We're so thrilled and thankful to have our Merry Christmas Rainbow Dots card featured in Discover Paper's amazing 2012 Holiday Guide (check us out on page 45!). Donaville Herrick, the curator behind the popular paper blog, and her contributors have put together a fabulous digital guide full of holiday cards, DIY paper projects, gift ideas, and more. I am particularly fond of the entire section devoted to different types of calendars - I'm having a hard time choosing which one I want for my office!
Carve out some time to swoon over paper goods and check out the guide here!
Our custom personalized cards have really taken off since they were first launched this summer. I've been spending a lot of time brainstorming and drawing new designs and am excited to share two new flat note cards!
First up, a flat card with small hand-drawn zoo animals - an elephant, a lion, a giraffe, and a zebra - lining the bottom. This is my new personal favorite!
Next up, another flat card featuring tiny little ducks. The "Welcome Little One" baby card with ducklings and their mother is our most popular baby card, so I decided to feature a similar design as a personalized option. The background is a pale yellow.
Both cards would be perfect for a new baby or child's gift and work for either a boy or a girl! You can see more custom designs in our online portfolio here. Get in touch if you'd like to learn more about our options for personalized stationery.
When I launched Happy Cactus Designs, I quickly learned that having high quality product photos is essential. To sell my paper goods online, I need clear and bright photographs of my cards and other products so people can see the details of the design, the colors, and the quality. Photos are also used in my catalog to entice retailers. I'm also frequently submitting photos to press outlets and bloggers. In my opinion, the better the photo, the more likely an editor or blogger is to feature it.
Product photography is not something that can be easily executed. I wish I had a budget for a professional photographer and stylist, but for right now, I'm the jack-of-all-trades and wear the photographer hat from time to time. I have received many compliments about the photographs featured on this site and in the catalog and have been asked by other designers how I do it. Here's some tips and tricks I've learned along the way:
- Invest in a high quality digital camera. I am fortunate to have a fancy Nikon digital SLR camera and a few different lenses. I took a handful of photography classes in college so I have an idea of how to use the settings and take advantage of the camera's features. Some of the more inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras these days can take very high quality photos as well.
- Get a tripod. Trying to shoot a product from different angles can be tricky. I rely on my tripod to keep things steady no matter the angle.
- Do some research! I love perusing catalogs, shopping sites, blogs, etc. to get ideas for styling products and how to shoot my products. Notice what you like and don't like about the product photos you look at. How were the products styled? What are the backdrops? How is the lighting?
- Use natural light. I never use a flash when taking product photos. I usually try to take them outside where the light is best or near a window. It is the most flattering for your photos.
- Creating backdrops doesn't need to be a pricey endeavor. I look for interesting surfaces around my house to photograph my products against. I also frequently use white or colored poster board and rolls of wrapping paper to use as backdrops. I've also had luck with different placemats with interesting textures. I try to steer towards backdrops that are solid or mildly textured so I don't detract from the product. I find accessories around my studio to accompany products and try not to over-do it with the styling.
- Photograph products as the customer or retailer would receive them. You don't want to mislead a customer or editor by photographing a product differently from how it is being sold. For example, all of my products come with white envelopes. While it may look more striking to photograph a card with a colored envelope, I don't want the customer to think that is the option they are purchasing.
- Experiment with a lighting kit. I purchased a kit last year similar to this one that came with light boxes in two different sizes, different backdrops, and two lamps. I don't use it as much as I thought I would, but it's good for getting evenly lit photos.
- Edit. Edit. Edit. I use Photoshop to edit all of my photos. This is almost as time consuming as taking the photos themselves! If you don't know the basics about editing in a program like Photoshop or are looking to improve your skills, search on YouTube or check out the tutorials on Lynda.
This week's doodle - an exercise in hand-lettering - was inspired by a quote from Tina Seelig, who serves as Executive Director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. I just finished Seelig's book, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World and boy, was it chock full of amazing insight and advice about tackling creative challenges, achieving success, and coping with failure. This particular quote resonated well with me as there is so much uncertainty when you start your own venture and you have a choice to embrace the uncertainty and see it as an opportunity or to run from it. I can't wait to start her latest book, inGenius.
This week's card of the week is Thanks Vines, featuring hand-drawn vines. The card comes in two different colorways - a grass green and a medium blue.
One of my favorite things about designing cards is when I'm able to weave the illustration into the lettering so it's almost seamless. Here's a few shots when I first drew the design.
The drawing was done at a much larger scale (about 8" x 12") than the actual card itself (4.25" x 5.5"). Thanks Vines is available as a single card or as a boxed set of 10 cards. You can pick it up in the shop here!
Halloween is two short weeks away and I've got the holiday on my mind. I've been seeing different types of pumpkins, gourds, and squash everywhere. I love seeing all of the different textures, shapes, and colors they all come in...so many options beyond the generic orange pumpkin!
I recently blogged about how any pattern on the site can be used to create personalized stationery. Since that post, I've created more designs and wanted to share the finalized products with you!
First up, a fun folded card featuring hand drawn flower doodles in rainbow hues. This design can be customized with different colors. Want the doodles in shades of pink? Totally doable!
I'm really excited about this next card. It's a flat card with the name on the front and then hand drawn dots in shades of pink filling the back. Again, it's possible to do the dots in any color you desire!
The popular Magenta Spin flower pattern was used for the back of this next card.
Personalized stationery makes a perfect birthday, baby, or holiday gift. Check out more of the designs in our custom portfolio. Contact us at hello{at}happycactusdesigns.com about how we can help to create beautiful stationery for you!
This week's card of the week is one of the cards from our very first collection - Happy Birthday Blue Blooms.
This birthday card features a hand drawn floral motif in a repeat pattern. The original motif drawing is below:
I chose various shades of blue for the flowers and a playful font perfect for sending birthday wishes. You can pick it up in the shop here.
When I tell people about my paper goods business, one of the first questions I'm always asked is how I came up with the name Happy Cactus Designs for the company (that's the Happy Cactus on the right). Here's the back story from my About page:
So just where did the name for the design studio originate? While living in New York City, Brannon bought a tiny one-inch tall cactus to remind her of her Texas roots. With loving attention (and a lot of sunlight), the little cactus grew into a thriving plant…a very happy cactus indeed! Now in Texas, the happy cactus is enjoying the warm Texas sun. Just like the plant, Brannon’s goal for the studio is to take her tiny seed of an idea for a paper goods company and grow it into a line of products that bring color and happiness to everyone.
Truth be told, it took a while to come up with a company name that I liked and felt was a good fit for what I was doing. My qualifications for the name were that it: a) was not just my name (My name, Brannon Cullum, is tricky enough to remember as is), b) was memorable and stood out, c) was not limited to just paper products as I hope to eventually branch out with other non-paper products, d) was easy to spell and pronounce, and e) had an interesting and compelling story behind it.
There were a handful of other worthy names in the running, but in the end Happy Cactus Designs just felt right and it met all of these qualifications. I like that the name evokes a sense of playfulness and fun. It's an easy name for people to recall and I am asked frequently about the origin of the name - a story I love telling.
Before you set your heart on a particular name, do your research and make sure that no one else is using it for your particular area of business. The last thing you want is to decide on a name, start building your business, and then realize you need to change the name. Google the name and check with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office. You can search here: http://patft.uspto.gov/. It's also a good idea to see if the domain name is available and to purchase it before anyone else does!
How did you name your business?
I was going through archives of scanned drawings and came across these different flower drawings that I did many months ago. I never ended up doing anything with them! So this week I took these drawings and used them to play around with different color combos. I'm always searching for unique combinations, some more out of the ordinary than others. I keep a Pinterest board of different color combos that I can refer to in times like these.
Turquoisey Blue and Chartreuse
Deep Turquoise and Shades of Red
Pastel Pink and Indigo
Shades of Green
Do you have your hands on a new iPhone 5? I'm crossing my fingers mine arrives soon...my poor iPhone 3 is on its last legs, but keeps on trucking. Earlier this year, I shared that an iPhone case I designed was available for sale. I'm happy to share that the same company is now offering the Happy Cactus designed case for an iPhone 5!
It comes in many different color combos and you can choose everything about the personalization - from font and orientation to background colors and flower colors. Shop it here!
