It seems that the whole world is in love with everything "vintage" these days. This is a term we use when something is not quite an antique,(100 years or older) but it is still cool and old, or retro-looking. The term Vintage is sometimes used in conjunction with a year when pertaining to wines or cars...but I am talking about our fascination with objects and art that meets Dictionary.com's definition, "representing the high quality of a past time, of lasting interest and importance, venerable classic."
| In my world, vintage maps make my heart go pitter-patter! I have recently begun to scan and "restore" vintage maps for use in art. I love the fact that as the world changes, maps must get updated. Each one represents a snapshot of the world a that particular moment. This must be frustrating for cartographers. My maps can be found in my Zazzle shop "Mapology" and in my Society6 shop. Click the picture to open that site.
|  Oh Canada |
 On Zazzle |  Finding Paris Together |
Personally, I am enjoying the latest trend of Vintage-look photography. I purchased a calendar for 2013 (one of the best ways to obtain a collection of works from an artist or photographer) from Rachel Burbee AKA Vintage Skies. I love the current trend of mixing inspirational quotes with vintage-look photography. The result is beautiful and serene. I also admire Rachel's photography of vintage items such as, "Retro Love."
 Autumn Circles |  Retro Love |
Another photographer/designer who I adore is Katy McDonald. Her collection on Society6, "Art by CMcdonald," is totally young and fashion forward, yet gives a nod to the past in a most incredible way. Her Vintage Vinyl collection is truly inspired. I also adore her "Seneca Uno" shot of a vintage camera.
 Vintage Vinyl |  Seneca Uno |
| Ann B. Fine Art Photography also has some wonderful images with a vintage feel. Her images of Paris are absolutely fantastic. They really bring you to Paris with all its magic and romance!
|  I Left My Heart in Paris |
Vintage Paris
I hope you have enjoyed this little tour down Vintage lane...here are some links to the artist's shops....or you can just click the pictures to go directly to their sites....
http://www.zazzle.com/idaloves
http://www.zazzle.com/vintageskies
http://www.zazzle.com/bellejournee
http://www.zazzle.com/mapology
http://www.zazzle.com/aftermyart
http://www.zazzle.com/artbycmcdonald
http://www.redbubble.com/people/anniephoto
Also good for those who need help understanding why they are not getting the promotions or sales they are looking for…
New to Society6? Do not despair! We have all been new once. Society6.com is an amazing website for artists who are serious about selling their work. For the purposes of this post, I use the term artist to mean everyone who posts visual arts online. Photographers, illustrators, and all you visual artists may benefit from reading this post. Check out my earlier blog if you need help with basic sizing and such.
Let’s talk about design!
Please remember that your audience on Society6 is composed mainly of artists. It is in their best interest to promote good quality work from a variety of sources. This will bring the most purchasing power to our site. People come back to Society6 time after time because they know they will find great work there. So I am saying….double check your work. Make sure it is a “clean” version. Make sure it will be good for all the sizes you present. Use a good photoshop program to crop your pictures. Make sure you do not “squish” for the iphone or laptop presentation, but crop appropriately and downsize to scale. For the iphone presentation, remember that the greeting cards use the same view. Therefore, double-check that your design faces the right direction (bottom to the right) so that the greeting card is not upside down.
I am a little squished...
T-Shirts
We have all done it…that square design. It does not look good and it won’t sell. T-shirts do not sell that often anyway, so if you only have a square design, leave the shirt out. OK, there are some exceptions to this rule, but for the most part (my designs in particular) square is not cool. Wayne Bryan is the exception to the square thing! Please do not search through my inventory, because it took me a while to figure this out and there may still be a few squares in my shop. Be creative! Isolate a portion of the design, use word silhouettes like Ben Geiger does! The great thing is that shirts are available in the dark colors now! Be careful to get all the unwanted white out of your image when you create the PNG file. Double check so you look professional. One last word about T’s; pay attention to the size and placement of the design. Nobody wants a “tummy circle” unless they want to look preggers!
Iphone Cases
Don’t forget to leave room for the little hole for the camera! Also, take a look at the finished design to make sure that you did not lose too much of it down the sides of the case. Sometimes I have to re-crop a few times to get the illustration where I want it.
Laptop Cases
Thank you Bianca Greene for this little tidbit of knowledge…check your laptop skins to make sure they also look good on the ipad skin. Sometimes you need to fiddle with them a little to get them right. It is worth the trouble if you want folks to take you seriously.
Take a moment to look at the shops of the folks who have been around a while. Check out Terry Fan, Dale Keys and Janet Antepara as well as those previously named. Jacqueline Maldonado does a fantastic job. Robin Dickinson has a good style for photographers to take notice of and I think Illustrators could benefit from looking at Carina Povarchik and Sharon Turner. Thank you so much for reading this post and feel free to share it if you find it helpful. I have learned so much from each of these artists. I love Society6 and the community that is there. I sure hope you enjoy your time on Society6. Please look me up while you are there!
Cathy Holcombe
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