ladywreckers-online’s Neighborhood

Freelance life can be tough. Long gaps between commissions. Accounts departments who just can't seem to find your invoice. Not to mention the ever-present need to get your work seen by the people who count.

Jonny Wan, a freelance illustrator from Sheffield, knows all about that. A graduate of the Manchester School of Art, he's constantly striving to ensure his unique illustrative style (think abstracted facial expressions, patterns, symmetry and hand-drawn lettering) snags the attention of creative directors everywhere – and he does so via Business Cards and Postcards from MOO.

MOO first caught his eye at his university degree show, where he noticed that all the students' cutest promo materials were produced by the same company – MOO! Then we tempted him with a free Business Card sample, giving him a chance to try our ordering software ("simple, logical and gives the user complete control") and evaluate our print quality and finishing ("very pleasing"). Duly hooked, Jonny ordered a set of Postcards and some Business Cards featuring a range of his work, and is preparing to send them off to art directors as we speak.

As an illustrator, working in a visual medium, presentation is very important to Jonny. "I like to make little promotional packs of my postcards and business cards", he says. "I send them out packaged in self-seal clear bags. It's good to put real thought into how the art director receives your promo materials – it's boring to just whack some cards in an envelope."

Like many creative types, Jonny's happiest when he's working, even between commissions. An example of this is his self-initiated "Can't Afford It" project. Whenever he wants an item of clothing he can't afford, he draws it instead! Eventually to be self-published as a book, working like this helps him improve his work rate, hone his Photoshop and Illustrator skills, and keep his unique style fresh and ever-evolving.

No matter how his style develops, MOO's short print runs means that his promotional materials are always in step with his latest work. "As an illustrator, your style is always changing and improving. The last thing you want is to end up with a thousand cards of the same design. You need to keep existing and future clients up to date with your freshest, latest work, because essentially they will hire you based on what they see on your promo material. It's no good for an art director to commission you only to find that your illustrative style has changed or moved on." He laughs. "After all, you wouldn't be happy buying a Jay-Z CD to find a Metallica disc inside, right?"

When designing his cards, Jonny also took advantage of a new feature that allows users to upload images for both the front and the back of the Business Cards. "Anything that gives you more options allows room for creative control – and it's that kind of flexibility that keeps me coming back to MOO. The ability to upload images for both sides of the Business Cards enables you to make the cards completely unique."

"A business card is usually the first point of contact between a new client and an illustrator, so it's important your card jumps out at people while being straight and upfront with your contact details. The fact that the cards can be individual rather than generic also gives a sense of professionalism – people can be impressed that you've put the effort into designing your own cards. A little effort can go a long way."

Jonny's constantly thinking of new ways to promote his work using MOO products. "I love the Stickers – I can see them being a very unique selling point. They're a little different and unexpected, which is beneficial in an industry where everyone strives to promote themselves in a unique way."  

MiniCards appeal to him for the same reason. "MiniCards are great because they get straight to the point and don't take up a lot of space. Art directors get bombarded with samples every morning. They open their mail and have to make snap decisions about what to keep and what to chuck."

"They're more likely to pin a MiniCard onto their noticeboard than, say, a leaflet, because they know it won't take up a lot of space. And if your work's on their noticeboard, they're more likely to bear you in mind when it comes to commissioning. And that's what it's all about!"

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Thanks for talking to us Jonny! We look forward to seeing more of your work soon.

Like Jonny's work? He's available for commissions so get in touch, and say hello from us too.

Magic Johnson says he and Isiah Thomas,"haven't talked. If that day comes, then we'll sit down and talk. But if that day doesn't come, then it doesn't come. We've both got a lot to do. I got a lot to do with my business and he has a lot to do to get his college coaching career off the ground. I wish him well. It's too bad that it has to come to this, but sometimes that's what happens in life."

A lot of Blythe people are doing their dolls' favorite fifteen items on Flickr. I decided to do a photo for Plum! She has so many favorite things... It was difficult to fit even just fifteen of them into one shot. o_O

And actually, all the items in this photo are Plum's favorite clothes and accessories, not just the fifteen that are tagged on my Flickr. I cheated a little! But I only tagged fifteen of the items, haha. ^__^

I can't wait to take more photos of Plum in the outfit she's wearing right now. She's totally dressed for autumn and winter. I dressed her and Jinkies the other day and they look so cute next to each other. It's been super cloudy and rainy every day this week so there haven't really been any opportunities for me to go outside and get good lighting for photos. I was lucky I got a chance to jump outside for this quick photo today. In fact, I almost didn't get any shots in because the tiny dresses started getting blown away. x_____x Shawn stood outside with me and made sure it all stayed in order, tee hee.

After giving you the story behind Perch's MiniCards, we thought we should catch up with photographer, Simon Warren. Also featured on our MiniCards page, he's been taking advantage of the latest features and comparing them with the larger Business Cards he's been using (and loving) for a while. Here's what he had to say:

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Simon Warren is one of the UK's top location photographers. He's been using MOO's Business Cards to showcase his outstanding graphic images: bold exteriors, sleek interiors, arresting construction shots and more.

Though happy with the size and scope of the Business Cards, he's recently been experimenting with MiniCards, with positive results.



A hardcore Business Card fan, Simon was initially worried by the slimmed-down dimensions of the MiniCards (about half the size of a full-size business card.)

"At first, I was concerned that the cards would be simply too small to showcase my photos effectively", he explains. "But actually, this can work very well. The cards show snippets of images – almost abstract – giving a hint of information, but (quite literally) not the full picture."

Rather than being a hindrance, this fits well with other design aspects of his brand. "My website works in exactly the same way – visitors are shown an interesting or intriguing section of an image, which they click to see in full. It’s a simple but effective way to get people involved and interacting with my work." 



He also likes the impact the MiniCards can have when shown together. "Once you have a whole bunch of cards spread out on the table, the viewer is able to get a better impression of your work than a single image can provide, so that's how I like to show them. Then I let the viewer choose whichever one they want. The fact that they've been involved in the choice often helps them remember your work better than if you simply thrust a card into their hand.

"I often refer to my MOO Business Cards as my ‘mini-portfolio’. My MiniCards are now my mini-mini portfolio!" he laughs. "Sometimes when you're carrying a full set of business cards around in a holder, it can be a little clunky. At a very basic level, they're physically easier to carry around with you. As a photographer, you carry so much equipment with you - that's a big plus."



Simon's also pleased with his MiniCard holder. "It swings open sideways and then you push the cards out with your thumb. It's unusual and I think people like that.

"At networking events so many people are handing out conventional business cards in conventional holders. Sometimes that's what you want, but other times it's good to stand out a little. MiniCards can help you do just that."

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Thanks for chatting with us Simon!
Find out more about Simon's work, or check out his portfolio.

As you are probably aware, Royal Mail have scheduled further strikes this week. Please note this only affects "Standard" delivery to UK addresses, not Express.

Local delivery services and the sorting office at Royal Mail HQ will be closed this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We want to make sure that your order doesn't get caught in the backlog and we have some alternatives for you to think about when placing your order.

Express
At checkout, you can choose our Express service. This is a guaranteed, signed for service, which is totally unaffected by the strikes. UK Express starts at £10 and is definitely value for money. You will be able to track the delivery online and the service is 1-3 days guaranteed (once shipped).

Collection
During the strike action, we are offering a special collection service. If you are based locally to our Clerkenwell warehouse in London, please send us your order number via the contact form, quoting COLLECTION in the subject line. We'll then flag your order for collection and give you instructions on how/where to collect your order. This is for a limited time only, so be sure to get your order in ASAP!

In the meantime, fingers crossed for a speedy resolution to these disputes.

As you know, we've updated the features on MiniCards. You can upload an image for the front and the back - and there are some other neat features too. On the MiniCards page, you'll find some images of real cards. Ones our customers have made - like these, from Perch:

We contacted Perch after seeing their cards at dConstruct, a conference in Brighton. We liked them so much, we wondered what they'd do with the new features we had planned for MiniCards. The cards above are the ones they made, and this is the story behind them.

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Perch is a "really little" content management system. (Their words, not ours!) It's designed to be simple, straightforward, and easy to get running, so that even internet novices can edit content on a small website with no muss and no fuss. The really little CMS also has a really neat little price and, confesses Drew McLellan, Director and Senior Developer at edgeofmyseat, the company behind Perch, a slimmed-down marketing budget to match.  

Despite this, Perch have been using their MiniCards to do mighty things. Things that might have carried a hefty price tag with another printer. Prior to launch, Perch produced a batch of MOO MiniCards with a special 20% discount code on the back – a time-tested, traditional way to promote a product, which gave people a reason to hold onto the card until the company went live.  

After launch, they began to look at new ways to market themselves, by sponsoring conferences, and speaking about Perch at events. In order to test the effectiveness of such activities, they needed a way to track where their site visitors had heard about the product - and this is where the mighty MiniCard things started happening.  

Rather than the general discount card they'd used previously, Perch ordered some new MiniCards, with unique discount codes on the front where the photo normally goes. They wrote some software to generate the codes, and output an XML file that they then "mail merged" into their images using the Data-Driven Graphics tool in Adobe Fireworks. This created 100 unique images for each batch of MiniCards, which they then uploaded as part of each order.

"The ability to have 100 unique cards in a run of 100 has been fantastic for us", says Drew. "Doing it any other way would have been a nightmare. Firstly it would have been difficult just to find someone able to do it, and you can bet it would have been expensive - probably too expensive to be worth doing! Now when someone uses a discount code, we can tell which event they picked up the card at by tracking the code back through our systems."

Perch also find MOO's short print runs to be very handy, because each batch they order is a small commitment both financially, and in terms of strategy. Fresh illustration work, a small tweak to the logo – all can be incorporated into the MiniCards next time a batch is produced. "The fact that we order 100 cards at a time means it's no hassle to make that sort of change", says Drew, "and it's great to order up some new cards knowing that the wastage from the old cards is really minimal. We've probably got about £5-worth of unused old design cards sitting around, which is nothing. If we were printing traditionally at volume then you're tied in and can't stay nimble."

"MOO's generally our first port of call when we need something printed", says Drew. "We've been really pleased with the quality and the ability to click a few things on a web page and have something physical that you've created turn up at your door is awesome."

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Thanks to Drew for taking the time to talk to us - and thanks to Anne-Marie for writing this up. Find out more about Perch and what it can do for you, or make some MiniCards of your own.

So much has happened since I left for BlytheCon. I'm not sure I can go through every single thing I've experienced, but I'm definitely going to try. To sum it up in a sentence: BlytheCon was amazing. I can't believe how busy I was over the past few days!

When I arrived at Rebecca's house in Indiana, everything seemed to fall into place. All my insecurities disappeared... She made me feel so welcome and I'm really thankful for that. As soon as Shawn and Ryan left, Rebecca and I got down to some serious dolly business. We talked for a long time as we got ready for our trip to Atlanta the next day. I helped her make a sign for her booth while she cut up some business cards, and I showed her all the dollies and toys I brought with me. I really felt like we had known each other for years.

Sherri arrived early the next morning. Like I told both her and Rebecca, I was so nervous about meeting Sherri. O__O She's been one of my idols ever since I started collecting Blythes; her saran and mohair reroots are incredible-- one of the absolute best rerooters in the world! I felt intimidated before Sherri arrived, but as soon as she arrived, my nerves settled down. She was so down-to-earth and so much like me... I immediately felt like I could relate to her, and that doesn't happen very often when I meet new people.

Our ride to Georgia was extremely long: about nine hours. Surprisingly, I didn't fall asleep once. Haha, Sherri, Rebecca and I talked the entire time-- about dollies, Pet Society, our lives, and so much more. In fact, we talked about so much, I'm almost afraid I'm going to forget some of the details. A long car ride was the perfect way to get to know Rebecca and Sherri even more.

We were able to settle into Rebecca's mom's house really quickly. I think it's because we were all so tired and hyped up for the next few days. For a while, we sat around exchanging dolly clothes and stories about our girls. I've never had the chance to talk for hours on end about dollies in my pajamas before... I wish I could do it more often. I felt almost spoiled for having such a great vacation so far. My sleep was wonderfully deep and comfortable.

Friday was the day dedicated to the Georgia Aquarium. Sherri, Rebecca, Rebecca's mom and I all went. We were all a little disappointed at how little there was to do at the aquarium, but everything that was there was really beautiful. My favorite part of our visit was definitely the tunnel that's underneath water. To be surrounded completely by water, fish and sharks was incredible. We all loved that part so much that we decided to walk through the tunnel a second time before we left.

One of my other favorite things about going to the aquarium was how interested people were in the Blythes we brought with us. Sherri brought Penny (her @Nai custom); Rebecca brought Tallulah (Betsy's crazy cross-eyed custom); and I brought Nami. We not only had visitors coming up to us to ask us about our dollies, but the aquarium's staff expressed even more interest. A security guard wanted to hold one of our dolls. A few of the staff members in charge of taking photos asked me a bunch of questions about where Blythes could be found. And the absolute best Blythe experience was at the end of our aquarium trip. As we were paying for our items in the gift shop, cashiers started piling up behind the registers to ask us all questions about Blythes. They couldn't get enough of our girls and left customers waiting in line and at registers so they could see the dolls! Rebecca, Sherri and I all took turns showing them our dollies. They loved changing the doll eyes. Rebecca and Sherri got a few photos of all the staff people (like seven or eight, I think) asking us questions.

Dinner that night was fun. The four of us went to a restaurant where we had some delicious meals. I had a shrimp and alfredo meal. *drool* It was so delicious and it was a relaxing experience to have before the busy day ahead of us.

Finally. Saturday was BlytheCon. All of us were so antsy before we left! We had packed most of our stuff up the night before so we got to the con on time. Because Rebecca was a vendor so we could get into the building before any of the other attendees (which I was happy about because I didn't want to be stuck outside in the cold). The girl she was supposed to share a table with was sick so Rebecca had the entire table for herself. I helped her set everything up and went back-and-forth between the convention room and outside, where more and more people were starting to arrive. I switched between taking my three girls out; a lot of people seemed to already know who they were, especially Pigeon! I had fun posing for photos with my dolls and everyone was incredibly nice. <3

The convention was so much fun, but it all seems like a blur now. Everything was so fast paced. I somehow lucked out and was one of the first people to register. Because of that, I got into the con fast enough to check out all the vendors and their items. I snatched up everything I was instantly attracted to-- oh gosh, my loot is all so cute! I keep looking at all the clothes and accessories I bought.

I was constantly meeting new people. A lot of the people are friends I've had online for a few years. I felt like crying a few times because I was so excited to actually meet some of them in person. After all these years... finally! Pigeon's customizer, Megan, was there. She was one of the main reasons I knew I had to attend BlytheCon. She was such a sweet person and I feel like I know Pigeon more because of meeting Megan. I feel bad about not remembering every person's face; so much was happening at the time so I knew it would be impossible to remember everything.

One of the most exciting parts of the day was the raffle. I only bought five tickets but THREE of my numbers happened to get picked. O____O Because one of the items I won was a double, I only got two of the prizes-- I didn't mind though. The big prize I won was a free mohair reroot for a Blythe. The second prize I won was a free Blythe application for an iPhone. Because I don't have an iPhone, I gave my prize to Rebecca. I was so excited (and surprised) that I was shaking the entire time after my numbers were called.

Needless to say, the entire event was more fun than I could have ever imagined. Like I told Rebecca and Sherri later on, the BlytheCon trip was the best vacation I've ever had. Getting to know both of them is probably what I love most from the experience. Unlike the friends I had in high school and college, I connected with Rebecca and Sherri. They didn't make me feel socially awkward and we shared so many interests. I think it would have been impossible to not love those two girls.

All of my photos can be viewed on my Facebook BlytheCon 2009 album and in my BlytheCon 2009 Vox Collection.

Many thanks to Shawn and Ryan who drove me all the way to Indiana. Many more thanks to both Sherri and Rebecca for being the sweetest friends ever. And a lot of other "thank yous" go to those of you who followed my adventure on Twitter!

You've been asking for improvements on our first ever product and we’re excited to say they're finally here. MOO MiniCards now offer even more creative possibilities - and some of your most requested features.

There’s now the option to choose from a bigger range of fonts, colours and templates to personalise the ‘details side’ of your cards. We’ve also added the option to upload your own logo, or choose an icon from our brand new selection.

Want to upload an entire image for the details side of the card? No problem. Just like our larger Business Cards, you can now upload a full JPEG or PDF.

 At the end of the process  check your cards (text and images) on a brand new preview page – another chance to check your spellink  spelling, and make sure you’re happy with your images.  

 

And, last, but not least, all that goodness is packed into a very smart new MiniCard presentation case! Designed in-house by Paul, our product designer, it’s sturdy but recyclable card.

Enough already? Go take a look at the New and improved MiniCards for yourselves!

Matthew Handy knows how. He's a private maths teacher, providing tuition to individuals and small groups to help them pass their Maths and Further Maths A-levels. He helps with undergraduate courses with mathematical content, and advises pupils on UCAS, including Oxbridge. He also designs some rather nifty business cards – take a look at these Bauhaus-inspired beauties...

His cards feature mathematical theorems and diagrams in classic red, black and white colours, turning what might have been a potentially dry and challenging business card into a beautiful visual object that can also, of course, double up as a study aid. We got in touch with Matthew to tell him how much we liked his cards, and to find out how a maths guru like him developed such a knack for canny self-marketing.

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We love the design of your cards – very creative and graphic. How have the cards been received? Do they seem to stick in people's minds?

The first print run (of 200) ran out within a week! Students love them because they cover the topics that they have the most difficulty remembering. Although mathematics is about understanding, it is much easier if you've learnt the building blocks. For younger students it's the times tables. At A-level, it's the material that I've put on my cards. I got so frustrated at writing out those formulas over and over again and this seemed the perfect way of promoting my services and demonstrating how useful they could be.

If you don't mind us saying, graphic design and self-marketing is not normally a skill you associate with maths tutors, yet you seem to have quite a flair for it. How do you come up with your marketing concepts?

I've always been fascinated by page design. As a young kid I used to collect headed notepaper. I would write to big companies, just so they'd write back and I could add to my collection. I first discovered the Apple Mac at university - it blew me away - and since then I've worked on a number of design projects: from books and newspapers, to corporate image work for schools, a restaurant and a record company.

You founded Ivory Tower magazine at Cambridge, and launched MXpress, a newspaper for young people, after you graduated. Is the creative and practical side of magazine publishing something that appeals to you?

I love the whole process of producing something printed. Watching the first copies of MXpress coming off the presses was incredible: this huge room-sized machine, manned by half a dozen people, churning out tens of thousands of copies of something I'd created. It was like watching the birth of my first child. I love print.

Speaking of print - paper finish: Green or Classic for your Business Cards?

I've so far always opted for the Classic. It's beautiful. That's part of the pleasure I get from print: the physical feel of the material. I really should try the Green, though.

Did you find MOO's creation and ordering process easy to use?

I'm a control freak, so I love the process. I can change things as often as I want without annoying anyone!

Any plans to use MOO cards in other ways in the future? For example, have you thought of doing a set of 50 and giving / selling them as a complete set of study tips?

That's certainly on the cards (excuse the pun!). I've also thought about using the MiniCards as key-ring crib sheets.

Are MOO's short print runs useful to you?

I'm a huge fan of MOO. Everything is so stylish, and it's all done with a real sense of fun. The small print runs allow experimentation and flexibility, which is terrific for a small business like mine.

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Thanks to Matthew Handy for chatting with us - for more information about his tuition or to book yourself a lesson, visit his site.

And for those who are confused by the 's' on the end of the word 'math' - that's just the way we say it in the UK ;-)

As some of you may already know, there has been extensive industrial action  by Royal Mail workers in the UK over the past few weeks.

This is only affecting our UK based customers, not everyone purchasing from the UK store.

Customers have been experiencing small delays and we encourage anyone based in the UK to allow a little extra time for delivery.

If you want to avoid the strikes altogether, please use our Express service, which is fully trackable and usually delivered the day after the items are dispatched.

Intermittent local and regional strikes by both collection and sorting services, plus your personal mailmen, are ongoing and at this point no resolution has been reached. At a recent Royal Mail member's meeting 76% of postal workers voted for a national strike, which at this point has not been finalized or scheduled. We will be doing our best to keep UK customers in the loop.

For daily updates on the UK Royal Mail strikes, and how they might be affecting you, keep an eye on the Royal Mail site.