Small Business Spotlight: Kristin Wadsworth Designs

 

Heavy Nouveau with Bronze Foiling and Press Embossing

1. How did you decide to study interior design? And how long have you been an interior designer for?
For ten years, I worked in commercial real estate which had a large focus on design.  However, the hours and travel were demanding.  My husband, Mike, is a homebuilder and I had been helping his business with interior and exterior finishes on the side and always enjoyed it.  After our second child arrived in May 2017, I decided to pursue a career that I not only loved, but would offer more flexibility.

2. Can you walk us through the design process?
For ten years, I worked in commercial real estate which had a large focus on design.  However, the hours and travel were demanding.  My husband, Mike, is a homebuilder and I had been helping his business with interior and exterior finishes on the side and always enjoyed it.  After our second child arrived in May 2017, I decided to pursue a career that I not only loved, but would offer more flexibility.

3. What is your favorite type of space to create for?
Hmm, that’s a tough one.  When designing a new construction or remodel, I love having influence over the kitchen and master bath.  I think these are both spaces that are most widely used and want to put careful thought into not only how the room looks, but also how it functions to make it as effective as possible for its homeowner.   Before making a room beautiful, it should be practical.

4. What type of material is your favorite to work with?
I love a good marble mosaic

5. Do you have a design philosophy? If so, what is it?
You shouldn’t buy it if you don’t love it.  People usually like something the most in the beginning, so if you do not love it then, you won’t later.

6. What is the hardest part of being an interior designer?
Understanding what the client wants – many people that use an interior designer know they need help, but their tastes can be all over the board and can waffle back on forth with their goals.

7. Do your clients go shopping with you when looking for materials or furniture?
Yes, sometimes.

8. For those who want to become interior designers, what kind of experience do you think they should be trying to get?
I think first and foremost, you have to have a natural eye and love for it.  If they have that, then working with different builders will help to from a foundation for different materials and styles.

9. Where do you see trends of interior design heading?
I think people are going to see less use of plain whites and grays and more use of color.

10. Many people have a hobby or project that they feel might turn into a good business, but they are uncertain of knowing when it would be a good time to take that big step. How did you decide you were ready to have your own interior design office rather than working for a larger company?
(I sort of answered this in #1).  Stepping out on your own can mean an initial financial set-back.  I think it’s important for that person to feel financially secure with the idea of taking a vast pay cut in order to invest in their business and skillset. For me, I was able to save from my corporate job and have a good “nest egg” to fall back on while I get my business off the ground.

11. What type of advice would you give other designers who are just starting out?
Be patient.  Remember this is a referral-based business – create a customer who will create customers.

12. How long is a typical work day for you?
There really isn’t a typical work day. My schedule revolves around my client’s needs and they vary on a daily basis.  I spend about 50% of my time in the office, and 50% at site visits.

13. How important is social media to your business?
Very important.  Future clients rely on visuals to understand my style and how I can help them – Instagram is a great tool for this.

14. What kinds of questions should homeowners be asking their perspective interior designers?
How much time (i.e. budget) does the designer anticipate for their project?  Does the designer share their trade discounts?

Design of the Month for March is…

He Designs Too

Designer: Jordi Camps

Website: hedesignstoo.com

Order Details: Heavy Noveau

MorningPrint Hint: Rich Black vs K100

MorningPrint’s February 2015 Promo

February is here and it is time to save! Right now all the Pearl Plastic stocks are marked down 20% off at www.themorningprint.com. No coupon code is needed the prices have already been slashed and this offer will be gone at the end of the month. So if you are looking for a truly unique stock that will get you noticed then go for the Pearl!

Don’t forget to check out our sample kits, you can check out the stocks before ordering: Click here for a sample kit.

MorningPrint Hint: Understanding the Margin of Error

Good Monday morning world! Today we wanted to talk about a common issue we hear about from our clients in the offset gang printing industry.

You set up your artwork for print. You use the guideline set up, your text is within the safezone.

you submit your order and when you get it back the text is touching the edge of the document and the whole design looks off-center.

MorningPrint Hint: Embossing

Embossing is a great way to add interest to your business cards. Embossing is a finishing technique where a graphic, text etc. is pressed into the paper using two die. one that is raised and one that is recessed. The dies fit into each other so that when the paper is pressed between them, the raised die forces the stock into the recessed die and creates the embossed impression. A specific level of pressure is applied to the dies in order to squeeze the fibers of the paper, which results in a permanently raised area in the paper (*note the backside of the embossing is indented).

Design of the Month for June is…

Hello! Here at MorningPrint, we receive many amazing designs, and we really enjoy seeing the creative process the designers go through. We enjoy seeing the results received after we send these designs to print. We would like to share some of these creative designs with you to help inspire you as they have inspired us.

Name : Jimmy González & Erick González

Website : www.leuxsolutions.com
E-mail : INFO@LEUX.DO
Order Details :
Black paper Glossy Silver Foil
Nouveau + Raised Ink (single side)

Q : Briefly tell us about yourself, your company, and the services you offer:

A : We offer viable and innovative solutions putting aside conventional methods and providing ideas that will improve our customer proposals. Leux arises from the mixture of two minds and our task is to create, experiment and have fun every day.

The services we provide are: Motions Graphics, Video Production, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Project Startup, Branding, Webdesign. In short, everything you need for your company to stay in the mind of all its customers in a special way.

Q : After placing your order receiving the cards was not the end for you. You got creative after receiving the cards, made some cuts and had some assembly required. The end result was something truly unique. How did you come up with this idea to create a card with moving parts?

A: We must admit it was not an easy task, we needed something that awed people the moment they had it in their hands. After our “Creative Storm” and taking as inspiration the concept of interactivity, we tested, assembled and repeated over and over to reach this result.

Q : How did you select the stocks and options you chose?

A: Luckily we found a special place where we had a wide range of options to choose and our advantage was the samples that MorningPrint sent us. We did some tests with those samples until we finally decided on the Nouveau for the Rise ink and black paper for the foil, that gave this combination an awesome result.

Q : How did you make the cuts after receiving your card?

A: We had to make some cuts to the purple card, then with a “Circular Shaper 3/4” drilled the black card. The biggest challenge was merging both cards, for this we used eyelets and carefully we merged both getting the result you are seeing. Everything was done manually (Art & Craft).

Q : When working with your clients, how do you get to the bottom of the style / design / products you will offer them?

A: Our # 1 rule is to provide experiences with high attention to detail. We do our “Shoot ‘Em Up” session, in which we take the idea and analyze it from different points of view, thereby obtaining the sketch. After this, we do the proposals, obtaining stunning results.

Q : Any tips for our clients to consider when they are creating their business cards?

A:Think different, make mistakes because they help you to learn new things. Evolve your creativity, play with your idea and never forget to add the secret ingredient: To love everything you do.

Q :Any ideas for your next card? Different stock / options?

A: Rest assured that we will come up with something new, taking advantage of the products that MorningPrint offers. We’re thinking on a concept that plays with the perception of the viewer.

Q : How was your experience with MorningPrint? Did you experience any difficulties when using MorningPrint, or find anything to be inconvenient or inefficient?

A: Our experience was fantastic! We received a quick reply to all emails, all the answers were very clear. The delivery time exceeded the one shown in the website and the product we received was beyond our expectations. The best part was the love MorningPrint greeted us with, which is why our card has that special seal. We do not have a single complaint.

Special Offer from LUXE SOLUTIONS :We are offering 30% off for branding & design, 25% off for social media and 20% off for motion graphics & advertising. To take advantage of this special offer just mention MorningPrint.

Introducing: Die-cut

MorningPrint has added 16 new die-cut shapes, just in time to celebrate with the world!

Design of the Month for May is…

Hello! Here at MorningPrint, we receive many amazing designs, and we really enjoy seeing the creative process the designers go through. We enjoy seeing the results received after we send these designs to print. We would like to share some of these creative designs with you to help inspire you as they have inspired us.

Designer : Jeremy Fuller
Website : www.wolf-studios.com,www.jeremyfuller.net
E-mail : jfuller@wolf-studios.com
Order Details : Clear Plastic + White ink (PET 0.22mm) 

Interview:

Q : Briefly tell our readers about you and your company:

A : Wolf Studios is an independent development company focusing on games and apps. It’s just my wife and I. She handles the business side and networking with others, and I do the designing and development. I’ve been doing graphic design, programming, music composition, and writing since a very young age. Most recently, I released a series of word games on iOS called War of Words. I never sit still-right now I’m designing a table-top game and writing a novel.

Q : Looks like this is your first order with MorningPrint. How did you find out about us and did you shop other printers?

A: I found MorningPrint through a Google search, and I did check out a few other printers. I was specifically looking for clear or translucent plastic cards. They varied quite a bit, from very thick and expensive credit-card-style cards to the very thin cards MorningPrint offered. I decided I preferred the thinner stock. MorningPrint was also far more affordable than the alternatives, and that certainly helped!

Q : You selected our clear plastic + white ink. Why did you select this stock? Had you printed on PET plastic before?

A: I wanted to do a card that was very unique. To achieve that, I wanted to play with transparency and plastic. This was my first attempt at any sort of plastic business card. I have experience designing screen printed textiles, so I knew a white plate would be very helpful in this case. I tried designs for the gold and silver plastic cards first, but wasn’t happy with the results in Photoshop, so I decided to go with clear plastic.

Q : What was your design process like for creating your card?

A: Initially, I struggled with it a lot. I tried several radically different approaches. It’s very hard to simulate transparency in Photoshop in a way that the eye can visualize without seeing the finished product. My favorite color is green, and in the end I thought simple was better. I didn’t want to see a lot of obvious rasterization artifacts, so I went with solid colors and a dramatic full-bleed design. The 4.5 degree rotation on the logo was an inspired final touch that really pushed the design to the next level. The white plate helped not only pop the color more (green is hard to achieve using CMYK), but it also added an extra dimension to the transparency effect.

Q : Your design is simple yet effective and draws a lot of interest by playing off the transparency of the card, how did you come up with this?

A: Designing for transparency is a very different approach from traditional designing. I had looked at using translucent plastic, but thought dramatic full transparency combined with a white plate would be a better choice. I wanted people to really notice the transparency, but also be able to easily read the card, so I opted for a large and bold logotype. I’m very picky about wolf illustrations, and I love how this one really owns the side of the card in a dramatic fashion. (I guess drama was my main goal!) If the whole card had been transparent, it wouldn’t have been as noticeable. That’s why I did 30% white along the bottom half of the card-not only does it emphasize the transparency by providing some contrast for the world behind the card, but it also aids in reading the smaller type at the bottom. After struggling so much, the final design ended up happening very quickly. Sometimes inspiration strikes!

Q : For future cards will you stick with the clear plastic or explore any other stocks and options?

A: I’ve had incredible reactions to this card so far, so I might continue with this design for a bit. But I’m always looking for change, so the odds are good that I’ll do a new design soon, and that probably means a different stock. I’d like to play with nonstandard sizes and die cuts, as well as metal. I hate boring, and business cards can be the epitome of boring.

Q :Any tips for our clients to consider when they are creating their business cards?

A: Simple is better. Make sure you use a professional designer who understands the nature of offset printing, including bleeds and the cutting process. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Q : Did you experience any difficulties when using MorningPrint?

A: Nope! The cards arrived exactly as I designed them. I was very happy with the price, speed, and quality of the product.

MorningPrint April Promotion

Looking for something extremely unique & eye catching? Our transparent PET plasticbusiness cards are light weight, flexible & ultra thin (0.22mm / 6-7mil).

Clear Plastic (No white ink) PET 0.22mm example:

Clear Plastic (Plus white ink) PET 0.22mm example:

Opaque White Plastic PET 0.22mm example: