Demdaco Appreciation Week continues (hope you guys are finding this fun and interesting) today with another giveaway (see below!) and a conversation with Anne, a product developer who I work super closely with at Demdaco.
There have been some good questions coming my way about all of this that I think are important to address. In the absolute celebration of being honest, here are my answers + thoughts!
Q: It seems like you and Demdaco are still in the honeymoon phase. Who came up with the idea for Demdaco Appreciation Week?
A: I came up with this idea, asked them if they would agree and they graciously said yes. I sometimes wish we were still in the honeymoon phase (working together three years) but we are not. Just like ANY relationship (friendship, marriage, business collaboration, etc), I believe that working relationships require nurturing and open, honest communication. My relationship with Demdaco is no different. We’ve had our ups and downs and misunderstandings and miscommunication which is inevitable when working so closely on something meaningful/important to both parties. So yes, we have our hurdles but we work through them while remaining committed to the same thing: doing the right thing while celebrating our partnership while negotiating tricky pieces while being firm while remaining open while staying honest while respecting the other while problem solving while moving forward.
Q: Are you not concerned about offending other companies + artists?
A: I am not concerned about offending the other companies that I work with – many of whom are brand new partnerships off to exciting starts that have also been highlighted here on the blog (Calpyso Cards for cards! Creative Co-op for home decor!). This week is about celebrating the licensing partner that started it all for me, the one that I’ve had the longest relationship with, the one who has paved the way for me to continue to grow both personally and professionally. I’m confident the other companies I partner with are celebrating right along with me because what is successful for one partnership is successful for all.
As for other artists, I hope in sharing a bit about Demdaco and how they work with their artists, I’m encouraging my fellow artist friends to find their right partners, to celebrate those partnerships, to dream big inside the licensing world (if that’s what they want), and to gain some inspiration from the videos and photos. The videos are really for the creative souls of the world, a peek into how it all works and direct access and information from people inside the industry. This is information/inspiration that quite frankly I find super valuable and rare – you just don’t see it very often – conversations between artist + manufacturer – and I am so grateful to Demdaco for doing it. When it comes to other Demdaco artists, you’ll hear how I feel about them (nothing but love!) in the video today – they are an amazing group and I’m in very, very good company. I operate from the place that there is plenty of room for all of us and that we’re all supporting and encouraging one another. My success is theirs, and vice versa.
Okay, back to it…..there are people who come into our lives and change everything. Anne has been one of those people for me ever since asking me to license my work with Demdaco. We started working together in 2008 and met one another in 2009 shortly after the KRR Collection entered the retail market. Above is a photo of the two of us meeting one another for the first time.
Since then, we’ve worked closely together, working on the KRR products. I generally make the art and Anne (and her amazing team) do all of the hard stuff when it comes to all the technical and intricate pieces of product development. But together, Anne and I brainstorm ideas, we choose which art goes on which format, we see each other once or twice a year, we skype, we email, we text, we talk, constantly going back and forth about whatever products the team is currently working on sourcing, developing, sampling, and more.
(at the national sales meeting, 2009)
You know how when you talk to people and it’s clearly evident how much they love their job? That’s Anne. She loves her job and it shows with her knowledge of the industry, her design talent, and her creative enthusiasm. Once, Dave K (co-owner of Demdaco) told me he always knows when Anne’s product samples have arrived because he can hear her joyful screams all the way down the office hallway. And that’s so true. She has a way of getting super excited and LOUD when she’s happy and/or inspired and it’s quite contagious to the lucky people around her.
During this interview with Anne, you’ll hear how the KRR line came to be (and what a risk it was for both of us), how Demdaco finds their artists (you’ll be surprised), how they try and honor the indie/handmade movement, how they’ve come to embrace the mixed media art community (with successful partnerships with many mixed media artists), how the product development process works, what she thinks is the key to creating successful products, and so much more, including a surprise guest!
Also, if you’ve ever wondered why my paintings always have figures with tilted heads, the answer is in this video! One more thing….what is hilarious to me about this video is that we’re on our best behavior…usually we’re a bit more giggly and silly and ALL OVER THE PLACE with our chatter and ideas, but after a disastrous first attempt at our video (due to all the above), we decided to try again with a more grown-up/reserved approach 🙂
I just rewatched this video and really love our conversation…enjoy! The sneak peek of the summer product that I mentioned in the video will happen later this week!
Important: For those of you who might be interested in licensing your work in the gift industry, I, along with Ingrid Liss (Demdaco’s creative director that Anne mentioned a couple of times in the video) and a few other super talented peeps in the gift industry will be participating in The Creative Connection’s pitch slams – a chance for you to pitch your ideas, meet key players, and get valuable advice. We’d love to see you! More info here!
Big thanks to Jonathan Jones at Demdaco for editing our skype conversation!
We’re giving away a little something special everyday this week in honor of Demdaco Appreciation Week here on the blog. Feel free to enter ALL of the giveaways! We’ll be picking winners next week, including the winner to the all expense paid trip with me (see Monday’s post to enter that giveaway)!
For today’s giveaway:
*We’re giving one lucky commenter $100 to spend on whatever they wish in the online shop.
*I’m giving another lucky commenter an original painting by me!
*TWO WINNERS!!!
Giveaway rules:
* To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this post! Tell us something funny, tell us a meaningful story, tell us what you’re celebrating, WHO you’re celebrating today….anything goes!
* Just one comment per person, please. International commenters welcome!
* I’ll announce the winner soon.
* Go!
PS: If you haven’t already, be sure to enter all the giveaways this week. We’re offering a giveaway every day, including an original painting every single day!
Giveaway #1: original painting + all expense paid trip!
Giveaway #2: original painting + $75 to spend on products
I'm celebrating my new home with my lovely little critter.
I'm celebrating the unconditional love & acceptance of family.
I'm celebrating leaving for Kentucky in the morning – going to initiate my babe in the waters of the lovely lake where I grew up spending my summers. And I celebrate my 83 year old grandfather (Papa) who's taken up banjo lessons this year and will serenade us when we're there.
I am celebrating that my Aunty, who spent some time in intensive care (in hospital), is now on a regular ward. Although she will spend a long time in hospital I am so grateful that we didn't loose her.
Thanks Kelly for another great, informative and inspirational post.
Kyles =D
Life has taught me that we must try to celebrate life each and every day. I know that it isn't always easy. All of us have low times, sad times, challenging times, yet if one chooses one can always find beauty in this world and things for which one can be grateful.
Today I was grateful for many things ~ hugging my daughters in the morning, a reliable car to drive to work, some quiet time to think, water aerobics after work, watching my daughters have fun in their swimming lessons (which is a big deal for little girls who haven't wanted to put their faces in the water), and watching some old Glee shows with my hubby at the end of the day.
I am also grateful for all the artists and creators who are brave and courageous enough to share their work with the rest of the world. You ROCK!
In my house .. today we are celebrating a front tooth that came out! Woohoo ! I'm celebrating small milestones in my kids lives.. grateful for every moment I can spend with them.
I am celebrating a treadmill desk! I made my desk 20 inches taller and put a treaddesk under it – now I can walk while I work. So excited that I did it all myself and that I can work on slimming my butt instead of sitting on it all day.
I'm celebrating finally getting a full-time daycare space for my daughter. It means I'll get a little more time in the week to spend on me and my dreams.
I am celebrating friendship today and all of this week. I was fortunate to be able to go to a movie with 3 friends from work today (I am off through the summer so I don't get to see them daily as usual). I also got to spend Monday and Tuesday with my best friend creating art both days and will get to have dinner with 3 other friends tomorrow night. It's a friendship feast!!!
Today is my sister's birthday. She would have been 60. Last fall she passed away from a very rare cancer. She was my sister, my best friend, my business partner and my biggest supporter. For years we enjoyed attending craft shows, learning new artsy things and making items to sell at boutiques. She founded our Weeping Willow Boutique (a home-based show) and, this year, our family will come together to sell our creations at the 6th annual Weeping Willow Boutique. Before she passed away I began licensing my creations. I would always run designs by her for her thoughts. These last several months I've tried to keep busy painting- – to celebrate her and to heal.
I'm celebrating new beginnings today! My family has had a tough year and a half, facing uncertainty with unemployment. God has been so faithful to provide and we've learned so much about life, ourselves, our family, our path and the individual purposes God has created us for. I feel like we've come full circle and I love the new beginnings that are on the horizon!
This was a wonderful post! Man this week is FULL of great information. I truly LOVED how you shared the product process in your last post- it was wonderful.
Today I am celebrating a new creative discovery.. I am so very happy!
Thanks so much for the chance to win something wonderful yet again!
I am celebrating those who inspire and encourage me. If it wasn't for those people, I might lose sight of the possibilities or have a harder time maintaining focus on my dreams. So grateful for those who encourage and support!
Today I am celebrating my ability to know how to nurture myself…thanks Kelly Rae!
Today I am celebrating friendship – friends make the journey a joy.
I am celebrating the beauty around me while I inhale the ocean air and hear gulls cry and waves crashing into rocks.
I am appreciative of this day and of life. Your art got me through an amazingly transformational period in my life. I felt inspired by your art and took your inspirational sayings to heart. My dad is not well and is going through a similar transformation of his own. I wake up every morning and go to bed each evening reading the quotes on your art I have around my house. They are helping get me through this tough time. I appreciate and celebrate you!
My 2.5 year old has an irrational fear of feathers and she just woke up crying with her first nightmare: a feather in her crib.
Today I am celebrating the twists and turns that bring amazing people in to my life. I am celebrating hopes and dreams and finding someone to share those parts of my soul with.
today, along with most days, I celebrate being a creative soul by filling my head with things that inspire me. my creativity brings with it a joy about life which spreads to those around me. today, I took my two girls to the zoo and we got to see a jaguar up close (I took pictures of his beautiful patterned fur for inspiration). yay!
I am celebrating you! Your blog gets better and better everyday! I'm starting to lose sleep because of all the excitement! You are helping me realize my creative dreams again! Thank you!
Kelly, I am enjoying your blog so much! I am celebrating the second week of summer break with my daughter…we share the good things of each day!! I shared your blog with her yesterday and showed her the pictures…she thought the girlie figurines were made of chocolate. 🙂
Well today I am celebrating friendships. We hosted some good friends today for a bit before they were off for a vacation. The visit, though somewhat chaotic, was very nice and much needed.
Melissa
Oh, this is so much fun! I look forward to seeing what you're up to every day this week Kelly! I'm celebrating my Birthday tomorrow – 44! I love birthdays, I think they are so special – or maybe it's just that I love cake! Thanks again for such a fun week – it has been so interesting learning how your line of art is developed and comes into being.
I'm celebrating the joy of helping another person, whether it's listening with my heart, encouraging someone to find their creativity, or holding a door open for a tired mom with a double stroller. The smile that come across their faces makes my day!
Today, I am celebrating the chance my husband and I took by taking the day to travel to see my parents in Michigan. We haven't seen them much this year, all of us being super busy, but we dropped everything and went. What a nice time we had and they were so glad to see us. Feeling real good about it right now.
Thanks for more sharing on your journey with Demdaco. I am finding it very interesting. Not sure I am in a place to do anything like you are right now, but it is good stuff to know and keep in the back of my mind.
Thanks again for sharing with us today. Right now our family is celebrating our oldest son's graduation from high school. It seems like it was just yesterday that he walked into kindergarten. In celebrating it's been so fun to look back through the years of photos and relive all the memories. It's times like this that we see how blessed we are.
Thanks again!! This is so much fun!! 🙂 Today I'm celebrating "me" and finally following my dream of creating things I love that inspire others. Two years ago my husband decided he wanted to start a family with someone else. So, my kids and I have been through alot of emotional things over these past two years. After alot of healing, and soul searching for me. All I knew was being a mom, and wife. As my mom job stayed in tack.. 🙂 I started to really figure out what I wanted in my life. I have always wanted to create things, but never pushed because I thought no one would like it, or it's not good enough.. But, at the beginning of this year, my job I had for 11 yrs was coming to an end, I was to move out of my beautiful home into a small place that I could afford.. my grandma passed away.. She was the only one out of everyone who believed in me, and now I want it more than ever.. to honor her. So, today I celebrate growing, healing and finding strength in hard times.. I hope one day I will be able to share the creativity I have in my heart with people everywhere with the gifts I create. Kelly, you are such an inspiration to me. I thank you for all you do!! And the Demdaco friends, they are simply amazing too!! Blessed to be able to be a part of this.. 🙂 <3 Melanie Dodson "Daisy Girl"
Today I am celebrating the creativity of my 11 year-old son. He made this artsy video (today, June 22, 2011) of a trip we took to NYC in April. He has 11 views and counting =). http://bit.ly/samsvo1
This is such a great week!! I am loving these videos and backstory!!! Thank you and thanks Demdaco!!! I hope to have a story with them someday, too!! 🙂 I'm celebrating finishing two new paintings. So many are in my head and my sketch books and I LOVE when they come to life in paint! WooHoo!!!
Today I am fully celebrating Summer! Hugh billowing clouds, watermelon, strawberries, the chickens taking a dust bath in the sun and a quick blowing rain storm. There are a least 8 different blooming flower types in my yard. The hydrangeas are turning to a deep blue and a from is chirping on the porch. In Summer, my pal Mr Blu (a stunning peacock) hangs out at my house all day. Just to watch his colors is a reason to celebrate.
I'm celebrating stolen moments. Beautiful encounters I'm not guaranteed but happen anyway.
What a great post you had today, as always, I'm learning so much from you, Thank You 😀
What a fabulous way to bring in some positive Mojo – to have all your peeps talk about Celebrations. I love it!
I am Celebrating my studio. It has gone through a huge transformation in the last month, which started by first removing a very dark yucky carpet & replaced by beautiful light cream tile. Its funny how when you change one thing then you must change another & another & so on. Does that ever happen to you? Well, by lightening the floor space I decided that a fresh bright white flat paint would make the studio smell & feel new, plus all my pet portrait paintings have a high gloss finish on them so it would really make them pop with the contrast of flat vs. shinny (& it does, yay!). Then I thought I should paint the old black filing cabinets too, because they just weigh down this bright room. So I did, I painted them white & they look bran new. Every time I brought some of the old stuff in I felt it also needed to be rejuvenated, so every piece of furniture that came in got a face lift. Then, I rethought the room and rearranged how I work by creating 4 working stations, for the different things I do. It is remarkable how changing the floor changed everything! The room looks light and airy because of all the white, but its so happy cause of all my colorful painting & yes Kelly Rae, one of your pieces is in here too, & I love it!
When I started bringing all my "stuff" back in my studio, & trust me it was jammed packed, I decided to lighten the load. I tried to remove anything that I did not use, or any projects that I kept lingering around because "one day" I might get to it, & I let it all go & that was the most freeing part for me. Its funny how much we hold onto, thinking that we need it, or have to have it, or have to do it, its nice finally saying, "No I don't & I'm letting it go" with a smile on my face & donate it to someone who will enjoy it more.
My studio is about this moment in time, & looking forward, not looking behind of what I could or should do. Its all about what I can do!
So, I'm celebrating my light-airy-inspiring-uplifting-OMG I can't believe this is my space-Studio. & Yes I am over the moon about it 😀
I've been taking pictures of the process but I just need to hang a few more things & tweak it a little bit more, you know how that is. Its just too much fun. I'll make sure to let you know when I'm done & share the pics.
See you all tomorrow, this is very fun!
Hugs, Maggie
Celebrations. I am celebrating the most beautiful pieces of art I have ever created. My 6-month old twin girls. How is it that when I look at them, I am filled with emotion, much like a painting? My heart feels them, love, laughter, and sadness at the same time. They make me slow down and enjoy the minutes of life, not the accomplishments of those minutes. How can two beings have such a power? Through them, I am truly inspired!
Today I am celebrating the human body! I am studying biology in preparation for my time in Naturopathic Medical School and the human body is capable of SO many things, it really is just the most fascinating set of systems I've ever witnessed. We are amazing!
Today I am celebrating my last day of school! I have just completed my first year of teaching special education and I LOVED every second of it! I have amazing, beautiful, eager, fabulous, students and I am truly amazed by all they have accomplished. I learned and grew so much through this first year and owe so much of it to my students. I may have been the teacher, but I truly believe I learned more from them! I can't wait to see them all again in September…I'm also pretty excited about this summer off to enjoy my beautiful family!
I am celebrating that I saw a rainbow for the first time this year, after a crazy storm! 🙂
I'm celebrating doing a little bit (or a lot) of art each day before or after work. Helps keep things in proper balance!
I am celebrating today what I celebrate everyday, and that is the health and happiness of my two sons.
I celebrate my family and friends, those who are still present, and those who have left way too soon.
I celebrate the joy that our dog and cats give us everyday.
I celebrate being born with a need to express myself through my art, and that everyday I get to wake up and create something with my heart, my brain, and my two hands.
I am celebrating in my designing for the web class right now…break time. I read some of your pdf…not all and decided to take some classes to design my web.
I am celebrating my sister speaking to me again after 2 1/2 years….Her ex-husband said that I said some terrible things, that I didn't say–and instead of asking me about it she wouldn't speak to me–Family is so important to me–and I am happy that she and her kids will be in my life again…hopefully I will be inspired to start creating again! Love. love. love your art!
I am celebrating the fact that I did something to nurture myself today. I attended a workshop. One of the things I took away from today was doing a gratitude journal and this is something I am going to start tomorrow. Hey, I think I'll do it as a sketchbook type of journal! I would love to try that so that I can look back at what I did on the pages and draw some inspiration from earlier days. Thank you so much for being so inspirational to all of us creative artists who appreciate someone who is able to make a living from being a full-time artist, something I aspire to do!! I would be thrilled to win something. I love it when seeds are planted and there were definitely some seeds of inspiration planted within me today.
We work in a negative environment and found your artwork pleasing and found "zen" in your statements. We buy each other your art work for our offices so when we are having a rough time, we can look up and breathe, and remember our friendship.
Today my girls and I celebrated summer. I made the decision to consciously play every day this season. Today the girls and I each took our cameras and had a contest. We had to take one picture representing every letter of the alphabet. The first one done won. We plan on making "ABC" books with our photos. Happy Wednesday!
Well, there is NO way that I will win so I am here to share my appreciation!
Thanks again for the opportunity to win! Today, I'm celebrating connections – connecting with the people in my life that *matter*. The ones that help me shape my life, and connecting with them on a real, heartfelt, down-to-the-core level. Thank the heavens for them.
I'm celebrating all week long because No. 1, I'm teaching a kids art workshop every day this week and they are having a blast. I love seeing kids create, and No. 2, Cars 2 the movie comes out Friday, and my daughter and probably all the kids in my art class are going after the friday class. What a FUN week! thanks for spreading the love, Kelly!
Celebrating life, and looking forward to all the universe has in store for me…
Kelly,
Today ~~ I celebrate my daughter for the constant light and JOY she brings into my live. I am so blessed to have her in my life. I am so very proud of her.
I quit my full time job in February to pursue my dreams and to be healthy – my very good day job was killing me! I'm working harder then ever but I get a lot more my time now with my 8&10 year old and my fur babies!! Blogs like yours really gave me the courage to risk vulnerability and face my fears, dream big and fly!! Your digital book really helped! xoxo