One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "How can I get on the Cosmo Cricket design team." Well, if you have asked, or wondered, this is your day! But, before I get into all that I want to thank last years design team..... they were absolutely amazing!
Do you remember this project by Danielle? This project had more hits, when we posted it to the blog, than any other! Apparently you all loved it as much as I did. We will miss Danielle and her classic, simple, editorial style.
Then there was Leah. Leah somehow managed super-creative, beautifully designed projects throughout last year all with a family move, husband away overseas, and the birth of a new baby. And I thought my life was crazy!! This particular project was #1 over at twopeas the week she posted it. Maren had more projects published than any other design team member. We will sure miss her , but I know we won't be seeing the end of her!
When you have the opportunity to work with someone like Debbie Olson, you jump on it..... and you don't let her get away....... ever. We welcome Debbie back for a second year on the team.
Natasja and Yukari are our two foreign team members. It took us a bit to figure out how to ship and pay these two so that it wasn't costing either of us a fortune! Also, due to the team's first CHA deadline schedule, they didn't get to participate in that show. So, we're excited that Natasja and Yukari will be back for this year too. You'll get more of Natasja's videos and tutorials. She is currently working on one for this fabulous project.
And from Yukari, we expect more great design!
OK, so now for the call. Let's start with what we're looking for in our design team members.
1. People who love Cosmo Cricket products and feel inspired by them.
2. People who have a great sense of design.
3. People who are creative.
4. People who maintain an active blog and are connected to online communities.
5. People who are not afraid to submit for publication.
6. People who are low maintenance, dedicated, easy to get along with, generally happy and fun to be around. (It's going to be hard to beat last year's team on this one!)
We are looking for 3-5 new members, with possibly (meaning I reserve the right to change my mind) one spot for a cardmaker, one spot for an altered project artist and 3 spots for layout lovers. You don't have to be great at all three of these things, but you need to be really great at the one you feel is your best (it won't hurt you if you're great at all three, it's just not necessary).
What to do if you'd like to try out: post your best projects, preferably ones with Cosmo Cricket products, to your blog. Then, before July first, email your blog link to submissions@cosmocricket.com and don't forget to put Design Team in the title of your email. We will sort through each and ever entry and begin narrowing things down quickly.
Things to keep in mind: There will be many, many designers try out. There will only be a handful that are picked. This is always a hard thing! But, I think the experience was positive for most, hopefully all, the applicants last year. When we narrow things down, we will post the top contenders with links to their blogs, why we picked them and one of their projects. This will drive a lot of traffic to your sites and give you some great publicity for publications, other design teams, etc. We will then narrow further untill we have the final picks.
I had one applicant last year that made it to the top 12, but not the final team. She was upset that we had posted her in the top 12, feeling that we had shown her to be good, but not good enough. I hadn't stopped to consider that one might feel that way until she told me. In my mind, all the top designers (and possibly even more than that) were good enough, it just comes down to not enough spaces. However, if you might feel as she did, you can let us know in your submission email not to show your name unless you make it into the final draft (doing so won't hurt your chances). We really want this to be a fun and happy experience whether one makes the team or not!
One last thing: We have five Cogsmo Fat Quarter Winners! Congratulations Tiffany Moy, Robin Redd, Lee Cockrum, Gro aka emrille and Lisa Truesdell. Send your info to kristen@cosmocricket.com and she'll get you your prize!
