much larger than a regular collab if you remove all the greyscaled copies of most of the elements.
Who didn't participate in the SO collab #11? Just curious.
6 - it's so obvious you're one of those designers, it's sad
11 - greyscaled copies of elements? I haven't ever bought on of their collabs before, but they do this? Why?
11 - greyscaled copies of elements? I haven't ever bought on of their collabs before, but they do this? Why?
--------------------
They don't normally do it with their collabs, it's just this one because of the theme.
Bingo 13. Post 7 gives it away. "ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place" The post sure makes it sound like that person doesn't actually spend time at SM but just thinks it seems like a nice place. Why would someone who doesn't spend time there care what designers end up there? Sounds to me like someone was bashing her yesterday, and someone else - either CT or herself - is defending her today by posting nice things about her. I wish they would stop because I actually do like her but this is making things look worse for her.
15 - thanks. I have not seen it yet so had no idea what you meant.
16 - not 100% sure I agree with you but what seemed wierd to me about #6 was that I can't think of many people who would post about all of those designers. If a fan of one of them was wondering where she was going, she might list a few others from Two Peas with similar styles but that list is too varied and obviously created by someone who is fishing for compliments and likely to get insults.
OMG, why would anyone bring themselves up on a smack blog?! Would you? Nobody wants their name on this thing. Ever.
I guess time will tell about where people will end up. Speculating here isn't very helpful because if it's a designer you like, it's way more likely to hurt her chances somewhere.
what would make Angie fit at SO any more than the others? she wants to be there and you're posting for her? or mommyish or anyone else fitting at SM more than the others? those designers all seem the same to me, and saying one fits better at one shop than another seems like someone's either got inside info or is reaching.
19 - so high and mighty and yet you are here posting
7 it effectively made someone laugh which is more effective than anything else so far
I really do not see what the big deal with Angie Kovaks is. She is a great layout artist, but designs are ok at best.
Mommyish needs to just concentrate on CU. If she wants to do PU, maybe a personal store wouldn't be a bad option, or Facebook freebies. Especially now that she's expecting.
Just Jaimee has an impressive personal store.
Others - well, I'm sure they'll find good homes.
not smack sorry, but I'm sure there was a designer a while back who was pregnant and found out there was all sorts of things wrong with the baby including missing limbs etc - can anyone tell me who it was? want to see if there's been any updates etc.
Also... I know a few are going to TDC but not sure who.
Gotta Pixel has a designer call posted @ DST.
So, exactly how do you apply to My Memories?
13- I'm not a designer at all. Don't think I'd be able to be anything different than what's already out there.
16- I'm just a customer, varied taste doesn't mean that I necessarily buy from all, but I do know their work. I don't design, don't CT for any, and I'm just curious where they are going. I am post 6, and 27 - no others.
#26 - My Memories takes anyone and everyone...so just email them (they have a contact page on their site or message them through their FB page). They're not very discriminating about the designers they take on. This is no reference to you, but to many of the designers they've brought on in the last year.) It's starting to look like a designer dumping ground. I know there are good designers there, but they really need to boot at least half of their team. They're well over 100 designers. And no, I don't sell there, by choice. Lol, how's that for encouraging you?
25 - Thanks! I sent in my application. I hope they at least download my stuff. A couple of places that have rejected me in the past haven't even downloaded the sample I sent them.
I applied at MM once and they told me to build up my product and fan base. So they do reject some people. I applied a year later and got in. The money is not bad at all. I have recently applied to a couple of other stores and never heard back from them or they have not downloaded my sample. These stores were not having calls. If they don't like me just say they don't have openings or just flat out say my style is not theirs. Don't just ignore me!
A couple of places that have rejected me in the past haven't even downloaded the sample I sent them.
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If your style doesn't suit the shop, why would they download your stuff?
You were considered and rejected on the basis of your style by looking at the previews.
I can't speak for any other store owners but the order in considering a designer for me is:
1. style - does it suit the shop and will it enhance it? If no, reject. If yes then go to 2.
2. Is the designer a valued member of the community or does she (or he) have an immature attitude. If no reject, if yes go to 3.
3. Did she/he include a download? If yes, download and QC with a vengeance. If download is not included, go back to 1. and see if I really want to bother with writing to her and asking her because I have another 30 designers that just wrote to me that I want to look at before I go back to this designer.
Store owners don't sit and wait for designers to write to them. They will actively look for someone and invite them if they want them or need them or they will have a call. The store owner knows the capacity ratio of designers to customers.
If you can't find a store, MM will put you on regardless because their philosophy involves quantity of designers.
24 - dish! how/who is going to TDC? perm or guest?
#32. No actually MyMemories won't just put you on regardless - not as designer. They have a marketplace program that new designers or designers that aren't quite 'there' can be a part of until they're accepted as a 'designer'. Maybe that's why you think anyone can sign up.
You do have to put out a lot of product there. Two new releases a month plus two full free kits as your 'fee' each year. Also, where you are in the listing on the first page is determined by how much product you put out, what your sales are, how much traffic you generated and how much participation you had. There are winners each month and those designers are listed first on the home page.
What do you guys think of Scrapvine.com ? I'd never heard of them, but it looks like a club sort of thing...only $25 a year and you get access to 40+ kits and all future kits for the year? Sounds like a good deal, and the previews don't look bad. I have never heard of the store owner, Chelle Stein. Does she design it all? Anyone have any experience with this site?
#32, please do us all a favor and shut up. Your business sense is stuck somewhere up your ass, along with your sizable melon. Your obvious ego and know-it-all attitude makes me want to puke.
How exactly do you go about determining whether someone is a "valued member of the community?" I can't wait to hear your vast bank of knowledge on that subject. *sarcasm*
#36, I'm not 32 or a shop owner but I'm naive enough to believe that sooner or later the venom you show in your post will show in the way you treat others even when not posting on an anonymous blog. Good luck with whatever owner's ass you're trying to crawl up to get a design job.
I bought the scrapvine sub when the site first opened but it was like $10 for an opening special or something. Tbh i never once used anything from there and just tried to look for one of the kits to check quality but it seems ive deleted them all. But its been around for a few years now and the owner/designer was very nice on the forums.
Oops me again - just found some old scrapvine kits and will say the bits i quickly checked had no glaringly obvious quality issues. If you like the previews then youll probably be happy with what you get.
Anyone get Just Jaimee's newsletter?
What shops require designers to close their personal shops?
#39 - It's pretty obvious that you're the owner of scrapvine kits or a designer there.
..... pretty obvious
32 - I'm 30 and if you'd read my post you'd realize that I was referencing post 25 in which she mentions that Gotta Pixel is having a designer call. So my application is not unsolicited. I'm aware that store owners are not waiting in anticipation for MY application. It was another poster that mentioned My Memories.
And I didn't express anger about my samples not be downloaded - just disappointment - I'm sorry if that offends you.
I'm a designer and am interested in any insider knowledge on the pros and cons of selling at Gotta Pixel. Anyone have anything to share??
I applied at the last Gotta Pixel Call and never had any answer... not correct !! i won't never send them any application.
Even store owners need to be professional...
If you're looking for a professional store owner, stay away from Gotta Pixel. There have been many discussions here about Stacy Carlson.
stay away from MyMemories too if you want to be taken seriously as a designer
Regarding gotta pixel, the customer base is not as big as it's made out to be, it's very loyal to the long standing designers and their style and tend to resist doodle type, original work or different and innovative or artful work. If you look at what the other designers put out, it's the same stuff over and over and the same designers there are top designers at MM.
Also, there are a lot of non-requirements that you are "encouraged" to participate. None of them are listed in the call and some are onerous. If you don't participate, you are "strongly" encouraged to participate. The marketing requirements are high and you get little support back no matter what is stated in the call at DST.
I also found that the customers only bought $2 stuff and there's plenty of sales at $2, or 40% sales. Anything less than 40% and there was resistance.
The forum is slow. They don't have a scrapping CT, they have "praisers" and that's basically who posts there.
What I did like was the daily newsletter. You could release any time and you didn't have to wait a week for your products to end up in a newsletter or have products sitting doing nothing, hidden away, waiting for release day.
On the daily newsletter, the designer writes her paragraph with an image she created herself and blogs it on the site designer blogs and it's picked up by RSS feed so don't think for a moment that someone writes a newsletter daily.
There is little marketing support done by the site. They don't advertise anywhere. All the marketing is done by the designers themselves.
#40 my guess is Scrap Orchard
47 - I'm assuming you design there or did? If so, thanks for the info. I do know one designer that used to sell there and would definitely ask her opinion before accepting a contract. (If I were even offered one.)
wow #47 if what you are saying is true her designer call ad is a little misleading. What happened to their site CT didn't they used to have one at GP?
As a customer, and CT member of a designer that is currently at GP, I just don't like the site. Like someone said, almost all the kits look the same. I love the artsy type of kits, and you won't find many there, if at all. I also don't like that they don't have a site CT. I don't like how the challenges are run. The forum isn't that friendly. I don't know Stacy, so no comment there. I like how Scrapbook bytes challenges are run.
I'm not looking to move to GP (especially now after this info) but this info has been very informative. Thank you. Would love to hear this kind of thing from various stores in case I do move.
#48 - if she's going to SO, wouldn't she have to close her CU shop too?
I'm #47. The only way I can describe how the site is run, is tyrannical. The mentoring mentioned in the call is crap. There is a daily (mon-fri) thread in the designer forum that you must check in and it is a question of a personal nature and a reminder (eg, on a monday you will get a reminder to do the tuesday $2 sale and on the wednesday a reminder to change your category back. That's the extent of the "mentoring" and selling tools to help you better sell. I'd hardly call that mentoring.
I sold at GP and found nothing wrong with Stacy. I imagine her style would be offensive to some and not to others - just like everyone's personality. Some will like you and some wont.
My sales were decent and steady month to month as long as I made a lot of product and sold it cheap. This didn't bother me as long as I sold a lot of it, which was the case 90% of the time.
Anyone who looks at those designers as "not serious" designers is an idiot, IMO. They are business savvy and professional (for the most part) and know how to make products people want.
Seems like a regular producer who makes what people buy would be any store owners dream. They may not make what YOUR customers want, but that doesn't make them a bad designer. I think saying anything other than that is snobbery and foolish.
I disliked the daily check-in threads as I tend to keep many aspects of my personal life to myself, but I did like the daily reminders. I thought that was good communication.
I also think putting the marketing in the hands of the designer is the right thing to do. It's YOUR business. A shop is just providing customers and a newsletter to those customers (which Stacy provides). I don't know what other kind of advertising is effective that a store could do, so maybe I'm just ignorant in that respect. I'd like to hear what stores could do that are proven to increase sales if there are things. Not just attract freebie hunters to your site, but real, paying customers.
I also liked that there were no required store collabs. Commissions are industry standard and aren't higher or lower than most stores.
I think if you're a high volume designer who has a more traditional style, you'd do well there sales wise.
Weren't there a big number of designers let go last August by GP with less than a weeks notice? I remover Roseytoes was one of them, and like maybe 5 others who just disappeared from gp
If GP is treated like a real business, maybe those let go were not bringing in what was expected of them? I have no clue as I don't follow that store, but if a store has a quota, well you should produce that much or you are out. That would make sense if it were the case.
Haha I'm 39 and seriously? because I told someone it wasn't all crap I must be the owner. Sometimes people on this blog are so pathetic. Someone asks a question and if anyone dare answer in a positive way, they must be affiliated with whatever it is. Sorry but no, I'm not a designer or an owner or a CTer or even a shopper. I don't digiscrap anymore. I moved onto scrapping with like, you know, paper and crap.
I was being honest. I found a kit in a folder inside my scrapkits folder - that folder was labeled "rubbish" and has yet to be deleted from the last time I purged my supplies.
I haven't visited scrapvine since a few months before my subscription to their site ran out because as I discovered the digi world, I discovered they weren't my style.
So stop acting so foolish and thinking you know who people are purely because they don't tear strips off everything that's mentioned. It's not like I said they were a favourite site of mine and OMG BUY THE SUB.
MyMemories is actually a decent place. Not to much side stuff to do unless you want to but a lot of potential if you want to put the time in. Don't listen to 46. Just because its not SO or TLP does not make it a worthless place full of crappy designers. There are lots of customers who disagree with 46.
Bingo 13. Post 7 gives it away. "ITA that Mommyish would fit in at SM. She's such a nice person, and SM seems like a nice place" The post sure makes it sound like that person doesn't actually spend time at SM but just thinks it seems like a nice place. Why would someone who doesn't spend time there care what designers end up there? Sounds to me like someone was bashing her yesterday, and someone else - either CT or herself - is defending her today by posting nice things about her. I wish they would stop because I actually do like her but this is making things look worse for her.
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I'm post 7. I don't CT for anyone at 2Ps. I said SM "seems" like a nice place because I'm not a designer: I have no idea what it's like behind the scenes, which is what a designer would care about. I only know what it's like in the chatter forums, and that doesn't tell the whole story.
My sales were decent and steady month to month as long as I made a lot of product and sold it cheap.
^^^^
47 here again. Mine were too as long as I stayed in style with what the others were making which didn't sit well with me because I'm happier making original stuff that I draw and paint myself.
The designers that do well there are cookie cutters.
As for Stacy, I didn't mind her either but she's tyrannical and lacks tact. She just doesn't know how to word things professionally. It comes out like bullying instead of just simply asking.
As for the marketing being all up to the designers? Are you serious? I would not work in a shop that did not show support to the designers or only focused on some and only marketed to the current customer base which is what GP does on all counts. If there wasn't a link between MM and GP designers, GP wouldn't stand a chance.
If anyone is going to cookie cut products in the style you see at GP and MM, my choice would be MM since the shop marketing there is phenomenal and the tie of products to the software is just brilliant. The products purchase is available inside the software. The layout posting to FB is done from inside the product. The customers are spoon fed stuff like you wouldn't believe, also brilliant.
I can't think of a single store I follow that does anything other than newsletters, Facebook, forum challenges, and the occasional birthday/nsd/other event type of celebration as far as marketing is concerned.
All of which GP does. Not sure what else you're hoping they would do, #61.
MM is different because it started as software. You can't really compare that to stores like GP, SSD, TLP, etc.
I also agree that it is the designers responsibility to market themselves in addition to the store. Far too many designers ride on the shirt tails of others marketing and hard work and do very little to help the site or their own business.
MM basically is software. Although you can download kits to your laptop, every kit also has the option of being compatible with the MyMemories software. Templates and photobooks have to be made in the MyMemories software and then loaded up to the site for sale.
It isn't a question of making things in a cookie cutter way, but rather of what the MM customers can use in their software and what kind of scrappers they are.
I think Mommyish's style would fit in at SO. Unfortunately, I don't shop at SO anymore cuz I hate their ScrapPin gallery. I know you don't need to post in the gallery to buy from the store, but I'm so annoyed with the new gallery that I've given up on the store too.
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This is one of the dumbest things I've read on here and that's saying a lot. You don't like the gallery so you're screwing the designers over by not buying their product?
I've been at MM for a little less than a year. I do little advertising (of MM) and make double or more what I normally make at my mainstream store (which I advertise daily). I'm consistently in the top 20 or so designers, so I know there are others that do much better than I do, but I feel I'm doing well there.
WTF??? My memories has 137 designers? Why haven't I heard of this store before?
Where have I been? I'm a customer in digiland for the last 5 years.
#61, I am one of the 130+ designers at MM and I disagree with you about the shop marketing being "phenomenal." They do not evenly promote their designer base at all. You accused GP of doing that and while I can't say whether they do or not, I can say for certain that MM only promotes some of their designers, and definitely not all of them. I find it hard to get noticed there at all and I've tried many times. I've considered giving up my store there because all the effort I've expended trying to get on the customers' radar hasn't really come back to me. When you look at the stuff that is selling well there, it is clear their customer base is not very discriminating when it comes to quality, either. If it's $1, they will buy it, whether it sucks or not.
#39 - It's pretty obvious that you're the owner of scrapvine kits or a designer there.
..... pretty obvious
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I'm curious..how's it obvious? I love my iPad so I work for Apple? What is obvious is that you are a dumbass.....pretty obvious.
#67 I'm a designer at MM also. Doesn't MM market you according to the designer awards program?
Submissions:
Referrals:
Participation:
Sales:
Traffic
Over all winner
The winners of these categories will get top billing next month on the home page of MM.
Oh the humanity. Reward the ones who work hard. What a concept.
Yes that is true that is how the MM system works so if you work hard you do get the extra advertising. But there are a lot of things you can do that are offered from MM that will help you. Like FB things all the time, weekly Featured Designer, DL of the day, and all kinds of things that are available to everyone. Plus when your fee kits are up you get a whole month of advertising. Do you take advantage of the software and make photo books or albums? 5 different stores that your product gets seen in and the list goes on! So much more than other stores I have been in where I had to do way more work to get myself out there. Guess it is all how you look at it. No I am not a top designer but I am seeing steady results which is more than I can say from other places I have been.
Two Peas in a Bucket announced a 30-50% sale.
Does anyone know until when the sale will last? And why can't I find any 50% off products? I only see 30% off prices.
According to what Jeff posted in the forum, it's through March 31.
Just skimmed through, and it looks like it might be by designer choice. Angie Kovacs, Dianne Rigdon, and Chrissy W. are all at 50% off, while the rest look to be 30%.
Interestingly, Hero Arts (who buys that crap?) is still full price.
Does anyone know what happened to Fei Fei? Nothing is posted on her blog or FB page about retiring, but I can't find her products for sale anywhere.
Jessica Sprague "One Buck Wednesday" - OR 50% OFF. LOL
That is SO lame. Call it something else or make everything $1.00.
http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=89&Itemid=49
#76 That's what I keep saying every Wednesday when I check out the sales. There are a few products $1 and a few 50% off..
#73 & #74
Thanks for the info.
I was just checking out DigiScrappers Brasil. They have a $2 Wednesday sale.
I found a designer that I personally think has potential and we'll be seeing more of her soon.
Neia Arantes Designs
http://store.digiscrappersbrasil.com.br/neia-arantes-designs-m-77.html
Her style reminds me of Thaty Borges.Even her logo is similar.
#79 - Her stuff is awful. She's clearly new and needs better color palettes, paper patterns, and textures - and needs to learn how to use them.
If I liked Thaty's stuff, I would be offended by the comparison. Just because she uses Thaty's CU doesn't make her like Thaty.
I don't think it's awful but I don't think it's great either. I did like the sale though. Last week I bought three bundles from Maria Designs and this week they have a lot of CU stuff on sale.
Not impressed. Totally agree with #80. Most of the papers are too textured, and the elements have none. Also a lot of recognizable CU.
I said she has potential. She will become a good designer. I like her doodles.
I didn't know Thaty had CU.
Where is Thaty by the way?
I've seen ten times worse designs in digiland.
For $2 I'm buying a few kits of hers that are on sale.
how many times is CRD going to have "her biggest sale ever" and then say she doesn't do them very often in her newsletter. That's like, three this year.
Speaking of Thaty Borges - where is she? She moved to SO in Sept of last year and now she's gone!
Thaty was at SO but she retired last month.
Who's CRD?
I hate it when designers retire silently without any notice. There may be a few kits on our wishlist. I had a few I wanted to buy from Thaty.
Store packaging can totally change a kit. Make it look ten times better than it already is or worse of course.
Which store packaging is your favorite?
Mine is Sweet Shoppe.
No idea who CRD is. I like ScrapMatters packaging. I can't stand SO's packaging at all. SSDs is ok, but nothing great. I really liked 9th and Bloom's packaging, too, when they were around. I like the clean, simple packaging so the product stands out.
Who is CRD???
Christina Renee Designs at SBG
Thank you #74. I just discovered Dianne Rigdon and she has plenty of great stuff for $1.
Fei Fei retired.
This is probably a dumbass question, but what is the difference between texture plates and overlays and do you use them differently?
Shit, the spammers are here.
DST is so dead, is there any other designer forum available?
I generally don't visit forums much. I use Facebook groups a lot.
I know it's very selfish, because the world doesn't really revolve around me; lol! But I am actually happy that some of those designers at 2Peas will be hopefully returning to main-stream digi stores. I hated 2Peas! They're overpriced and the store is so disorganized!
64 said: I think Mommyish's style would fit in at SO. Unfortunately, I don't shop at SO anymore cuz I hate their ScrapPin gallery. I know you don't need to post in the gallery to buy from the store, but I'm so annoyed with the new gallery that I've given up on the store too.
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This is one of the dumbest things I've read on here and that's saying a lot. You don't like the gallery so you're screwing the designers over by not buying their product?
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Why is that dumb? I search a store's gallery to find non-CT LOs before I buy something. I want to see a LO in action by regular scrappers. CT LOs can really just be CTMs trying to shine shit. So if a gallery is hard to navigate or search (or an uneven mess of LOs, like the SO gallery), then I don't shop at that store. It's not screwing over the designers. I didn't tell them where to sell.
How do you shop? Do you randomly click on your keyboard like a drunk monkey and buy whatever your screen shows? I'm going to assume you don't, so why go all outhouse-rat crazy over someone's mode of shopping?
"all outhouse-rat crazy"
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Now that's classy. Aren't you overreacting just a tad? Your remark about the creative teams is weird. Are you saying they're doing something fraudulent? If they aren't then why wouldn't you want to see how the kit can "shine?"
Choosing not to support a store is really the only way we can communicate to the owner that we don't like a change they made. I can't tell you the number of times people say 'well, customers are still buying so obviously most people don't have a problem with X.'
It's not punishing the designer, but it's a necessary reaction to something as stupid as that pin gallery.
101, I agree with 102. Your comment about the CT layouts is odd. Why should designers bother to hire CT and give out their products for free if suspicious people like you automatically dismiss their CT's layouts when considering the purchase of a kit?
It's worth pointing out that if a CT layout is just trying to "shine shit" then it also must be true that a regular customer layout can make a great kit look like shit, too! Sometimes it is hard to believe what some customers will do to a great kit to make it look terrible. Even the most amazing designers' work will look awful without proper shadowing and good layout technique, not to mention all the crazy things people will do with their software like adding weird styles or incorrectly recoloring things.
CRD used to be a really well known designer and the hordes flocked to her for some reason, but that was back in the days when Gina Miller was popular too. CRD went from grunge to vintage overnight, ditched her CT, moved to SBG and now you rarely ever hear about her.
#105 Now that you mention SBG and CT's, do any designers there have any?
That's my problem with SBG, I always like to see the products used on layouts before buying. If I like the layouts and they inspire me to make something similar with my own personal photos then I'm buying it. But when I don't see any layouts I can't see the product and I usually step away without buying anything. It has to be something very very good or at a very low price for me to bite.
I checked out CRD's shop, I never heard of her. I like a few things but I don'y know if I'll buy them.
Which Gina Miller? The designer at TLP?
The retirement sales going on these last few months are killing me. I'm buying and buying stuff and I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these products and when I'm going to organize them. I wish I could hire someone to organize them for me. That would be great.
Choosing not to support a store is really the only way we can communicate to the owner that we don't like a change they made. I can't tell you the number of times people say 'well, customers are still buying so obviously most people don't have a problem with X.'
--
This is a rational explanation of the reasoning and I get it. Thanks!
Even the most amazing designers' work will look awful without proper shadowing and good layout technique,
__
So true.
As a CTM, I've had to shine a few pieces of shit in my time. Every designer has a stinker once in awhile. If it becomes a habit, it's clearly not the place for me and I leave the CT. I'd hope other CTs do the same.
As a CTM, I've had to shine a few pieces of shit in my time. Every designer has a stinker once in awhile. If it becomes a habit, it's clearly not the place for me and I leave the CT. I'd hope other CTs do the same.
++++++++++++++
Have done the same and I totally agree!! As a retired designer I was constantly asking my creative team what they liked to see in a kit and what made it the easiest to scrap with. I am very lucky to work with designers who are have that same mindset. But, even the best designers have a bad one, once in awhile.
#106 I completely agree about the CT pages. Previews do not show enough of the product. Elements are crammed on and you either get a strip or small square grid view of papers. CT pages, particularly from a team with varying styles (unlike those of the minimalist designers whose CT all produce the same pages) definitely encourages me to buy.
The Gina Miller I referred to is the one at TLP, though I believe she used to only sell at her own store. GMD used to be all the rage, along with the likes of Natalie Braxton, Hollie Haradon, Annie Manning, Corina Nielsen and so on. It feels like such a long time ago now, even DST was busy!
How can you block the spammers on an anonymous blog?
Anyone see the FB post about tomorrow's next project mouse release? Britt is asking for guesses of what it'll be. I'm dying to post " blatant copyright violation and half ass ripoff?"
^^^
DO IT!!
Our school has a poster advertising for the upcoming yearbook. The caption say, " Yearbook. The Original Facebook."
Another yearbook poster has photographs of things like an Iphone, Twilight novel and other recognized brand items.
At the bottom of the poster there is a claim that they followed copyright law because they had those tangible items in their studio.
When I saw those posters I thought about all the copyright discussions over here.
Suzy Q has a problem with colors. Her color palette and use of green for her St. Patrick's Day kit are so off.
@116: Thanks for directing me to Suzy Q - I found her blog via Google and she has lots of great tips in her archives.
I know I am late to the party with the My Memories discussion, but I love it there. I dont have to do a ton of extra stuff, my sales are consistent and the support is wonderful. And I do know of at least one designer who has been declined by MM.
I do however wonder how a few of the top designers do as well as they do (ahem- Touched by a Butterfly??? WTF?), and the only thing I can think of is volume.
sorry 59 I don't shop at those places. MM is full of hog wash and they only advertise designers that they want to advertise....stuff only sells if its cheap. Designers should value their time more than to see a product for 2 bucks. I know a lot of designers that have left MM. as far as selling more product because it's linked to 3S and more is crap. With a 137 designers how can they have any sort of fair market strategy
Touched by a Butterfly won 2 categories in February: referrals and traffic. So consequently, her name is one of the designers that is listed on the home page first. People see her name when they click on the home page and she gets more hits, etc., etc.
120- that's true. But have you looked at her designs? yuck. So, the only reason I can think of for her success is volume.
And the majority of my sales at MM are at full price. Yes, I sell more during sale periods but that is true for any shop.
I just looked - you're right 121. But she can play the game well. Tons of templates but they're made by her CT:
Created by CT member Unique Monique Creating.
Is that fair?
Or
Created by CT member Linda Swartz.
No wonder she can put up so many templates. And those are worth 2 points each!
Why do CT members agree to do this?
Why do CT members agree to do this?
***************************************
On some CTs you get a cut of the sales. So you get a little income without setting up shop for yourself and you're under no pressure to constantly be releasing product.
It's like setting up a scrapping conglomerate.
Well these CTs must have copies of the MyMemories software program because they're releasing templates.
Nah. The CT I am on does this and the CTs just make the template and then the designer converts them to MM compatible.
What is your compensation for doing it?
40%
I have a Google Reader Emergency. There was a pop up today saying the last time Google Reader will work is July 2013, but that we can use other software and import our list. What other software? This is important because I don't use facebook for designers. I use newsletters for my faves and Google reader for the rest. You are ALL on there!
I jumped to Feedly. It runs off Google Reader now, but they are migrating away from it now that reader is going away.
I'm looking at Feedly, too.
And, One Story Down is open: http://onestorydown.com/
I switched to Feedly. Easy to import your Google Reader feed and easy to use, too.
Quiet tonight...
Feedly here too.
And wow, the packaging at OSD is awful!
I'm not keen on the color (a lighter gray would have been fine) but I like the style of it. I prefer stores that have uniform packaging, doesn't look so messy.
Thanks for the Feedly tip, everyone!
101, I agree with 102. Your comment about the CT layouts is odd. Why should designers bother to hire CT and give out their products for free if suspicious people like you automatically dismiss their CT's layouts when considering the purchase of a kit?
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The CT is there to show off the kit. I totally understand that. But sometimes CTMs can make a kit look great, but a regular scrapper--who isn't required to scrap with the kit--can show off the kit in a different light. Sometimes designers ask their team to use different papers in the kit, in order to show off all the papers. BUT, if the results in the gallery only use two or maybe three papers, then those are probably the only really good ones in the kit.
I'm not suspicious, I'm just trying to see as many different LOs/types of LOs as possible.
What if you see a really cute pair of jeans in a True Religion ad? Do you automatically assume "Oh yeah, my size 32 ass is going to look EXACTLY like that model's size 24 rear end!" Or do you perhaps ask people you know "Have you ever tried on True Religion jeans? Are they worth it?" Checking out the gallery is how I ask "Are they worth it?" People come here and do the same thing. They ask "Hey, have you ever bought from "Designer X?" or someone just says "I don't like Designer A's color palettes" (which someone just said on this page).
So, do you look at only the preview and just click "buy"? I'm really, truly asking. I'm not trying to be snarky. CT LOs are meant to drive traffic to the store (when posted in galleries) and to entice you to buy (when used in the store). But CT LOs aren't the only thing you look at, is it? What if there aren't any CT LOs? Hell, what makes you decide to look at a kit in the first place? Do you impulse buy or do you use the search function to find something? (Oh, that's a pet peeve of mine: when designers don't use meta info properly! Add enough words to both your description and to your tags so that people can find your stuff. But add *only* relevant stuff. If it's a Halloween kit, don't write "Perfect for everything, including your daughter's first birthday photos!")
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After you download your digi kits (free or paid), how ruthless are you with deleting stuff you don't like? There's usually some stuff that fits in the "maybe it's not too bad & I'll use it one day" category that up to now I've kept.
Have you ever regretted throwing out some of the so-so stuff? Chances are if I haven't used it by now I probably won't miss it if I delete it.
How do you deal with the so-so stuff that you don't love??
I keep everything. I do not download many freebies (NO blog trains). I have a 3TB external. If I bought it, I had a reason. I guess when my external is full, I'll reconsider.
I'm ruthless. Why use up my EHDs' space with shitty stuff (or even so-so stuff) that I'm not going to use? My EHds cost money, so it'd be more expensive to buy a new EHD than to delete some crappy kits. And of course anything of poor quality gets deleted before I even back it up onto my EHDs. I try to imagine my EHD as a physical space, like a closet. Just because my master closet is full of clothes doesn't mean I can build a new closet to keep more stuff, right? I have to purge the stuff I don't use in order to make room in that one closet. I think the same thing about my EHDs. I purge the shit to make room for more (and hopefully better) stuff.
This "ruthless" convo reminded me of a blog post I read (maybe on TDD?) about how a scrapper keeps EVERY photo because "you never know what technology will be like" and maybe we'll one day be able to fix really poor quality photos. I read that and thought "But will I be able to afford that technology? Will I be able to USE that tech effectively?" I go through my pics and delete the bad ones. It's easier to search my pics folder if it's not full of crappy pics as well as the good ones. And again, it's about space. My pics are anywhere from .75 to 2MB. If I kept every pic I took, then I'd already have like 5 2TB EHDs of just shitty pics. We all would, cuz we all take an insane amount of photos. Not all are print-worthy.
^^^^^^^^^^
This.
One Story Down may have opened but they have very few designers, and I've only heard of one of them before. That packaging may be OK but the strips along the top and bottom take up way too much preview real estate.
There isn't anything there that inspires me to buy,
Polka Dot Plum is having a designer call. Anyone sold there before? The store seems so incredibly small. Also, was there discussion about it earlier or am I imagining things??
Did anyone else just get The Enabler? For some reason the whole thing looks really washed out to me and the contrast is whacky. I'm wondering if its my PDF viewer or is it the same for everyone?
http://digiscrapaddicts.com/TheEnabler/201303-TheEnabler.pdf
look at page 12 for example - I can barely see the edges of the cards and the white texture is non-existent to me and the reds and blues pop in a really glaring way.
The whole thing just looks awful to me. Anyone else?
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The color/brightness problem resolved when I downloaded it instead of just viewing it in my browser, but the whole thing was still weird. The green at the top doesn't line up right and the ads are placed all weirdly random throughout the thing. I wasn't really following what they were trying to do. Feature each designer/kit, but no words, and other people's ads on their page? Weird.
I would avoid Polka Dot Plum like the plague. The owner is unmotivated and has a horrible track record (this is what, the third attempt by her to run the store in a year? and her last attempt resulted in her trying to combine 2 stores and requiring designers to be in, and produce exclusive products, for both, changing requirements a few weeks after taking designers on). The co-owner is brand new with QC issues and no motivation to actually take on responsibility. I see the store lasting 3-6 months, if that, and then it will all be washed, rinsed, and recycled into another unsuccessful attempt to open again a few months later.
I would avoid Polka Dot Plum like the plague.
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^^^
Are ct members normally chosen because they scrap really well with the designer's work? The reason I ask is there are some who are really bad. I'm wondering if maybe designers feel compelled to choose ct people for other reasons maybe, like popularity on a store forum or they're friends or family? I'm relatively new and have noticed this a lot! Thanks.
Anyone got the fix for this month? How are the kits?
How are the kits?
_
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149 - The co-owner is brand new with QC issues
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Major QC issues...I have one kit of hers, it was free and it looked cute. Took one look at it and decided that I was never spending money on her stuff. I don't want to even think about how shitty it must look if you tried to print it.
Are ct members normally chosen because they scrap really well with the designer's work? The reason I ask is there are some who are really bad. I'm wondering if maybe designers feel compelled to choose ct people for other reasons maybe, like popularity on a store forum or they're friends or family? I'm relatively new and have noticed this a lot! Thanks.
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If you're relatively new but have already noticed this a lot, then I want to know where you hang out? All the stores where I shop and the forums/galleries I frequent have great LOs by both the stores' and designers' CTMs. There are the LOs that are in a style I don't prefer (super minimalist, for example), but they are still "good" LOs. So, where do you hang out and what do you mean by bad? Not your style, or truly non-artistic and poorly constructed?
151 - I know what you're talking about. I think sometimes designers will take on (or keep on) CT members whose layouts aren't the best out there because they are loyal, dependable, prompt, and willing to go the extra mile. Just as in designers there are good CT members and there are crappy ones there's more to choosing a CT member than just looking at the layouts they create. Obviously this is important but I would hang onto a CT member who was all of the above even if their layouts weren't winning GSOs all the time. That being said I wouldn't take someone on who couldn't construct a half decent layout either. And just as every designer puts out a stinker every once in a while - CT members do the same.
Now I'm curious about the QC issues of the Polka Dot Plum co-owner. Why wouldn't they print out well?
Who is the co-owner? All I see is Katharine posting on the blog.
158 - Now I'm curious about the QC issues of the Polka Dot Plum co-owner. Why wouldn't they print out well?
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They are hand drawn extracted elements...which would be great if she had corrected the color and if they weren't blurry. Almost like they weren't scanned at a high enough resolution.
159 - Who is the co-owner? All I see is Katharine posting on the blog.
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Eh, I'll name drop. Katherine = Katie of Katie Creates.
Thanks #157, that makes sense. I appreciate the information.
#156, when I said I was relatively new, I meant in the past year and a half. Yes, imo, I have seen it A.LOT. at SO, SSD (especially here-they have some who knock it out of the park most of the time and others who are average to below average ALL the time but who post on the forum frequently and seemingly have other duties within the shop or with specific designers, hence, my original question.) and TLP.
#156 I forgot to answer part of your question. The kinds of below-average layouts I'm referring to are those with consistently shitty photos (bad, bad, bad photo editing or none at all); and using elements in such a voluminous and haphazard way that they detract from the journaling and/or the photos.
I like and admire all styles of scrapping. This has nothing to do with style. It's about a shitty work product.
Re to the CT question: I think it's a matter of taste. What you may find very bad, the designer likes it or at least enough to keep a person on a CT.
Well, put it this way, some sure set the bar WAY higher than others do!
#151: I'm a relatively new designer with a little CT. Few girls asked to being in my CT when I started designing. I was happy what they want help me so picked them. They always posted late or never and there were problems with the proper credits too. And their layouts...! Recently I brought few rules and asked who wants stay with me and who wants leave (hoping that the worsts will leave) - all of them assured me that will stay. What can I do? Can't throw them out. I also do sample pages for myself, because I think my layouts are better than theirs.
I understand what a tough position that would be. I'm not a designer but I would think you're going to have to tell them the truth. I think your ct could definitely be hurting your sales not to mention the stress they cause by not meeting the deadlines, etc. Good luck to you!
Re to the CT question: I think it's a matter of taste. What you may find very bad, the designer likes it or at least enough to keep a person on a CT.
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Well, a lot of it is preference, no doubt. However, when journaling is illegible and photos are obscured ( sometimes this is good because the pics are AWFUL) by a spew of elements that sometimes appear to have been puked up all over the page, then, IMO, the whole point of preserving memories is long gone.
There is a difference between scrapping to preserve memories, and scrapping to show off the kit.
I found Katie Creates stuff in my folder and didn't find the hand-drawn extracted elements talked about above... did find an element with blurry edges, but overall the kits I have (all freebies) look pretty cute??
#166 - you're the designer...you "pay" them with product. if you don't like their work, let them go. a manager at a retail store would not keep an employee that was not doing their job. you should consider your designing as a business as well. i've learned in the last several years, that you have to have thick skin as a designer in this business. good luck
I would much rather utilize a personal CT than a site CT, to be honest. I have found site CTs to be greedy and WANT WANT WANT everything, but don't really WANT to help the designer. If they are getting a free kit, they should be posting it everywhere and enabling the crap out of it! While I can see how site CTs might keep the forums jumping, I honestly don't see how they really help increase sales of the designers. So what's the point?
There is a difference between scrapping to preserve memories, and scrapping to show off the kit.
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Bullshit.
While I can see how site CTs might keep the forums jumping, I honestly don't see how they really help increase sales of the designers. So what's the point?
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^^^
"scrapping to show off the kit"
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Well, I can put crappy photos and dump a ton of elements on a page myself. Elements are EMBELLISHMENTS, meaning they are to enhance the page not be the focus of it. Further, if these folks' only goal is to show off the kit then they definitely need to learn how to do it better AND to take/edit halfway decent photos imo.
Regarding quality of photos - I think the use of mobile phones has really changed what people think of as 'good' photos. My facebook feed is full of people sharing photos that are under-exposed, over-exposed, blurry, awkwardly cropped, and so on ... photos tat if they came off of my camera would be deleted instantly. Now those photos are part of people's everyday life - to the point where someone even created a new printable size at Persnickity Prints for them.
I also just saw a site do a 'layout of the day' on a layout where the photo was the crop of a girls face who has a really ridiculous expression and isn't looking at the camera ... again, a photo I'd quickly delete.
So I think we have to agree to disagree on the photo quality issue.
What #172 said. I think it would be a great idea to have site creative team members reapply each year!
Regarding element vomit - some people really like that and I see a LOT of it at SSD (which is part of why I don't shop there). Even some of the layout templates have element vomit issues. Some people really love loads and loads of elements, and other people love the really deep shadows on that element vomit ... so that they all look like they are elevation 3 inches off of the page. Again, to each his own.
So I think we have to agree to disagree on the photo quality issue.
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I see what you mean. A lot of the photos on the layouts to which I'm referring are obviously edited really, really badly. If the goal here is to show off the kit, and these ladies are getting compensated for that, then they should make a point to have decent photos on their pages. When a designer advertises for ct members, I normally see that's one of the qualifications they're seeking.
"element vomit"
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LOL!
Some people really love loads and loads of elements, and other people love the really deep shadows on that element vomit ... so that they all look like they are elevation 3 inches off of the page.
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Yes, and it looks AWFUL!
149 It seems you're just being a "hater" on the co-owner for no reason. Katie Creates seems to have stopped doing her hand drawn style my guess is because she noticed the QC issues. Since she stopped it seems she doesn't have those issues anymore. So why are you making it seem like she has the worse quality in the world?
There is a difference between scrapping to preserve memories, and scrapping to show off the kit.
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Bullshit.
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Actually, I think that is sadly what comes out of many CT work (not all, but many). They might use stock photo (where is the memory there), they might use the same photo over and over again (memory problem?) or no journalling at all (they must have super duper memory).
I can understand that some CT members might not want to show their journalling, and will just hide that layer for posting in galleries, but sometimes, there is not even room for journalling so where would it be? Scrapbooking can be either for memory keeping or it can be for art only, totally separate from memories. Sure, it is great when there is a balance of both, but it is not always the case.
I'm 182 and that last comment was more toward 155 than it was 149.
I've downloaded her monthly freebies since she started offering them in January and I've found little to no QC issues in any of them. So I'm curious to know which one you downloaded that has "major QC issues"...that has made you decide to boycott her for good.
184 - I'm 182 and that last comment was more toward 155 than it was 149.
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I'm 155.
The ones I'm talking about are the freebies previous to the ones you started with. Her New Year's freebie and the original FB freebie (can't think of the name, but it had a scrapping theme).
And I'm not "hating" on her, I was being honest. She doesn't have the worst quality in the world, but it's not the best either. I guess she doesn't do the hand drawn stuff anymore, which is a shame because it was cute...just not up to par quality-wise.
And I'm not "hating" on her, I was being honest.
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There is a difference for goodness sakes. This has shades of the Harper Finch overreaction. Take a second, get over the sting of having something you do criticized and then USE that information to be better, or ignore it.
Please, designers, name your files appropriately! I'm a customer, spending the weekend organizing my digital EHD. Not all of us keep files by kit; some of us organize by element, or by designer, or by some other system that suits how we work.
If you don't have your designer name on every file, and that name isn't unique, your work can get lost and uncreditable. If you don't have the kit name/short name on every file – that is, if you just do designer_paper_number in every kit, my software will think it's a duplicate and ignore it.
Please, please: designer name_kit name_element (preferable descriptive name)_number if needed.
Please.
So you're telling me, that in order to be a good CT member, I have to scrap with perfect photos all the time? I love pictures that are "perfect" from a photography stand point. I've had my children's pictures taken professionally a number of times. I can not scrap those pictures. They don't mean anything to me. They're pretty pictures, they look nice on my wall, but what can I say about them? There's no memory or moment behind them. So I scrap the pictures that have meaning, mostly taken with *gasp* my phone! Or a point and shoot. And probably not perfectly exposed or maybe even focused, because I want to be in the moment with my family and not staging photo ops for a scrapbook page. If you think that makes my photos unworthy for CT work, that's disgusting. I see lots of pages everyday, CT's scrapping with stock photos or the same photos from a photoshoot over and over. A photo on a page with a ton of flowers, it doesn't say anything, it doesn't mean anything. If you see it in a gallery, you forget it instantly. I think there's room for all kinds of pages in CT work. Maybe you're attracted to glossy, perfect photos, but there's just as many people who stop and look at a page for the story behind it. I'm a scrapbooker, not a photographer. There's a lot of things a person can do to screw up a scrapbook page, shadows, too much crap, whatever, but I don't think having perfect photos should be a requirement for CTs.
OMG! I went to download another designer's freebies and I finally saw the video that went with the creepy sounding voice I was complaining about. It was horrid! It was a bullfight, which is bad enough, but the bull turns the tables and knocks over the horse and goes for the madator. I feel for the poor horse! And the bull's rampage continues on against the matadors and it jumps the barrier and is going for the crowd, too! fortunately the video stops at that point. I hope the horse was ok.
So you're telling me, that in order to be a good CT member, I have to scrap with perfect photos all the time?
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No, what I'm saying is if you are a CT member who regularly uses shitty photos and regurgitates elements all over a page to obscure your shitty photo and/or any journaling then you're not doing your job. Everyone has photos that are not perfect, that are blurry or whatever and they want to scrap them. That's NOT what I'm talking about. I'm referring to those who don't know how to edit, who CONSISTENTLY use bad photos and who throw elements all over a page or stack them on top of each other just cuz. Yes, you, as a CT member, should have a responsibility of using decent photos most of the time..not perfect by any stretch but usually decent. There's a whole big bunch of CT people who do not do even that. If I were a designer, I would NOT want these folks using my work for their pages.
I hope the horse was ok.
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Ditto.
183 said: Actually, I think that is sadly what comes out of many CT work (not all, but many). They might use stock photo (where is the memory there), they might use the same photo over and over again (memory problem?) or no journalling at all (they must have super duper memory).
I can understand that some CT members might not want to show their journalling, and will just hide that layer for posting in galleries, but sometimes, there is not even room for journalling so where would it be? Scrapbooking can be either for memory keeping or it can be for art only, totally separate from memories. Sure, it is great when there is a balance of both, but it is not always the case.
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I don't include all my journaling on pages I post online. Or I edit it not to include names, places, or correct dates. I think you have to be careful what you put out there on the intewebs. I don't use facebook and I've asked my DH, who has a fb account, not to put photos of our kids on there or where he works/lives. Actually, I've asked this of my mom and brother/SIL, too. (Brother and SIL have put pics of my niece online since SIL was in the hospital and in labor. Yikes.) And sometimes I put the journaling in my metadata instead of actually on the page. (I do that on regular JPEG photos, too.) That way, I can show off the pics and the pretty elements/papers that I carefully chose to put on my page but I don't lose the story.
And based on what you've been saying, you really like to journal. Good for you. Sometimes I prefer to show off my pics and leave the story off the page. Sometimes I do two pages: one of the pics and one with the journaling. I don't post the journaling page. Please stop assuming that your way of (and reason for) scrapping is the best, and please stop looking down on people who do it differently. I love the designers I CT for and I love the pages I create for them (they seem to, too). But what I put online is a bit different than the the full-size page I save for myself. Sometimes I even blur the pic or put a bad pic on there so you can't see my child's full face or you can't read the museum's name in the pic. But my LO isn't any worse for that. Yes, the #1 reason most of us scrap to preserve memories. But that doesn't mean we have to write 5 paragraphs to preserve that memory. If we did, then we should have taken video of the event and then should hay someone to narrate what happened.
Please stop assuming that your way of (and reason for) scrapping is the best, and please stop looking down on people who do it differently.
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If your designer and you like your pages, that's great! Pat yourself on the back and move on. We have as much right to our opinion as you do yours. Bottom line: there's some very poor quality work out there done by ct members and it has nothing to do with photos taken on a phone or wanting to keep certain information confidential. The work is substandard. Period.
I can't believe we are having the journaling discussion again
192 - I am 183 and I have no intention of saying that my way of scrapping is THE way. I was also saying that it can be understandable that some pages in the galleries would not be exactly what the scrapper made to preserve memories. And your way of addressing the "memory" issues with the "privacy" issue is perfectly fine with me. What you are doing is what I refered to as BALANCED.
Don't assume that because I mentioned pages with no journalling that it is refering to you specifically.
I just want links to these horrible layouts.
Am I the only person who doesn't buy kits because of CT layouts?
I don't look at CT layouts when buying kits either.
146 - I had a bad Enabler, too, but I downloaded mine, so I just deleted the whole thing.
197 - I don't buy because of CT Los, too. If there is NOT one of them that includes journaling, then I figure the kit was not meant for that kind of LO and move on. Likewise, if all the Los use similar or the same items and BGs, and/or if I don't care for the LOs, then I move on, too.
For the person asking about deleting stuff, I'm a deleter. I used to keep it it found I never used it and it just took up space. I firstly delete all shadowed elements, then the elements I don't like. If there is word art, I delete all the sayings and phrases I know I will never use. Then I will delete all the patterned papers I don't like, followed by the plain papers I don't like. Generally, I end up deleting 25% to 30% of a kit.
I have never regretted deleting stuff but I have wondered why I've kept some stuff
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