Smith Designs was recently featured on FANCY DESIGNS. You can read the full interview below!
Make sure you check out FANCY DESIGNS: Zazzle shop and website at FANCY-DESIGNS.NET
click on the photo gallery to see products by Fancy Designs available on Zazzle
Q&A
1. Where would you say you draw the majority of your inspiration?
Everywhere and everything. Literally. I’m a HUGE fan of typography. From the magazines I read the TV shows and commercials I watch to the product labels on the massive amounts of bottled water and food I consume daily, there is endless inspiration! Every time i leave the house I find myself looking at every street sign, business logo, marketing advertisement, you name it my eye is on it. It’s a bit of an obsession, an “inspiration stalker” if you will.
2. Have you always been interested in art and design or did you just one day stumble into it?
Yes, to both. I’d say I stumbled upon it unknowingly from the day I figured out what a pencil was, how to hold it and what it could do. I was probably about 2. It started off with some horrendous childhood stick figures of my family and I, then it gradually made its way to the crayon world and finger painting explosions. By the time I was old enough to attend elementary school and have official art classes offered I knew I had found my calling ( even though I had no idea what a “calling” even meant at that age ) throughout my middle school and high school years I was always taking more art classes as electives then any other courses. I loved to draw. ( i say “loved” because drawing has been a thing of the past, I’m too attached to the digital world now that I have no more time for drawing) I would draw things that people would never expect to come from me. Their reactions were priceless and that’s why I love being creative, it can be so unexpected but always accepted.
3. What programs do you use and which would you say is your favorite?
Well for years I was using Corel paint shop pro x2 on my little dell laptop. Then it was time to grow up. Unfortunately, there was only so much I could do and I came to a point where my creativity was limited and at a standstill. So I invested in a Mac ( “once you go mac you never go back” is completely true by the way ) I use Photoshop and Illustrator now a days and I love it. I will never use anything else again. Mark my words.
4. What one piece of advice would you give to someone about running their own business?
Be Original. Sounds easy enough, but easier said then done. This world is filled with art and design that its hard to think that your idea hasn’t already been thought of and created. This takes some serious “stepping out of the box” skills. If you create something that’s very similar to what everyone else is selling then how will your design stand out to the customer and make them want to buy it? You need to have an eye catching product that says BUY ME without actually saying “buy me”.
5. (and for fun) If you could abandon your shops for an entire year and have them maintain themselves, where would you go and what would you do?
if this proposition also comes with an endless supply of Benjamin Franklin’s then I would have to say I would run away somewhere warm and tropical ( of course more warm and tropical then where I am now in Florida that is ) It will include an array of cheeses and bucket loads of guacamole flown in from mexico. But wherever my destination will be there MUST and I repeat MUST be a working internet connection involved. Without it I would be lost, but then one thing would lead to another and I would be sneaking onto my shops to see how they are doing and before you know it I would be zazzling, and that just ruins Question #5 for everyone. Art is a hell of a drug
