Carol Fazio Design Professional

October 21, 2011

 I can hear Morrissey wailing in the back of my head, "I am human and I need to be looooveeed, just like everybody else does" and I can agree that that's been on the forefront of my mind lately. I've been in competition mode for the past couple of months on Minted.com, an online upscale stationery house that asks designers from all over the world to create beautiful products to compliemnt their growing brand, and compete to have them sold exclusively on their site. If you win, you are rewarded with a cash prize plus 6% of all sales. The competition has been fierce and the talent pool exceptional!

So I was recently pleasantly surprised to find out that I won an Editor's Pick for the Children's stationery challenge for a submission's called Avary's Wreath. Not a huge win in terms of top billing or cash, but it sure feels grand! Tuck that feather in my cap, please!

I have to admit, I put that and a couple of other designs up there for fun and a chance to be my own client for a change, but after the first couple of challenges, I started to get serious about it, realizing that these women, [and a few men], are hard core and in it to win it. And they are using all kinds of mediums like illustration, paint, embroidery, in conjunction with the computer to make some really wonderful things. It's got me going back to my own fine arts roots and getting out my Rapidographs, pastels and paints and I've even bought a new scanner.

As the challenges progress and I navigate the waters of the Minted brand [think Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Kate Spade], I keep trying to create concepts that will sell while retaining my own sense of style. And with every online submission, I wonder will the community of designers like my designs? Will the public like my designs? Will they want to buy them? Is this a winner? It can be so unnerving when you hit the 'upload' button and they fly off into the web stratosphere to be 'liked' and critiqued. But I think the best part about being part of Minted is being part of Minted. I've already connected with so many people like myself who are often working solo and miss the camaraderie of having the feedback from their peers. Their recommendations and notes of support have really done wonders for my self confidence. I thank each and every one of them!

Currently, the judging for the Head Over Heels Wedding Challenge is in full swing. I have 20 submissions that I put my heart and soul into. There's some choice prizes at stake as well as a collection up for grabs. Wow, that would be so cool! Optimistic that I will be pleasantly surprised again this time. Fingers crossed.

Hi All,

You know how much I love designing invitations and anything that opens and closes, so I'm trying my hand at something new: participating in a design challenge for the website www.minted.com. I designed a modern, multi-photo birth announcement for girls and boys and I'd love it if you'd vote for me.

Please go to: http://www.minted.com/design-rating/31983

Thanks vey much!

July 19, 2010

Fallingwater. That's exactly it. The sound you hear in the quiet of a forest of thousands of natural trees, mostly rhododendrons. You're in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but you and nature and not much else. Only after the sounds, do you see it and are awed by its placement. The word, 'wow' comes out of your mouth and you have to stop yourself in your tracks and just stare. There's a rushing of falls and they come literally from under the house. Recently, I had the opportunity to take some time and see Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural masterpiece for myself. Built in the 1930s [as a summer escape for the Kaufman family], yes, but many ideas so relevant to today... The longing to be away from it all and capture a simpler life in the country. The desire to live simply, without artifice or obstacle marring your view. To blend your life without disturbing nature's landscape. When you see the giant boulder looking like a cross between sculpture and huh? in the living room it seems odd for a minute and then the guide points out the relevance to the deisgn. And then it all makes sense. [Except for the fact that it was the 1930s and so much was done by hand.] I was most taken with the "hatch." Mrs. Kaufman's glass "bread drawer" that was a series of sliding glass panels that allowed her to go from the living room down to the diving deck below. After the hatch was opened, she could trot right down the stairs and fly fish from the platform. That was so cool! I also loved the windows. No screens or bars when opened, just you and your corner office, wide open. What a serene, harmonious place this was. Talk about a room with a view. More aptly, a view with a room! Stunning, breathtaking, awe inspiring.

May 3, 2010

Today's Freelance Switch hits a nerve. Compensation for the scope of your work and billing accordingly. The worse thing you can do is bill for hours alone. Use hours invested and an hourly rate as a guideline, but not a guage. Every assignment is different, just like every client is different. Use previous experiences and build on those, taking in client, usage, market --big, small, national, international -- and assign a dollar amount to what the job is worth in the marketplace. If you're a freelancer just starting out, you can find a wealth of info at FreelanceSwitch.com.

March 26, 2010

I have to admit, in college I didn't really get Picasso. I don't think it had anything to do with being abstract because I was definitely into abstract. I think it had more to do with his color palette. It wasn't until I picked up a coffee-table book at a garage sale called "Picasso and Jaqueline" by American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan that the light bulb went on. That book was a day in the life-type picture album that depicted the very quiet life of a monumental artist. I loved the fact that he took every scrap of the mundane and made it into something else. Fish bones from tonight's dinner become the imprint in a ceramic plate tomorrow. A bit of wrapping paper from a fan's gift becomes the fabric for a dress in a later portrait. Nothing goes to waste. And he never stopped creating till the day he died. Picasso is my kind of artist.

Step into the current exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Picasso and the Avant Garde in Paris and you'll find a world of artists who took what Picasso gave and made it into something of their very own. Not stealing by any means, but gleaning, inspiring. Abstraction, Cubism, Surrealism, these are the movements we associate with Picasso. This is an extraordiary exhibit because you can see first-hand, room after room, how the influences of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque impacted a host of artists in the early 20th century. It's a staggering collection of paintings, collages, drawings, and sculpture [My favorites! Seeing the thumbprints that pushed and formed the clay is so moving]. Big and small, vibrant and quiet - Chagall, Lipchitz, Man Ray, Matisse, Dali and so many others. I was in awe! I plan on seeing it again because there's so much to take in. The show has been extended till May 2. Get there!