Saturday, June 28, 2008

Design Team

There has been a really interesting thread going on over at Splitcoast Stampers.

The original poster writes: "I would love to be on a design team. I don't think I'm necessarily at that level, but I also sometimes feel like if I could spend copious amounts of money on anything I needed, then maybe I could be...I guess I just wish that a company would see my stuff and be like, wow, she does really good for not spending much money and not owning every copic marker and prima and ribbon and latest stamps and paper and embellies known to man."

There have been some really great answers posted and a couple by Gina K and Kim.
So I thought I'd put my two cents in.

First, you do not need to have every embellishment and die and marker known to man.
In fact, I would prefer that you didn't. What is most important for me when I look at design, is the design. Does it Wow me? Do you make the stamp sing? Is there joy in the design?

Secondly, I look to see how you use my stamps.
Yes. I look to see if you use my stamps. Any stamp company owner will tell you that they think their designs are unique. Flatter us. We want to see how you use the stamps and how the designs work with how we market the brand. We want to see that you like using our stamps. If you are chosen to be on the team we make no small investment with you with stamps and product and goodies, and the like. If you can't afford stamps, visit the PIF and Wish Rak areas of SCS and see if anyone will trade images with you for TCP images without having to buy tons of them.

Thirdly, take good pictures and post them somewhere.
In a gallery, on your blog. Somewhere we can look at them. And if you get chosen for my team, I use these photos in the gallery on the website. So taking good pictures is important.

Fourth, make contact.
Because TCP is such a small company I don't the time that I'd like to look for the perfect new member. So I take recommendations, look at designers who play on TCP Tuesdays, and drop me emails. If I don't know you are there, it's hard for me to find you.

Fifth. Wait.
TCP has a very select, small group of Design Team Members. Several have been with us almost since the beginning. When one team member leaves, I look for another. I look through all the links and emails that have been accumulating in my design team files and see what everyone has been doing. There have been a couple of outstanding members who, I'm sure, were a little surprised to get an email from me letting them know there was a spot opening up a year after they emailed me.

I hope this helps for anyone who is interested in being on the TCP DT.

Sorry. There aren't any positions open, but let me know you are there.

P.S. If you email me that you'd like to be on the design team you can bet I will make a beeline to your blog or gallery and see how many TCP cards you've done or if we are even in your "Favorite companies" list. You'd be amazed how many times that I am approached and the designer hasn't posted any cards or even mentioned TCP at all.

It is more important for me to have a person on my design team that likes my designs than it is to have a big name, though I do have the best of both worlds. Once you become a DT member, you become one of the TCP family. We value your opinions, ask your advice, look to you for creative vision. I don't want someone on the team who is just "making the rounds" .

I have a great friend who has a DT and she mentioned to me once when discussing adding members to it, that she would only take on members who absolutely loved her stamps and stamped the heck out of them. I think that's great thinking.

4 comments:

Jennifer Love said...

Interesting. I read the thread at SCS. I mean, we'd ALL like to be on a design team, right? I just figure if someone sees my stuff and likes it that they'll ask me otherwise I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and having a darn good time at it! I don't NEEEEEEEEEED to be on a design team to make fun things with what I already have!

I'm a new stamper. I enjoy it. I don't have everything. Heck, there are some really inexpensive things that I want that I haven't bought yet because my brain misfires and makes me spend money on other things. LOL

Anonymous said...

I'm here!!! I'm here!!! I love your stamps!!! Enough said...

Take care and STAY POSITIVE! Trena said...

Great advice! Thank you Alma! It really made me think about what I'm posting on my site. I have a lot of stamps from different companies [I started redirected my clothing allowance to stamps a couple years ago :o)] and I make a lot of cards, but only post a few on splitcoast. I need to post more variety (THANK YOU!!). I'm about to start an adventure on my design first team and I'm so excited!! I appreciate what you shared. I hope/plan/hope to be part of more teams in the future. :o)

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Jenny said...

Alma,
Wow, I can't tell you how strange it was to happen upon you're blog tonight. And finding this post is kind of where my head is at tonight. Thanks so much for all the great info. in this post!!! I was making some goals with stamping and was thinking of trying for a design team when a call comes up. I was trying to think of all the stamp companies that I like and where I should look to for applying. Your images popped into my head as something I would like to work more with because they are toooo cute!!! Thanks so much for letting us know how you pick people to be on you're design team!! I don't feel so unworthy now. Hard part for me is to figure out what stamp images I should buy from you now!
Thanks again,
Jenny

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