Storque articles by SusyJack

Artistic Endeavors: Using Your Interests to Create Unique Decor

2009-01-22T15:00:00-05:00

Our Artistic Endeavors series treats art collecting as personal expression, and blogger, artist and designer Susan Connor of SusyJack* Contemporary Paper, an eco-friendly line of paper, helps us take it to the next level with tips for displaying art in an integrated way. Read SusyJack's other posts on our blog here. And make sure to check out her HeySusy blog.

Have you ever looked at a decor magazine, catalog or design blog featuring some swank designer's home and thought....'Oh dear.... My abode is so boring.' Well, the task of sprucing up your space may not be as hard or as pricey as you think. These days, if you read blogs, magazines, or turn on the TV, you can't avoid seeing exquisite domestic style on display; and often, it can be daunting and overwhelming to look at your own space as a project-to-be.

But first, take a step back and think about your interests for a minute; outfitting your space in a stylish, personal, and unique way can be affordable and fun — a creative project. To find your personal aesthetic, start with your interests instead of what is "in style." Take a look at your hobbies, favorite locations, artists, the colors you love to wear, or even what makes you feel happiest. That way, you will choose artworks and objects that will speak to you for years to come and showcase your own unique vision for your home.

Photo of Jean Orlebeke's home from design*sponge

Simple and Natural: Smooth forms in grounding colors that seem to 'flow' with the environment help to create a peaceful, relaxing vibe.

(From left to right: Striped Stoneware Bottle Trio by sarapaloma, Red Coffee Table by michaelarras, Lost and Found by LoveErica)

Photo of Alyson Fox's home from design*sponge

Folksy and Rustic: Small, fabric-y details with a woodsy color palette emphasize the heart of a handmade home. Unrefined textures give a tactile touch.

(From left to right: Unbleached Linen Tea Towel by FlowerPress, little embroidered bird by jessyq, Stand by AliciaBock)

Photo of Zelda Beauchampet's home from design*sponge

Minimalist and Industrial: Things from daily life juxtaposed in an unexpected fashion add contemporary design flair and a sense of humor to the simplest of spaces.

(From left to right: Vintage Glass Jar from bluebellbazaar, clock made from a recycled bike wheel by pixelthis, Table Lamp - Vinyl Decal by TastySuite)

Photo of Jen Altman's home from design*sponge

Classic and Luxurious: If you love old school glamour and luxurious touches, nothing beats a silky black and white photo or chatting away on a movie star phone. For an affordable touch of authenticity, frame the illustrations from vintage fashion patterns.

(From left to right: Dahlia - Fine Art Photograph by jsun, Vintage Princess Phone from domestikate, Coachman's Robe Brunch Coat Sewing Pattern from NanasSewingBasket)

Photo of Wary Meyer's home from design*sponge

Retro and Bohemian: If you're into Art Nouveau and Gustav Klimt, maybe you'd like textured collages, colorful gestural sketches or feminine portraits.

(From left to right: Edie, Life Magazine, 1965 12x12 - Original Fine Art Painting by miccicohan , carnival by swallowfield, Peacock Feather Print by theloveshop)

Although they may seem like pie in the sky, the homes we see in design blogs and magazines are often a closer view into one person's interests and the way they've curated their decor to reflect themselves over time. That's why they are so unique. So if you let your own identity, sense of humor and personal style be your guide, your nest will look its best in no time.

Looking for more artwork? Stay tuned for the rest of the Artistic Endeavors series.

Art Category | More Art Related Posts | Home Decor Posts

Home Interiors and Design Gift Guide | Art for Every Room Showcase

Give Props: How to Style Your Photos

2008-01-29T11:19:00-05:00

Styling is a tool with unlimited possibilities. It can help your products and your store present a unique and cohesive presence to potential buyers and existing customers who are interested in getting to know you better.

In professional circles, a stylist is someone who works closely with a photographer and art director to provide a shot with appropriate elements, helping to create an enhanced, thoughtful (and sometimes thought-provoking) photo. Sometimes, a styled shot is used in tandem with a hero shot (a shot which shows product alone).

If this is your first time souping up a shot, this will guide you through. In time, you’ll get faster and more daring as your styling mind develops! The end result will be beautiful, creative photos which not only showcase your unique items on Etsy, but provide attention-grabbing images to show off in blogs, periodicals, newsletters, or anywhere you find a promotional or photo op!

Getting Started: Take Notes
Consider the subject: in this case, the item you’re going to sell. Because you’ll be introducing props, you should make sure they will not detract from or confuse the shot you’re planning. Spending a little time thinking about the product itself will help avoid this.

Helpful Things to Think About

What is the product?
What are it’s obvious qualities? Color, size, texture, function, shape...
What are the hidden attributes or uses that you find interesting? These are attributes which may not be obvious to buyers. But, these are the attributes which really sell an item.
Is it portable?
Does it make a great gift or party favor?
Was it made with a special process?
Is it all-natural?
What inspired you? List anything you think is interesting about your product.

As an example, I’ve chosen a card set I designed. Somewhere in my listing, I’ll want to show a hero shot, which features all of the cards together. But, to create more of a mood and spark their imaginations with excitement and potential for this item, I will also take a style shot, which will highlight one of the card designs.

[My Listing: Card Set]

Obvious Qualities: Pink, small, note card, gift card, paper

Hidden Attributes: Surprise, taste, party favor, food, dessert, secret admirer, dinner party, gift tag, scrapbooking, photo embellishment, business card, candy, secret, pocket-sized, politeness, manners, etiquette, modern, bright, happy, tea party, friendship, sweetness

Brainstorming
Working off your list, and keeping an open mind, consider some ideas for your styling. Remember, the point of styling a shot is not to obscure the qualities of an item, but to enhance them while opening the viewer’s mind to more possibilities. Try to show the item, but also to tell a story. Yum!

I was really inspired by the qualities of crisp, modern etiquette, giving little surprise gifts, and the idea of sugary, dessert-y treats when looking at my ‘You’re Sweet’ card. So, my prop ideas derive from those
attributes. Taking a quick look at them let me know that the color palette I’d chosen was working together.

More Ideas and Examples

Show portability or usefulness. If your product is small and portable, you may want to show off this attribute by planning a realistic, lifestyle shot where it’s shown nestled in a tote bag, alongside a book or wallet. Or, show how it might be used.

Show inspiration. Maybe your product was made in your inspiring country studio. Consider incorporating some branches or leaves from your garden into your shots. Maybe one little pinecone resting next to it is all you need.

Show process. Do your buyers seek out your product because it is made in a certain way? Are there special tools you use to create your items? You might want to incorporate these into your photo...a sprinkling of saw-dust, a needle and thread, a sketch, an assortment of wood-block type pieces.

Set It Up and Get Snapping!
First, set up a shot with just one or two of your new props. Take a test shot. Do they bring out anything interesting in your item? If you don’t feel it’s quite right, be patient and critique what is wrong. Art direct yourself: can you take a different angle, move the props into a less or more prominent place? Change the focus? Be patient. It may take some time until you feel you get photos with the right balance that accents your product and vision while still providing flavor.

Below are some test shots I thought had some good ideas happening between my item and my prop choices.

Build On Your Ideas
See if you can take it further. Can you add a twist that better distinguishes your own style as an artist/craftsperson? Or, can you add in another product to showcase more of your collection? Once you get comfortable using props and you feel your product is really singing in its new environment, push the boundaries. Use interesting angles, lighting, materials, or focus to add to your story.

For my shot, I really liked the way the tea cup was looking, but I preferred the gold cup to the green, and chose the simpler background to give more clarity. I was really excited by the way the raw sugar was adding texture to my concept, so, I worked with it, and tried some different ways of bringing it in. I thought the shot was looking a little monochromatic, so I added some subtle green, crafty touches to offset that.

These are my six final shots. I really enjoy the front-and center shots which do the work of a hero shot while still showing off the styling. I also simplified the presence of the sugar, using it more as a shape and texture than a prop. I could take this even further by adding in a table-cloth, or natural wood tabletop, but that is a project for another day.

Below are more great examples of sellers who use really clever styling ideas. As you’ll see in the shots below, sometimes the simplest styling can really give flair, drama, and even humor to an item. By using similar styling across all of your collection, you can create a really cohesive and inviting look for your entire store.

Moss Limited Edition Sketchbook by lusummers

Glittering Opulant Marie Antoinette Choker by louiseblack

Mini Runner in Vintage Green by yorktownroad

Custom Silhouette Pendant by luckymebeads

More Helpful Things To Keep in Mind...

Keep your eyes open. Props are everywhere! Sometimes, just walking through a new environment can give you some great ideas. Take a stroll through the dollar store and see what you come up with. What about that margarine tub of mismatched buttons hiding in the craft closet? They might make a great background...

Look for examples. When you get a magazine and a photo pops out at you, take a closer look at how it was styled to learn technique.

Incorporate more of your own items. Try putting other items from your shop into a shot without losing focus on the main item. This shows how well items in your collection work together!

Last, and most importantly...be free. Sometimes, the best way to come up with an idea if you’re really stumped is just to play. Remember, you are the art director. Look beyond the typical use for your item, and just have fun with it.

For more SusyJack goodness, check out our interview.

What's your take on stying photos? Leave it in the comments!

Recommended Blog and Interview: SusyJack*

2007-12-20T14:03:00-05:00

I found SusyJack* (aka Susan Connor) while using Etsy's new Pounce Feature. Her bold, graphic style graces the covers of journals, cards, necklaces, and calendars that many Etsyians cannot resist. After pouncing on one of her calendars I noticed she writes two blogs: SusyJack.blogspot.com, dedicated to the progress of her business, and spiralbound, a collection of what piques her interest in the design and fashion worlds. I asked Susy what inspires her to blog and how it has helped her business.

How do you have time for writing not one, but TWO blogs while operating your business SusyJack*?

That's a good question...actually, I never thought about it! But, I'm thinking about it now!

I have considered it absolutely vital to what I am doing as a creative person, and therefore, it is a part of my business, and creativity in general. It's integral. But, each blog serves a distinct purpose. I write the SusyJack* blog to chronicle my own work: my products, my process, my victories and challenges as a person starting her own line, and also to keep in touch with my customers and fellow artist/business-owners. My other blog, spiralbound_ has a different use; I use it to catalog and organize my ideas and inspirations like a sketchbook, or, as I see it, like a bunch of buckets I pour what I find interesting into. I don't want everything I see to immediately feed into my products. I think spiralbound_ helps me, in that it's neutral territory.

What motivated you to start each blog?

This thought occurred to me one day: Blogs are not diaries. They are a powerful system/structure for organizing information. This idea took the fear of 'what am I going to do if no one cares what I have to say' out of starting my first blog, spiralbound_. For a long time, the blog was unpublished, meaning it existed, but no one else could see it. Then, I decided to make it public so that people I worked with and for as a graphic designer could read it and learn more about my ideas and inspirations.

Spiralbound_ was started at the time I was working a horribly boring and unchallenging design job in Boston. I felt like I was dying inside. So, I thought I would begin to assemble ideas into a blog. It was easy to access through my work computer, and I could look at it to remind myself there were things I found inspiring out there. But, if you go back in my posts in spiralbound_, you can definitely see that the identity of the blog was still forming, even as I was writing it. It really started as an experiment and as a way to better get to know myself...What I was interested in. Spiralbound_ revealed things to me, as I began to fill it with content.

SusyJack* started when I joined Etsy and launched my first collection. I wanted to introduce myself to the community, and being that I had been writing spiralbound_ for 3 years or so, I knew that a blog was the way to do that. I loved the idea that I could fill people in on how the collection was created and what was coming up.

How has blogging helped your business?

As a designer, spiralbound_ helps me to reach out to other designers, and to clients. I still do work in branding, and it's great for a potential client to be able to easily see beyond my resumé into what makes me tick, my sense of humor, my style. Personally, it helps me to remember who I am, who I was, who I might end up being...as a creative in general.

SJ* helps define who is behind the collection...Who the heck is Susy??? Who made this notebook, and what's she all about? It's also an easy way to find out which products are going to get a good response, and which I maybe need to work a little more on. For example, I put the calendar out confidently, because people were kind enough to encourage me on my blog. Additionally, this was definitely reflected in the sales of the item. I blogged about the calendar progress, and when I listed it, they sold very well.

It gives legitimacy to my business in that people see I'm always working, and working hard: always thinking about the products, my customers, and the community. It also creates a place where people can comment: many people choose to comment on blogs, instead of sending emails. It's an easy way to engage with someone that's also fairly casual.

Also, if you are continually posting, there is more to find about you, online. So, a blog is a way to stay alive in the ever-growing online world. When you post, you're more likely to be found by search engines. (This is a boring, technical reason, but it's true.) Other bloggers can link you, and you can link them. This helps more people find you.

SusyJack* also helps if I am going to be featured in a blog or periodical, and whoever is writing the feature needs a little more info. They can easily harvest it from my blog.

Does posting to your blogs ever start to feel like homework? How do you keep it fresh and interesting?

I feel that a blog, like a person, should be fed a healthy, worthy diet. This helps me to feel that my posts are still for me, about things I believe in, and not something I'm writing for other people or to sell myself.

With SusyJack* I usually post anything new I'm working on. I post a lot about products I'm trying to develop, so that people can see how the ideas evolve...That they don't just come out of thin air.

I find that posting only what I truly want to share, and trying hard not to take a 'homework' attitude to it, helps my blogs, and me, and my products, keep their integrity, spontaneity and simplicity.

Do you have any upcoming features for your blogs?

Spiralbound_ hasn't got much in the works for new features, but I did just start a new sidebar a while ago, called the Trend Ether. I basically make a little list of what I think is coming up. This is pretty much just for me, although I know readers have enjoyed it, too. I can't help it, I get a really good feeling when something I posted about ages ago becomes a big hit. This new list helps me to note it before it happens.

I'm also starting to label images with a 'my pick' design so that people can see which item I like the best.

Also, I am thinking of starting a series of posts in the SusyJack* blog that are more about my discoveries as a new business owner. Things that have worked for me, so far. Since my background is in design, branding especially, I feel that this could be really valuable info to share. Info on art-directing, defining your brand, style or collection, creating a tagline, photography, etc. It's definitely an edge that it helps to have. I'd like to be able to help people better define what *their thing* is, that way, you don't have to worry about competition because you're confident in your uniqueness.

Any tips for someone starting a blog?

Yes. Pay careful attention to the name. Make sure that you pick a name that you like and will reflect your purpose in writing. This helps because people need to be able to find you.

Also, and this is REALLY important: don't worry about who reads it. Don't worry if you have comments. (It can make blogging into a chore and can lead to disappointment if you're not a blog celebrity overnight. Just keep at it, and be yourself.) Getting famous is not what writing a good blog is about. A good blog is about content. Make sure you are writing about things you truly care about or are interested in as an individual. Readership follows.

What are some trends you see for this spring and summer?

Hmm...Hard to say. I am frequently wrong, but I still keep trying.

I think integrity will make a comeback. I think a return to imperfection. Instead of pop star and celebrity beauty, I think we're going to see a deeper, more interesting, lived-in beauty emerging: imperfect teeth, hair, real ideas inside a real mind: John and Yoko, Chrissie Hynde, Tim Buckley. A good book to look at for this is Linda McCartney's Sixties. Hard to find but amazing. Beautiful portraits...They feel real, but beautiful at the same time.

Earthy color with hot, acidic, spicy, mossy accents.

Mismatched blacks.

I think the next trend in food is dumplings and meat pies...Although I don't think these will be big in the summer... : )

Is there something in the design world that currently tickles your fancy?

I like things that feel honest, not decorated. I don't mean things that are minimal, necessarily...but things that feel like the artist or designer has gone beyond what they are *certain* will sell. This is how things move forward.

I like to know there's a risk being taken... even if it's just a small one.