Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• I’ve always been attracted to organic lines. I spent a lot of time in nature growing up (my father is a professional chainsaw artist), and I was always surrounded by untamed plant life, animals and birds (wild, tame, and sometimes a mixture of both), and I guess that rubbed off on me more than I realized. I’m also inspired by the simplicity of childhood. My imagination was my entire life when I was small, and I was always trying to make the fantastical reality. If I had had my own bedroom growing up, and an unlimited budget, my room would have been every little girl’s dream world. However that wasn’t possible, and instead I spent all my time daydreaming and writing and drawing what I could only wish was my reality.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• I would say that my style is a mixture of fantastical, whimsical femininity with a wild side. Sometimes it comes off as sleek and stylish, but at the same time, it’s completely wild and really pretty out there. It’s a little unpredictable, but under control at the same time.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• I spent literally my entire life playing with different media and styles, trying to figure out what really clicked with me. As a teen, I was drawn to dark, macabre things, because that was where my head was at the time. But after I got married at 19, my life was full of new adventures, and I didn’t have anything to brood about. It kind of confused me, creatively. When we had our son at 21, I started painting again. But what surprised me was the fact that I seemed physically incapable of invoking the gothic style I always loved. What came out of my brush was pure light and happiness, and I ran with it and never looked back. We had our second child, and I wanted to try something new again. I tried this exercise where you draw lines on paper, then build an entire picture around the scribbles. These vines started popping out of absolutely nowhere, and there was this magic moment where I realized that this is what my style is. This is where I am, now. Everything flows on its own and I’m just helping things along. My life is unpredictable, but never entirely out of my control. I have the basic idea in mind of where I want things to go, but fate has a way of guiding us that is undeniable to me. Everything always ends up the way it was supposed to be, whether it was what I expected or not.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• I’m always looking into new venues to gain exposure, and I’m always up for a new adventure. I had never really thought about getting into invitation and card design, but pingg seemed like a lot of fun. There are a ton of choices, and because I draw all of my designs by hand, there is an endless line of possibilities to explore, creatively.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• I think my favorite design is Lilac Whimsical Vines. It would be really cute as a birth announcement, and it reminds me of something you might see in a fairytale kingdom with unicorns and trees made entirely of cotton candy. All the stuff I would daydream about as a little girl!

Lilac Whimsical Vines designed by Nicole Dobbins

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• The Internet has been fantastic for me, creatively. There are so many possibilities out there, I’ll never get bored. I’ve done everything from selling art prints on Etsy, to designing webpages, to 3-D product texturing, and now invitation/card design for pingg. The Internet is basically the entire basis of my clientele. I rarely do any work locally, because it’s too limiting. Working on the Internet opens my audience up so I can work globally. I started freelancing this year, and I’ve worked with people in England, Germany, the Philippines, and Australia, as well as various states across the US. I also recently landed a part time design job in marketing, where I can telecommute and occasionally travel for presentations. Basically, if it weren’t for the Internet, I’d be stuck trying to sell paintings on the street to a very narrow audience. It didn’t work for Van Gogh, and I’m so not down with the whole posthumous recognition thing.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• My largest influence was my mother who was also an artist and had a very clean, elegant style which I always admired. My background as an interior designer and fine artist is also a huge influence on how I create. Because of this, I have a broad interest in many different styles and mediums. Everything around me is an inspiration….texture, color, design, pattern, nature, architecture, music, food, fashion, interiors, furniture, cultures, even people themselves. I am sometimes overwhelmed by how much inspires me.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• Elegant and understated, yet with a bold touch of either color or design.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• I’ve gone through major changes – both in mediums and styles. For many years it was abstract painting, then I experimented in abstract photography and for a short time still life oil painting. I was always interested in graphic design and knew it would be a huge transition from being an abstract painter. It was a slow start, but it really drew me in. I loved it. After completing college classes in Photoshop and Illustrator I was much more confident in my abilities as a graphic designer and began designing full time. Recently I took a typography class at the Parsons School of Design and plan on taking another one next year. It’s difficult to say what my art will be like in the future.  I only know it will be better.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• I absolutely love graphic design and working as an affiliate designer. It gives me the artistic freedom that I crave and pingg is a wonderful outlet for this. I am honored to be among some very talented artists and being a part of this level of expertise means a great deal to me. pingg is always coming up with new ways to help us gain more exposure on the internet and is continuously supportive in recognizing our efforts and talent. It’s like having your own personal (virtual) art rep.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• It’s very difficult to choose a favorite because I have so many different styles and subjects. This whole process is a journey of evolving our creativity and whatever I’m working on at the moment, I hope to be my favorite.

I Heart You designed by Maura Reed

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• It’s really up to us to use the vastness of the Internet to our advantage when it comes to exposure of our work, and pingg has been a wonderful catalyst and an encouraging partner in doing so. pingg makes great use of the Internet as well – on Twitter, Facebook and other major platforms to help get us artists exposed. These days, evites and ecards are becoming more and more popular because of our current economy and the importance of reducing environmental pollution. And where else is there to come to find and use evites and cards? The Internet.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• When I’m not working 9 to 5 in the land of corporate design or hiding out in some corner of my home armed with a glue gun and glitter to prettify something, my graphic design passion in the stationery world is done with many tools, from a sketchbook and pencil in hand to umpteen design programs opened on the computer with a Wacom tablet attached. What inspires me? Many things do, people, places, things… But the biggest to stand out would simply be “bold colors”. Georgia O’Keeffe and her many boldly colored flower paintings have been a long time inspiration to me.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• Universal. Whether it’s a holiday party or baby announcement, many of my designs here can be used multiple times for various event types.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• I think my work has grown over time and with age. I believe as you mature “like a fine wine” you broaden your horizontal and see the many possibilities in the smallest of things.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• After searching for “digital” complementary solutions (e.g. party reminders and thank yous to name a couple) to my existing printed stationery line, I came across pingg.com as a new and fresh site that fit my and my standing clientele’s needs.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• The last one I just did always seems to become my new favorite with my printed line of cards, but speaking in terms of my pingg collection I would have to say Rainbow Circus. I think that one holds a special place in my heart since it was a staff pick as well : )

Rainbow Circus designed by Kellie Medivitz

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• Exposure, networking with like minded individuals and inspiration for more creative projects to come.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• I am a big fan of less is more. Hopefully, that shows through in my work. I find inspiration in so many things, nature, home décor, fashion, and children’s books… pretty much anything and everything.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• I would say most of my work is very simple and clean. I tend to have more of a structured layout to my designs; I think that has to do with my architectural background. I’ve tried experimenting with fluid and organic shapes, they never look quite right to me, but I am still trying!

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• Over the years, I feel that I have simplified my work, trying to find the perfect balance between the design and the type. As for the future, I plan to stay true to my simple style.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• I joined pingg.com to open up another avenue of design for me. I generally work with paper and thought it would be fun to see what unique challenges the world of e-vites has to offer.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• I would have to say that Celebration Confetti is one of my favorites! It’s very versatile for the users and at the same time just so simple and chic!

Celebration Confetti designed by Simple te Design

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• The Internet is full of inspiration and has also helped me learn to be a better designer. Reading other designers’ blogs, and being able to learn from them has been great for me. I am not trying to mimic other designers, but more trying to study how they structure their designs, which helps me sharpen my design skills.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• I’m inspired by fashion and nature and am addicted to design! I turn a sketch into just about anything from fashion illustrations to company labels to wedding invites. I pay attention to every leaf and petal that I come across and spend a good amount of time reading fashion magazines and attending fashion events as sources of inspiration.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• I specialize in feminine illustrations and designs, so most of my illustrations consist of women or flowers, or a combination of the two. I like to experiment a lot when it comes to illustrations so you’ll notice that some of my illustrations are very clean and simple while others tend to be more artsy.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• Over the years I’ve refined my style and learned to focus on what I enjoy most, creating feminine illustrations. As far as the future is concerned, I think I will continue on the same path but I’m looking for new ways to use my designs. Stay tuned, I have some exciting projects in the works!

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• I’ve always try to stay away from sites who try to take advantage of artists by selling their art at next to nothing. pingg has a different model and seems to care about its artists.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• My favorite invite is the Chic Mama Baby Shower invite. I love it because I created 4 versions of it so that it’s suitable to most. Furthermore, I love the fact that a pregnant woman can look this fun and effortless!

Chic Mama Baby Shower - Girl designed by Chic Pear Designs

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• I love the ability to present my work instantaneously, that’s one of the benefits that the Internet offers for artists. Furthermore, social media is huge in the industry, so connecting with other artists and clients through social media is key to continuous growth.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• PiPo Press started as a paper company…birth announcements, personal stationery, invitations, holiday cards and stickers. We were two stay-at-home moms with babies and toddlers and thought there was a need for modern and bright colored stationery for the teeny tiny set.  Everything out there at that time was pastels and very traditional. Our first collection of birth announcements was inspired by our love for color, culture and religious backgrounds. They still continue to influence us, almost a decade later. More and more, we find ourselves being drawn to colors and patterns in textiles, texture and elements in nature. However, since day one, our children continue to be the reason we create.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• PiPo Press’ style is modern, fun, and colorful. We invade white space! We want our graphics and overall design to make people smile and just feel good.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• Our children are a major influence, so PiPo Press has grown with them. We started with baby stationery needs and have now evolved to tween milestones and celebrations. And because of that, we no longer only sell our designs on paper. Almost all tweens (and adults) send electronic greetings and invitations at some point. We now have our graphics in many different multimedia formats. It is truly amazing how much the industry has changed in the past ten years. We are tech-nerds, so we fully embrace it and think the sky’s the limit!

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• When we first discovered pingg.com, we were drawn to the easy consumer interface and really loved the designer gallery. At that time, most of the other electronic invite companies did not feature different designers and their product variety showed this. It also made sense a few years ago to incorporate multimedia/electonic formats to our product mix from both an environmental (less paper) standpoint and ease of use (how great is pingg’s pie chart in your event report?!). Having pingg.com organize practically everything for your party makes everyone’s life easier.

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• Splash! It is a perfect example of PiPo Press’ style. It is modern, fun and colorful. It is so versatile and has been used from everything from a pool party to a painting party. It is one of our most popular designs.

Splash! by PiPo Press

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• The Internet is so awesome and enormous, but at the same time, can be very targeted and efficient! Anything you want is usually only a couple of clicks away. And the reach is so powerful. If you have something worth sharing, someone will find you. Our designs have been delivered electronically to close to a million people through our online partners in just a year!

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• Fenderskirts Vintage offers a stationery line inspired from vintage imagery from our clip art collection of over 4,000 images. The fonts we select, the color schemes we use all are inspired from vintage textiles, vintage packaging, vintage advertising and vintage gift wrapping.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• The style of our designs consists of authentic imagery from the 1940s-1950s era.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• Being that our artwork is from a specific era, we don’t see the style changing too much. However, layout and composition can always be improved upon and we feel that our designs have become more refined over the years.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• It was one of our customers that suggested pingg.com. We were apprehensive at first because of past experiences with other e-vite sites. However, we were pleasantly surprised with pingg’s design and user friendliness. It was also apparent how much pingg supports their designers. We couldn’t pass up the chance to work with such a great company!

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• It would have to be one of our newest ones: Vintage New Years Bubbly Pin Up

Vintage New Years Bubbly Pinup by Fenderskirts Vintage

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• The benefits are endless! One of the most important benefits is the ability to appeal to a global marketplace. Secondly, we can create as many designs as we want without worrying about shelf space. Our website only ships printed invites. For our customers who can’t wait and need the invites ASAP, pingg is really convenient.

Could you tell us about your work? What inspires you?

• Other than design, one of my greatest passions is traveling. I love discovering new places and experiencing unique cultures around the world. I always try to collect something interesting from the places I’ve been to inspire my design work. Whether it’s a unique business card, a handmade brochure, or even a piece of art, I love seeing how other cultures express themselves through design.

How would you describe the style of most of your designs?

• Most recently, my work has started to take on a vintage and slight retro feel. I love the muted colors and mix of typography that goes into this type of style.

How has your art changed over the years? Do you have any predictions of what it will be like in the future?

• This will probably age me a bit, but when I got into the design business, it was called “desktop publishing” and/or “commercial art”. I’d like to think my style has matured since then. I began my career as a comic book colorist which led into toy packaging design. After starting my own business “Smudge Design Co” (named after my pug ‘Smudge’), I discovered a new path as a branding and stationery designer. Creating original and unique designs that others enjoy and want to share is the hugest compliment I can receive.

What made you decide to work with pingg.com?

• I had been doing some work for an online stationery company that apparently peaked the interest of your co-founder, Lorien Gabel. He asked if I would be interested in designing a collection for pingg. I started in April of 2011 and have been uploading new submissions ever since!

If you had to choose a favorite invite you have made, what would it be?

• I would probably have to say “Chalkboard Birthday Party“. I enjoy the youthful and fresh feel of this design. Growing up in an era where the ‘instant’ Polaroid camera was a staple at every birthday party, I wanted to create something that had a nostalgic feel but with a modern twist.

Chalkboard Birthday Party Designed by Renee Pulve

What benefits have you found the Internet has for your work?

• The Internet has provided so much exposure for me that it’s opened doors I would have never dreamed possible. I also enjoy reading the critiques and comments that allow me to grow more as an artist.