ask a designer: answers!

maria at port2port spent all weekend answering your thoughtful questions [thank you maria!]. i just went through all her answers and seriously, they're chock-full of great advice. i can't thank her enough for taking time out of her schedule to share her advice with everyone out there. so, enough from me- CLICK HERE to view all of maria's answers to your questions. enjoy!

ask a designer

just a reminder: today is your last day to ask questions for this week's "ask a designer": maria vettese of port2portpress. just leave your questions in the comment section below (or in the previous post). the comment sections for these posts will close at 2pm so maria has a few days to answer them. stay tuned for answers on monday...

ask a designer: port2port press

i'm thrilled to post another installment of "ask a designer". this week our featured designer will be maria of port2port press. i met maria before she started port2port and have been so thrilled and impressed with the way she's built her business and managed the challenges of running a stationery company on your own. she's stayed true to her vision and has managed to create a (very) devoted group of fans that dilligently follow both her blog and card society. maria does practically everything on her own so she's a wonderful resource for those of you looking to do something similar. i'll be taking questions for maria through friday evening and then we'll have her answers on monday. so, if you'd like to ask maria a question please leave them below in the comment section (not via email, please). i'll post reminders through friday as well. [thanks to maria for taking the time to participate] you can find some additional information on maria's background below...

maria vettese launched port2port in portland, maine in january of 2006. after 8 years in design and art direction, she decided to go forward with her sort of accidental dream of being able to produce art and sell it at affordable prices using tools she was truly passionate about; tools with which she could truly get her hands dirty. in college, maria began experimenting with letterpress printing on a large vandercook press producing short-run books, broadsides and prints. She spent her early twenties working in small book publishing and spending hours working on typography. while laying out books, she gained a keen eye for simple structure and form. in her late-twenties maria further honed her eye for all that is artistic while working as an art director and stylist for various small to large-sized companies including chicago’s chocolatier vosges haut-chocolat.

a move across country in 2004 is what gave maria the final bit of momentum to start port2port press. now located on the east coast and only blocks from the ocean, she finds that most days are filled with slow moments- time to notice the beauty in everyday occurrences. she uses her own photography, the newest fashion bits, paper arts and other handmade crafters’ work as inspiration. in march of 2007 port2port press launched the photographs & prints project: 1 idea, 5 photographs, 1 letterpress print. this project includes original photography as well as signed & numbered letterpress prints. slso in 2007, maria plans to continue collaborative work with artists from all over the globe.

ask a designer: judy ross (answers)

so sorry for the delay with this, we had some minor technical difficulties with our text docs but everything is cleared up now. to see the full answers to all of your questions from judy ross just click here. thanks so much to judy for taking the time to answer everyone's questions. i'll be posting our next designer next week so stay tuned...

ask a designer: judy ross

today is the first installment of a new column at d*s: ask a designer. i've invited a slew of talented artists and designers to share their experience and advice with those of us looking to start a design-based business or just find some inspiration for our own work. today we're kicking things off with textile designer judy ross. i've been a fan of judy's for some time now and really admire her commitment to quality and the art of embroidery. judy has been producing her eponymous line of pillows, rugs and drapery since 1995 and has since become a permanent fixture in an industry known for its fleeting interest. whether she's designing a new line of chainstitched pillows or creating custom drapery for homes across the country, judy is constantly adding beautiful and thoughtful pieces to the market. not to mention raising her young son at the same time- which is a feat on its own. so, if you'd like to ask judy a question (work related, please no personal questions) about her process, how she got started, how she garnered press attention or even how she found a space to create her work please leave your comments below (these are merely suggestions, not the only questions you can ask). i'll be collecting comments today and tomorrow and then judy will answer as many as possible by this friday in a special section. so, ask away!

[if you'd like to listen to a podcast with judy ross and see a slideshow of her work just click here]

new column: ask a designer

since i started d*s in august of 2004 i've tested out all sorts of ideas, columns and features. some have tanked (d*s snaps) and some have floated (the d*s guest blog) but i've learned that the deciding element for me is whether or not i feel like the feature is giving something back to the community as a whole. for me, the biz lady events sparked an idea i've been trying to expand on for a few months now- connecting real life "experts" with up-and-coming designers who could benefit from their advice. so i thought, why not make this a (semi) regular column on the site? so, starting next week, d*s will feature one designer for a week each and introduce their work, their success story and then open it up for questions. when their time is up we'll move to the next available designer. i've tried to invite people that i think represent various stages of running a design-based business so you'll see bigger names mixed in with smaller names- i think real designers running real businesses have the most practical advice for our particular audience. so, we'll be launching THIS MONDAY with textile designer JUDY ROSS. in the weeks to come we'll cover stationery, wallpaper, graphic design, jewelry, interior design, book deals for the small designer and any number of topics under the sun. but i wanted to open it up to you guys first:

WHICH DESIGNERS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS?

i'd like to keep this indie for a while so please assume that for now i'm going to stick to people who aren't as big as say, martha stewart. so, leave a note below and i'll be sure to contact your requests and see if they're available to share their expert advice.

[the coral fabric above is hable construction's "bead" in clementine- a gorgeous new colorway]