1) Do our Featured Designer Spend $10 freebies influence your decision to shoppe each week? Why or why not?
Hello Robin and the Sweetest Shoppe in town! I LOVE the Featured Designer kits. Several years ago, before I was a regular here, I would pop in to see what the Free kit was. If I liked the kit, I loaded up my cart with other goodies. This is how I got to know the designers at SSD. So, the easy answer is "YES!." The Featured Designer Freebie influences my shopping. Even though I consider myself a regular now, I still love the Featured Designer...and from time to time I find myself shopping just to get the kit (and yes I know it will be for sale afterwards...but there is something about the word "free.")
2) Ongoing Theme or Stand-Alone products? Do you like collecting all of the pieces to an overarching theme or would you prefer kits that stand alone?
I enjoyed the Alphabet theme and found myself wanting all the letters. I enjoy "months" and find myself wanting all the months. However, overall, I prefer loosely themed kits. The reveals were fun this year! I truly enjoyed seeing what song the designer chose and learning about how and why the song influenced the kits design. For me, it helps the Shoppe feel more like a community. We get to know a bit about the designers.
3) Do you have a suggestion for an ongoing theme for next year's (or future) Featured Designer Freebies? Feel free to share more than one idea if you have them!
My first idea is: "A Day..." For example, A Day to Remember. A Rainy Day. A Day to Celebrate. A Day at the Park. A Day at the Zoo. A Snow Day. A Day in the Life. A Summer Day. A Winter Day. A Crazy Day. In a Day. A Cozy Day. A Day to Sleep In. Etc.
My second idea is: Wacky Holidays. There are many websites that list them. Here is an example of one:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/ For the respective month, the designer can choose from the list of wack holidays. October for example is: Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Cookie Month, National Pizza Month, National Popcorn Poppin' Month, Seafood Month....the list goes on.
4) What would you like to ask our designers in next year's Featured Designer interviews? Share a question or two!
I don't have a question...more of an idea. The designers are incredibly talented and skilled in both their designs and in scrapbooking. Perhaps they could share a tip or two in scrapbooking artistry...how to get great shadows, how to make a cohesive layout, the rule of thirds, color matching etc. I am sure there is no time for in depth tutorials, so I am think more along the lines of quick tips and tools of the trade, including photography.
5) Solos or Collabs? We've done both in our Featured Designer series over the years. Do you have a preference?
My preference is solos. Solos give me an opportunity to get know a designer I might not shop from much. And, I do like how the Featured Designer is tied to the Passport Challenges.
I would not be disappointed with collabs, however. It is also fantastic to see how different designers mesh together; and SSD has fantastic Two Scoops and Triple Dips (some of my favorite kits are in these categories).