Thursday, June 26, 2008

What Were We Thinking?!?

Sometimes I submit our work to a potential buyer to have them say that they don't think it's right for them. Then I see what they choose to bring into their stores and I think to myself, "What were they thinking?!?" The problem with art is that it's completely subjective!

Here's what we were thinking when we choose the top 12.

Danielle Layton, www.vtpuggirl.blogspot.com
We loved her clean, simple, editorial style. The design is really strong, with nice photos and we like how she handles her typography.


Similar in style to Danielle is Kathy Thompson, www.kathythompsonlaffoley.typepad.com
Again, a nice, editorial style and we love that her layouts feature teenagers. I know that might seem unfair, and it's not nearly the only reason we like her, but even something that simple, can make you different and make your work stand out.



Leah Killian, http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com
You'll notice Leah is more crafty in her style....... more what I tend to think of as traditional scrapbooking. The design and photos are lovely and she has some really creative ideas on her blog.

Natasja Verbeek, catsies on the web
Natasja is very artsy using found objects like cardboard and creating a very collag-ey feel. We think she could appeal to younger artists.


Anthea Peterson, www.our-life-story.blogspot.com
Anthea just has this fun, carefree feel to her layouts. They seem very fresh.

Davinie Fiero, http://davinie.blogspot.com
I have to confess, I have been following Davinie for quite some time. My favorite thing about her is that she seems to really push herself and I see her getting better all the time.


Debbie Olson, http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com
Debbie Olson is a card making master! She has a very classic style and everything she does is amazing.

Yukari Takanashi, http://enjoycrop.blogzine.jp/blog/2008/06/i_love_cosmo_cr.html
Yukari's style is similar to Anthea's. We like the carefree feel and a bit of collage-iness.

Danielle Quarmby, http://daniellejq.blogspot.com/2008/06/cosmo-cricket-faves.html
Danielle seems to be the "artsiest" of everyone that applied. We love this piece!

Laura Craigie, www.evidenceofagoodlife.blogspot.com
Laura has awesome photography skills! This is my favorite of her layouts, even though it doesn't have any Cosmo Cricket on it. I love the placement of the heart! I am a sucker for little unexpected details.

Katja Lampert, http://heynoonoo.blogspot.com
Katja is artsy and creative. I love her newspaper flowers! She shows how to make them on her blog. I thought they would be great made out of yellow pages too.

Maren Benedict, http://zanynotcrazy.com
Maren is another fabulous card maker! We think she's amazingly talented.

22 comments:

Kim said...

Congratulations!! Those are awesome projects!!!

Beverley Todd said...

Wow! Fabulous projects! Can't wait to see all the awesome stuff you're gonna make in the future!

Lea Sanders said...

Beautiful projects from the Top 12!

Jen Martakis said...

Absolutely beautiful work from all of the top 12! Amazing!

Anonymous said...

love it that you did this and..."""""wooooooahhhhhh go Katja!!!!!!!!"""""""

can you tell she is my sister and I adore her!!!

Trish- Advocare Advisor said...

Congrats!! Gorgeous work ladies!!

:Jayne said...

Congrats!!!! I think the choices were well made. Can't wait to see what they inspire!

:J

Amy Wing said...

How awesome! It's great when truly deserving people win these things... because I tell ya whut - it's hard to choke down my sour grapes when I look at the winners' work and think:

Meh.

Not so this time... all of this is SOOOO amazing! When I get a chance, I'll check out all your blogs... looks like there's a lot of delicious stuff waiting for me there!

And thanks, Julie, for letting us know your thought process... that is a truly yummy treat that we don't often get at the end of a call!

Unknown said...

I didn't try out, but I love that you have shared your thought process of why you chose which artists. You have a fantastic mixed group there!!! They are all very talented!!! Huge fan of both Davinie and Maren here!!! smiles...

Laura Williams said...

congratulations everyone!!!! you girls are each SOOO talented!!!! thanks for all the amazzing inspiration! :)

Emily said...

YEAH!!!! Thank you for sharing, I have been dying to see the winning submissions. They are amazing. I am off to check out blogs.

Gina Lideros said...

thank you for sharing, very talented group of girls!

I'm just curious, was the top 20 finalists ever announced?

Julie said...

I didn't ever announce the top twenty. I did send them all emails to let them know who they were. If I get time later today, I'll post their names on the blog.

Kind of busy this afternoon!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing what you all look for! It's very helpful! I agree that all those projects are fabulous!

I have a couple of favorites that I'm rooting for! Good luck ladies in this final round!

All That Chit Chat said...

You've got great taste. Absolutely beautiful work and so diverse!

Jennifer Priest said...

Congrats! Some super gorgeous work -- I can stare at these for hours!

Erica Bass said...

These are some talented ladies. I can't wait to see what they do with one of my favorite lines of scrapbooking goods!

Gettin' Sketchy said...

Congrats!!! wonderful talent.............

3Guys&AGirl said...

WOW!! I can certainly see why they are the designers you chose. AMAZING work!! And I love that they are so different....something for everyone.

I can't wait to see what they do with all of the new stuff coming out (HINT, HINT...LOL)!!!

~Patti

Q Tea Kits said...

That is really cool of you to reveal your thoughts and process, it is so interesting! I love all the varied talent you have highlighted, and am so excited to have been selected as well :)

mezzo mish said...

It was fabulous to hear who and why the top 12 were picked, congrats to all the girls! Beautiful work from all these talented artists. {my fave is DQ of course!) regards from Aus.

latte_grande said...

Omg, their work is just stunning!! I imagine choosing was a tough job, but you picked some amazingly talented ladies.....I'm super excited to see what Cosmo Cricket goodness they create!