Global Talent Search

This could be a great opportunity for aspiring artists. Lilla Rogers is conducting a global talent search. It's not just a portfolio review, but a competition to show your talent and how well you work based on the direction given in an assignment. There are a great panel of judges from Anthropologie to Chronicle. The winner will be represented by Lilla Rogers Studio for 2 years internationally. Here is the link to get the full story. You can't win if you don't play :-) If nothing else, it will be a great learning experience.

Good luck,

Jill

Jilly Jack Designs has been blogged about!

I'm the featured artist today on the A fresh Bunch blog. Hop on over to see what I've been up to this past year. They are great to work with and super supportive. A wonderful "bunch" of creative folks!

Have a great weekend!

Take care,
Jill

Jilly Jack Designs has a new type crush!

This lovely is Mandevilla created by Laura Worthington. It has a casual, yet special feel with its rounded edges and flowing ascenders and descenders. You can read more about this new typeface at myfonts.com.

Take care!

Jill

Jilly Jack Valentine's Day Card on Treat.com

Our Jilly Jack Designs Valentine's Day card for A Fresh Bunch is up on Treat.com. It's a great one to send family members. It was super fun to create, we hope you like it.

Take care,

Jill

Mesu Measuring Bowls

I bought these bowls at the 2005 How Conference in Chicago. They were designed by Jennifer Panepinto as a design project while she was getting her Masters in Design at the School of Visual Arts. She was dieting and was sick of measuring, so she created a set of bowls she could measure in and then just eat the food right out of them. Genius! I'm dusting mine off again as I journey down another (and hopefully last) weight loss trail. Jennifer's site say the bowls are out of production, but if you go to her site, you sign up for her mailing list of new product announcements. (I did see a couple on ebay)

Have a great day!

Jill

All images are owned by Jennifer Panepinto, LLC

Valentine's Day Card Swap Love

I had so much fun with the Valentine's Day swap organized by Carina at crowandcanary.blogspot.com, that I just had to share. There is nothing like getting cards in the mail, no matter what the age. These were really special, because they were hand-made by fellow bloggers. So each of us were to make cards for the 2 people we were assigned. I was lucky enough to get Gabby Hanlin, card 1 and Ashley Mouton, card 2 as my swap mates. I loved their cards and the sweet notes they included. Truly lovely! I also thought it was quite ironic that each of their cards were in the same color family. They must have been channeling each other!

I have also included 2 pics of the cards I made for Gabby and Ashley. I create cards for a living, but this was a little different because I was making 2 and not thousands, so the sky was the limit, glitter, envelope liner, double layer, rounded corners and sparkly paper. I had such a fun time, can you tell? I had glitter everywhere. I found this great stamp of wood grain and used a glue stamp pad and then glittered the you-know-what out of those cards.

So here's to getting your hands glittery and recapturing a little of your childhood. It really got me motivated to work on my Jilly Jack note card designs that I have been procrastinating on.

Have you done anything lately out of the norm that has motivated or inspired you to be creative? Please share!

Take care!
Jill

My Creative Influences

Here is a fun exercise, list who your creative influences are and see if it helps you get in touch with your own aesthetic. What is it that helps mold you as an artist? I feel it's all your favorite artists and designers, each impacting your art in a different, yet profound way, that help to shape the artist you become. I've linked each artist to a page describing their work, so that you can get a better idea of where my design sense is coming from. They are listed in no certain order.


1. Paul Rand, a corporate identity genius. Take a look at his portfolio and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. Saul Bass, brought graphic design to moving pictures, by way of title sequences.

3. Paula Scher, amazing woman in the graphic design industry, a definite roll model for women in the biz.

4. Miro, I enjoy his use of color and the playful quality of his work

5. Eva Zeisel, she is amazing, born in 1906 and still designing.

6. Frank Gehry, his organic architecture is either loved or hated, I love it.

7. Charles and Ray Eames, their sense of design and form were amazing.

8. Maurice Sendak, I loved his books and his illustrations made me want to draw.

9. Vasily Kandinsky, was a pioneer of abstract art and eminent aesthetic theorist

10. Paul Klee, his abstract style, use of color, texture and line are what I connect with


This was really fun, like a trip down memory lane from childhood on up through my career. I'd love to see who influences you in your work! Feel free to share.

A letter from me

Dear Readers,

First of all, thank you so much for all your support over the
last year.

I just wanted to share a little more about myself and where I'm coming from and why this blog is important to me.

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved to draw and doodle.
I was always excited in elementary school when one of my “masterpieces” ;–) was selected for art object of the week and was hung in the hallway outside of the principal’s office. I continued in my art focus through college and my career as a graphic designer to ultimately owning my own eco-friendly stationery design and manufacturing business, Jilly Jack Designs.

My stationery reflects my sense of color and design aesthetic. I love bright happy, clean colors and simple shapes. I chose to go into the stationery business because of my love for graphic design and paper plus I’ve always loved writing letters and receiving them. You know that feeling you had as a child when you got something in the mail? That is the feeling I want to keep alive for the next generation. My son Jack loves to get mail. He’s always sad when we get cards in the mail and he doesn't.

In this blog I plan to share more about my stationery business and how it is growing and evolving, as well as my creative process, maybe that will spark your creativity as well. I’ll also be showcasing people, places and things that I find inspiring or just really
like or want.

I welcome all of your comments. Please feel free to share what inspires you. I'd love to hear it!

Here’s to 2010, let’s make it a year full of wonderment and creativity!

–Jill

New favorite Online Store

I found this awesome online store and couldn't wait to share it. Three Potato Four is wonderful for the collector in all of us. Especially those of us who are too busy to find these treasures ourselves. I absolutely adore the typewriters and the giant sign letters. This husband and wife team have a great eye for detail, which is no surprise since they both have a background in graphic design. Their is a wide range of products both old and new to please the collector in all of us.

Visit their shop here.

All images are owned by Three Potato Four.

Cap'n my Cap'n

Jonathan Adler's Utopia Cap'n & Stewardess Vases are charming and feel like the 70's to me. I love the captain especially, because I'm married to one. Although I notice the captain has an anchor on his hat, which may make him more suitable for navigating water than flying the friendly skys. Find them here.

I love getting color forecasting. This is Pantone's fashion color forecast for 2010. It's always interesting to see what fashion designers will pick as the new spring palette. Not to mention their lovely sketches. Check it out here and let me know if you agree with their choices.

Image and logos are all owned by Pantone.

Typographic History

I'm putting this book on my list of must haves. If you love typography, you'll want it as well. Nineteenth-Century American Designers and Engravers of Type. by William E. Loy (edited by Alastair M. Johnston and Stephen O. Saxe) is now available for purchase at Oak Knoll Press. The book not only looks at American typefaces during the nineteenth century, but profiles the designers behind them.

Paper Love

DALI DORÉ by Gruppo Cordenons is a felt-marked text and cover with an infused gold shimmer. The shimmer is achieved by millions of natural, tiny mica crystals in the coating. This sheet is acid-free and archival in quality. It has a thin, lined texture that runs parallel with the grain. It comes in 4 colors: Blumarino (dark blue), Rosso (red), Candiddo (cream), and Nero (black). The sparkle is amazing and even more dramatic on the darker colors. Love it and looking for an excuse to use it.

Passion for paper

While exhibiting at the National Stationery Show last year, I picked up some amazing swatch books from GMUND. My particular favorite is Savanna, a collection of paper inspired by Africa. It comes in eight shades, four with wood embossing and the rest are either a matt or structured surface. All are beautiful, however, my pick is Bubinga. I love the dark rich brown and the texture of the wood is fantastic.

Fun font of the day

This font is one that I discovered about 6 months ago. It is fun and friendly, which is pretty much my design aesthetic. Of course you should use it sparingly, it's not the easiest read and you'll have to kern the you-know-what out of it. But it's fun and light-hearted. Find it here.