Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » weekly wrap up + beauty everyday + biz ladies

orangeskillet
i wanted to end this week with a beautiful photograph from rinne allen, rebecca wood, and kristen bach’s new site, beauty everyday. after only a few posts, i’m madly in love with their collaborative website, dedicated to sharing the “rustic and arresting beauty of the south”. being a southern girl myself, i’m loving the way southern artists and designers are starting to pop up online more often and i’m excited to announce that i’ll be curating a show of southern artists at artstream later this summer!

beauty everyday showcases gorgeous southern homes, florals and food, and i was instantly smitten with this recipe for kumquat upside down cake. not only do i love kumquats, but that picture reminds me of one of my dream-home projects- to have a huge grey and cream-colored kitchen with one large wall dedicated to showcasing a large collection of aged cast-iron skillets. i love the patina of the aged pieces and think they have such character- and they have the added bonus of reminding me of corn bread.

also, i wanted to add a few biz ladies notes- next week we’ll be talking about PR, tech tools for your business and blogging (i’m going to write a d*s guide to blogging and will be sharing another guide from the boss ladies on blogging for designers/shop owners shortly after). but i wanted to put a call out for questions on an upcoming topic. the queen of pattern/illustration licensing, lilla rogers, will be answering your questions about licensing in the coming weeks, but she needs questions to answer first so…

please leave your questions for lilla on licensing in the comment section below! she will answer them in post-form in the coming weeks as part of the weekly biz ladies column.

ok, i’m off to work on wedding crafts, so i’ll see you all on monday with some gorgeous new sneak peeks and a fun interview with one of the designers behind my favorite stylish canadian airline. below is a summary of this week’s highlights…

must-read posts of the week: sara jensen’s intl design posts, david stark for west elm, britt’s anthropologie inspired diy tables, under $100: pet design
biz ladies 2009: (whole) saling through tough times
new sneak peeks: the mountain label, pam zsori of ink and peat, tess darrow of egg press, katrina markoff of vosges, alissia and jan, mikus’ greenpoint nursery
new diy projects: britt’s anthropologie inspired tables, drawer divider, linocut stamped stones
new before & afters: mod green pod sofa, 5 furniture makeovers from sticks & bricks, chairloom chair (in roberta roller fabric), bedrooms and guest rooms
weeder’s digest: daffodils
misc.: jen11 art show, new hable construction fabrics, gorgeous metallic journals from kim robertson, beautifully packaged soaps from lucia (must-see), ritva puotila ruffled hanging textile, sanna annukka prints, peter waltz house light, thomas forsyth spinning pen top, catherine gontier wire sculptures
new recipe: in the kitchen with teri lyn fisher’s heavenly potatoes
budget-friendly design: under $100 pet design

weekly wrap up

So great that you are providing these resources for the community. Thank you! Question for Lilla: If my merchandise is textile based, bibs, aprons, cosmetic pouches, etc. Which fabrics/prints are ok to use in terms of textile designer copyright and what are the guidelines for use?

question for lilla:
i am currently in the process of redoing my website and apart from posting products i want to add a section which features prints. – how can i prevent people from simply printing them out and making them their own? is there a way to protect original artwork shown on the internet? i want people to be able to see the things i make, but i don´t want them to steal my designs…

I am also interested in trade mark, watercolor , copyright questions. Hate to watermark my work, but want to protect it also.
Thank you for the tremendous support and network of really wonderful women. It’s such an inspiration to read everything, and every article! never dull..
Penney
Just Penneys

Hi, I’m starting out as an illustrator (1 year left of college) and my question is really quite basic! – how do you go about getting your illustrations onto products/ textiles? Do you need to work through an agency or can you contact companies (such as urban outfitters etc) directly? Thanks. Emma

question for Lilla:
I currently license my designs to several manufacturers of paper goods (cards, invitations, announcements, napkins, party favors, etc) but am interested in making the jump to other products. I’d love to design dishes, tabletop items, tea cups!, place mats, sheets, wall art, etc etc.

Do I really need an agent? If yes, where do I look for one; and what type of questions should I be asking an agent; what should I be looking for in an agent? Oh, and the all important question: how much should I expect to pay an agent?

We exhibit at National Stationery Show, so it’s quite impossible for us to ALSO have a booth at Surtex (since the shows are concurrent). Are there other shows you’d recommend?

I’m really looking forward to your column, Lilla. Thanks, Grace, for this biz ladies series.

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