Gypsy Chic, Lorraine Stylianou, Georgia Breeze, Georgia Frost, Judy Joel, greeting card publishing, design, art, magazine, gift industry, greetings cards, Airbnb, flowers, editorial, interviews, features, trends, storytelling, buzzsumo, pattern, surface pattern, creative industry, self employment, cashflow template, business, entrepreneurship, lorraine stylianou

1. Gypsy Chic
magazine
Issue 10 - 2016
the magazine dedicated to greeting card publishing and entrepreneurship
INSIDE!!! Interviews with Georgia Frost
of Georgia Breeze Designs and Judy Joel
BOOK
NOOK
King
Kontent
- SHARING
YOUR STORY
INDUSTRY
DISRUPTION
WITH
AIRBNB
INDUSTRY
DISRUPTION
WITH
AIRBNB
FREE
BIZ AND
CASHFLOW
TEMPLATES
Pixels
on the
Card
walk

2. 2
CONTENTS
3
4
7
8
10
11
12
16
17
18
20
P.7
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
INTERVIEW WITH... GEORGIA FROST OF GEORGIA BREEZE DESIGNS
KITTY KARMA
THE ART OF DISRUPTION
FREE BUSINESS PLANS
WHAT’S YOUR CASHFLOW SAFETY NET?
INTERVIEW WITH... JUDY JOEL
BOOK NOOK/KING KONTENT
LET´S TWIST AGAIN
PETAL POST
EZINE NEWS - ISSUU UPGRADE
BUZZSUMO/TREND WATCH21
P.4
P.11
P.12
P.21

3. from the Editor
LETTER
W
elcome to
Issue 10 of
Gypsy Chic,
my window
on the world of greeting
card publishing, art, and
entrepreneurship. This edition
is a proper medley of articles,
a mixed bag of interviews, biz
themed write-ups, product and trend
reviews, and musings.
I hope you will enjoy reading all about my two
featured interviewees, Georgia Frost of Georgia
Breeze Designs, a talented collage designer,
and one of my fellow ABNA members, Judy Joel,
naïve artist extraordinaire who knows so much
about galleries, exhibitions, image licensing
etc. With the brilliant Instagram (that’s giving
Twitter a right royal run for its money) I’m able to
connect with artists around the world
and build my interview funnel more
easily than ever before.
I managed to fit in two flights in
October,the first to Liverpool –
that mad,friendly city,and one
to London too. I attended the
Exhibition Masterclass at 30
Euston Square and picked up some interesting
tips on body language at Tradefairs,the
importance of making connections,and the
element of surprise at shows,and Lifecycle
Marketing.Thanks to Sharon Little of the GCA for
arranging tickets for members – it was massively
generous of the exhibition
organisers to host the day with
drinks reception at the end all
free of charge.
My daughter and I shot around
theWest End and City of London
at record speed fitting in a 10
second visit to the
National Gallery,a 10
minute walk around Spitalfields
Market,and a race around Covent
Garden. “Why,Sir,you find no man,at
all intellectual,who is willing to leave
London.No,Sir,when a man is tired of
London,he is tired of life; for there is in
London all that life can afford.”- Samuel Johnson.
But leave it we must – to deal with business
matters in Essex before our return flight.
The tea shops in Covent Garden are stunning
and I passed lots of venues – bars, and
restaurants I used to book for Xmas parties, in
my previous life in University administration.
But that is so 2010. I’m hoping to get back to
the big smoke very soon. In the meantime, put
a brew on and enjoy this double figure edition
(made it to Issue 10 .)
Lorraine
www.lorrainestylianou.com
3

4. 4
Interview with .....
Georgia Breeze

5. 1. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HOW
GEORGIA BREEZE BEGAN AND THE
TRADE FAIRS YOU HAVE ATTENDED.
lll I studied textiles and surface pattern
design back when it was all based on
hand crafted design and technology was
not what it is now. I have always been
drawn to texture, colour and pattern
and have had a love for stitching. I have
made cards for as long as I can remember
with a great response. Friends and
family always encouraging me to sell to
retail, but felt that the cards I produced
were labour intensive and would always
be too costly for mass market. Whilst
taking a break from teaching I set about
researching how I could produce cards
with a hand made feel but would be
suitable for wholesale and this is really
where Georgia Breeze began and after
attending the ladder club in 2012 took
the plunge and did my first trade show Pg
Live in the following June.
2. AS A DESIGNER YOU HAVE FOCUSSED
ON STITCHED COLLAGE AS THE BASIS
FOR MOST OF YOUR DESIGNS. DO YOU
USE A VARIETY OF PAPER AND FABRIC,
AND HOW MUCH OF AN INFLUENCE
DOES YOUR LOCATION IN THE SOUTH
WEST OF ENGLAND HAVE ON YOUR
DESIGN CONCEPTS.
lll My main style is based around
stitched paper collage. I love to use mixed
media where I can, I use a combination
of papers some which are found and
other which I create. I am always very
conscious to make sure that the patterns
I use have a commercial license. I love to
add fabric embellishments and other bits
of haberdashery. I am a bit of a magpie
really. As my business grows I am hoping
to develop my style into different ways
of working,
but my artwork
will always be centred around
hand crafted design, which I am really
passionate about.
It is hard not to be influenced and
inspired by my location. Living by the
sea definitely motivates me to on a day
to day basis. I feel very fortunate to live
on such an amazing Coastline. In the past
I have designed ranges themed around
coastal life and I will be most definitely be
creating new ranges with a seaside theme.
I have also been commissioned by a local
stockist to create a piece of artwork of an
iconic view of our town. This image was
then applied to products such as coasters,
tea towels and other design led souvenirs,
which seem to be so popular a the moment.
This potentially could be a project that
could work within other areas and
something I may explore in the future.
3. WHEN DIDYOU PICK UPYOUR FIRST
AGENTANDWHAT HAS BEENYOUR
BIGGEST LEARNING CURVE TO DATE IN
YOUR BUSINESS (E.G DEALINGWITH A
TRICKY EXPORT ORDER, BARCODING, LATE
PAYERS, OR PROTECTINGYOURWORK?)
lll I picked up my first agent at Pg
live, for me shows seem the best place
to attract agents. Agents come and go
and it’s often difficult to find good one
and to keep hold of them. For me I have
found it very challenging to keep up
with the demand for new, especially if
you are a one man band. Being a card
publisher involves so much more than
just designing as I rapidly found out.
5
F

6. 6
4. HAVE YOU LICENSED ANY OF YOUR
DESIGNS SO FAR, AND IF SO, HOW DID
NEGOTIATIONS GO?
lll I haven’t licensed out any of my
designs as of yet. It is something I am
very much interested in and I am trying
to learn a little more about the area of
business. I have been in negotiations with
a cou-ple of companies over the last few
months, but have decided not to move
forward with this at the present moment,
there is so much time and money invested
into licensing I feel it is important that
it is right for both it for both parties
involved. I’m sure the right deal will come
along at some point and I will look forward
to the opportunity when it arises.
5. YOUR PALETTE IS GENTLE
AND FEMININE WITH A STRONG
COMMERCIAL AWARENESS OF THE
MARKET. BEFORE YOU BRANCHED
OUT AS YOUR OWN BRAND HAD YOU
WORKED FOR ANOTHER PUBLISHING
HOUSE OR IS YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE
WHOLLY YOUR OWN, HONED AND
PERFECTED AS YOU WENT ALONG?
lll When I first started Georgia
Breeze designs I had spend couple of
years researching, but I had very little
experience having never worked within
this industry. I just put myself out there,
with little thought to how the ranges
worked and how they would sit together
in a outlet. Over the last two years I
have become more commercially aware,
listened to agents and customer feedback
and acted upon it. This has been difficult
at times, but has paid off in the long term.
This is most definitely an on going process
for me as I am sure is the case with most
designers. It is very important to move
with the times, be aware of trends, but it is
equally important to keep a strong sense
of you and your brand.
6. YOU HAVE JUGGLED QUITE A LOT OF
THINGS THIS YEAR IN YOUR BUSINESS
– A NEW WEBSITE DESIGN, ARRANGING
THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF YOUR CARD
RANGES, AND A HOUSE MOVE. WHAT IS
IN STORE FOR GEORGIA BREEZE IN THE
NEXT 24 MONTHS, AND CAN WE EXPECT
A NEW PRODUCT LINE OR THREE?
lll This year has flown by. Particularly
this summer has been the most
challenging to date. My work life balance
is very important to me and important
that I am around for my family as much
as I can be, however as my children are
moving into their next phase and having
finally finished our lovely new home, I am
able to focus more on my business, which I
am really excited by. It has been fantastic
journey over the last two years. I have
met some great people, have gorgeous new
stockists all of the UK and have started
exporting too something I had not even
considered before. Over the next 2 years
I hope to continue to build the brand,
exhibit at more trade shows, increase
agent coverage and most certainly bring
out some new exciting ranges.
GEORGIA BREEZE
W: www.georgiabreeze.co.uk
E: info@georgiabreeze.co.uk Tel: 07966 932059
F: www.facebook.com/georgiabreezedesigns
T: https://twitter.com/GeorgiaBreeze1

7. 7
I
t’s hard to own up to mistakes sometimes
– it’s a bit like saying sorry. We will do
anything to avoid the word but use words
like “Apologies”, “Oops”, “Oh no”!
I messed up this week on Etsy – my new online
shop. I didn’t notice the sales conversations coming
into to my email feed. I could, I argued, be forgiven
for not concentrating due to 1) my recent house
move and the upheaval it caused, 2) Having no wifi
connected in the new place and finding working
from a mobile less than productive 3) My multiple
email accounts which are becoming more and more
laborious to check, 4) My heavy travel schedule
these past weeks 5) the distractions of family life.
The fact was, I just didn’t pay enough attention
and I missed a sale. I noticed I had received
payment into my paypal account, but in my
confusion thought it was a credit from another
e-platform. With Etsy, the seller is responsible for
dispatching the goods and I blew it! Not one week
went past, but three before I realised that my poor
customer was jumping up and down wondering
where her Friendly Feline greeting cards were.
As soon as I realised, I acted at record speed,
raced across two counties to get the order
dispatched, and emailed my customer to let her
know to expect them. I also send spares.
Perhaps it was karma coming full circle……
About 10 years ago I collected tiny paintings
called ACEO’s. I ordered a series of miniature cat
paintings (I still have them somewhere) from an
American artist in Hawaii on Ebay. Winning the
bid, I waited patiently for my “bespoke” package
of OOAK (one of a kind) creations. One month
passed, and no cats. After two months, I left very
negative feedback on the seller’s account. Almost
the next day, the most beautiful package arrived
in layers of colourful tissue, and the cat collection
were hidden inside a tiny fabric purse. These ink,
and watercolour illustrations had taken the artist
days to create. What I hadn’t realised was that
area of Hawaii had suffered a terrible hurricane –
on a par with the recent Hurricane Matthew, and
my poor seller was without power for weeks.
Of course if we make a mistake, it is imperative
to put it right as quickly as possible, but there
are often unforeseen circumstances, of which we
have no knowledge, that can sabotage things. It
is worth reminding ourselves to be gracious with
others when things don’t go according to plan –
and to say SORRY when we are at fault.
KITTY
Karma!

8. 8
O
ne of the biggest
ways to disrupt
an industry is
to introduce a
business model
that revolutionises the ways
things are done through
technological innovation and
drastic price undercutting.
A perfect example of this is
Airbnb. They’ve taken on the
hotel industry, and given the
entire business a run for its
money. Everyone can benefit
since you can build up credit
by recommending the site to
your friends on social media,
as well as letting out that spare
couch, room, or apartment
you may have whilst you are
away. Social proof by way of
testimonials, reviews, photos,
and comments will influence
both the guest, and host’s
reputation, helping everyone
through transparency, to decide
if they will stay with you, or if
they want you in their home.
I started my Airbnb journey
this summer when I took the
family for a weekend break
to the Lakelands. Opening
two tabs on my browser, I
compared prices of local
hotels against those offered
on the Airbnb website. No
contest! Booking a penthouse
apartment for the fraction of
a hotel stay was a decision
that took all of two seconds
to make. I read the reviews,
studied the host’s photos,
liaised with her via a few
messages, and packed my
bags. My host was a retiree
of many years, who simply
funded her enviable lifestyle
of golf, yoga, new cars, flash
apartments, and beach holidays
by letting out her home as
often as she could. She had
already been availing of the
site’s benefits – a brokerage
model – for over two years.
And many of you may already
be doing the same.
TRADE SHOW
ACCOMMODATION
Now presuming you want to
attend the Spring Fair at the
NEC,you have a choice of
booking accommodation at
Hotels,Bed and Breakfasts,
rented apartments,or Airbnb,if
friends aren’t an option. A micro
greeting card business owner
is unlikely to have the cash to
splash on single occupancy
rooms costing £215 a night (and
that is apparently after the event
organisers have negotiated
a discount),especially so if
they are paying for a stand as
well. To make that price up in
card sales over the five days of
the event,you’d have to take a
lot of orders – and there is no
guarantee you will. Even the
cheapest single occupancy
room of £75 a night – if booked
through the NEC’s hotel links
– will involve a 20 minute
drive to the venue. And what
if you don’t drive? The hotel
THE ART OF
DISRUPTION- USING AIRBNB TO CUT COSTS -

9. choices you have (to name a
few) are Genting Hotel,Hilton
Birmingham Metropole,Ibis
Styles Birmingham NEC,Crowne
Plaza,Arden Hotel,Novotel
Birmingham Airport,Holiday
Inn Express,BestWestern Plus
Manor,Jurys Inn,Copthorne
Hotel,Novotel City Centre,
Novotel City Centre,Regency
Solihull,Holiday Inn Solihull etc.
By comparison,a room near
B40 1NT on Airbnb will cost
anything from £29 to £50 per
night (based on my using the
filter of a single room with
bathroom). The results will often
produce twin or double rooms,
with all amenities for an average
price of £41and only 6 minutes
away from the venue. Now that’s
an option I would certainly be
following through.
On my recent business trips
to Liverpool (September 16)
and London (October 16) I
alternated between friends,and
Airbnb. In Liverpool I stayed
in perfectly clean,warm,safe
rooms for £20 a night – and
I can genuinely say I made
friends as well. When I claim
those expenses against tax,I
do so knowing I purchased the
best priced room available and
would challenge any accountant,
or HMRC to find better.
OK,you say! So I’m an
Airbnb disciple. Well - I think
in this post Global Financial
Crash environment,we have
to be super savvy with our
expenditure.I’m sure we are
all too familiar with the grim
statistics that almost 80% of small
businesses fail in their first five
years. If we as suppliers can’t
rein in our costs,how can we
pass these on to our customers
who will be working harder and
harder to give their consumers
a better deal. Given that there
is so much competition at big
tradeshows,we can be sure
of one thing – there is always
a new publisher with a better
website,social media presence,
and product than ourselves just
ready to disrupt our status quo. If
booking more reasonably priced
accommodation can give us that
competitive margin, surely it is
worth exploring.
9
Carmel Kelly
Lorraine was a lovely house mate,
very friendly,I would highly
recommend her to other hosts and
she is very welcome to stay at mine if she
ever returns to Liverpool.October 2016
Clive Cook
It was so nice to meet and host
Lorraine in my home.A very friendly,
sociable and respectful person .I
really enjoyed the experience and you will
also!Welcome back anytime
REVIEWS I LEFT
REVIEWS LEFT FOR ME

10. 10
P
art of the reason so many new
businesses fail is because they haven’t
written their business plan, or referred
to it since drafting it. As we know, the plan
should be a living document that you tweak
as often as new products come on board, new
avenues are developed for your business, or
changes in management occur.
As this useful video from Bplans.com
explains (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=FIoGLHT4wGE) a business plan is NOT
1) a document you write once and never look at
again
2) a bunch of scribbles written on the back of a
napkin
3) just written for loan applications
4) Neither is it just for first time start-ups
5) Nor just for business school students
If you haven’t written your business plan yet, here
are some free template links to help you.
https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-
young-people/tools-resources/business-tools/
business-plans
http://www.bplans.co.uk/sample_business_
plans.cfm
https://www.score.org/resource/business-
planning-financial-statements-template-gallery
http://www.bplans.com/members/downloads/
business-plan-template/
Keep believing!!
FREE BUSINESS
PLAN TEMPLATES

11. 11
A
s you will know cashflow is the lifeblood
of your business. Your aim in business is
to ensure that more money enters the
business than leaves it. Sometimes this is not
always the case however. In fact, we will often
have a negative flow of cash over a specific
period which is a cause for worry, and stress – but
sometimes we just wing it. There are times when
I check my bank balance three times a day to
juggle funds – moving amounts around to keep
one account from going into the red. This is not
advisable over the long term.
Having measures in place to protect this from
happening is vital. Having a cash safety net is
vital to your business. It will consist of a reserve of
funds that you can use to bail you out at difficult
times (an agreed overdraft for example), your own
nest egg to tide you over lean months, as well as a
method for chasing late or bad payers so you can
ensure some liquidity.
If you have enough funds to last a few months,
well done. However, new businesses will often find
that money simply leaks out in the wrong direction
and you have to put some “stops” in place to stall
that flow. This will include speeding up the time
suppliers have to pay you, chasing non payers
regularly via software, emails, and bring forward
reminders in your diary.
Knowing how much money your business actually
needs is also crucial before negotiating an overdraft
with your bank – particularly if you are incurring
charges for the additional funds if you use them
Here are my top tips to manage cash flow
(which I need to practice more myself).
1 Send invoices on the same day to the same client
every month so they know when to expect them.
2 Charge a late fee. One of the best ways to
ensure payment is charge a penalty on money
owed. Late payments can cripple a business
and it really pays to be tough. If you mention
the charge up front, then your clients won’t be
surprised when it appears on their invoice.
3 Don’t spend money in the business just
because you can put it through expenses. Think
really carefully whether you need that new laptop
or latest printer. If that item gave you several
weeks more cashflow, then it may be better to
hold back and wait till you really can afford it.
4 Keep some cash in reserve. It is sensible to
keep a reserve that would sustain your business
for several months if you can possibly do so. Aim
for six months. It gives you much more stability.
5 Factor out invoices if chasing them is proving
too much – it is better to discount the invoice
totals and get money into the business than wait
months for bad payers to settle.
WHAT’S YOUR
CASHFLOW
SAFETY NET?
FREE CASHFLOW TEMPLATES:
l http://www.mybusiness1st.co.uk/Assets/Articles-Finance-tools/Cash-Flow-Forecast-Template
l https://www.startuploans.co.uk/cash-flow-forecast-template/
l http://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/financial-management/free-cash-flow-statement-template-example-
and-guide/

12. 12
Interview with .....
Judy Joel

13. 1. HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO
OWN YOUR OWN ART GALLERY?
lll Yes. As an artist myself it is the
perfect situation. I sometimes paint whilst
I am in the gallery. I know ALL of our
artists personally and spend most of my
day not painting but talking to people, and
I enjoy every minute.
My husband Paul, sorts out all the
important things like the finances, the
insurance, the bills etc, which leaves me
free to be more creative and to hang the
paintings in our gallery.
2. WHAT PROCESSES DO YOU
FOLLOW WHEN YOU SELL
SOMETHING IN THE GALLERY?
lll Whenever I sell anything I write
each card and reproduction and original
painting down on a list on the desk with
the name of the artist, the price of the
piece, the method of payment and the
address of the person who paid for it.
When Paul comes in he works out in the
columns beside the amount I took what
the artists gets (60%) and what we as the
gallery get (40%). Every Saturday Paul
puts every scrap of information onto a
spreadsheet including every single card
sold, onto the computer and saves it. At
the beginning of every month he spends
at least two days in the gallery adding up
what people have to be paid and writing
their cheques with letters.
Whenever an artist brings in anything
new, or more cards, I type them in
on their lists, and every so often I go
through the sales book and make a note
on individual artists’ folders of what
was sold and who too, from their stock
already written out for each artist. These
individual lists are sent to the artists at
the end of every year so that they know
exactly what we have left in stock and
what was sold – when and who too. I
always ask that they check the stock with
their own records to make sure that no
mistakes are made.
3. ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD
SHARE WITH PEOPLE ABOUT
RUNNING A GALLERY?
lll The only other main task of being
a gallery owner is to smile and be
friendly and make coming to our gallery
something people will want to do again
whenever they visit the area. We have
been going for 11 years now and it seems
like only one.
4. WHAT IS INVOLVED IN RUNNING
AN EXHIBITION?
lll Organising exhibitions is fun but hard
work. First you have to establish what
sort of exhibition it will be and then you
have to contact the people whose work
13
F

14. 14
you are going to show and when we have
these exhibitions we generally store away
some of our usual artists’ work in the
cupboard or in the back of the top gallery
and concentrate on hanging the exhibition
in the ground floor area. All participating
artists have to be sent information to tell
them where to send their work, dates and
times of delivery and collection, private
views, and on the forms I send them
has to be the submission details so that
nobody gets anything wrong, and charges
the wrong amounts for art.
Once the paintings arrive, it is a bit like
a jig saw puzzle to get it hung just right,
and this I like to do alone, because very
often you have an idea about something
and it’s difficult to get your idea through
to anyone else because it’s just hard to
express what is still jumbled in your own
minds eye. I will also make a list which I
will have started weeks before from the
information on the submission forms
which are returned long ahead of time.
Also artists are asked to submit jpegs of
their paintings so that these can also be
put on the website.
From those jpegs we can make a
selection for either an invitation (which
we don’t do every time because the
postage is just getting so stupid now)
but we can design an invitation to be put
out by e-mail or make into posters to dot
around the areas local to us and send to
various hotels and other places where
people may be looking to see
what is on.
Also from the
jpegs we receive
we can make
up some press
release and
send images to
various papers
and magazines and ask for them to be
included if possible with a press release
and some editorial. Most of the time we
have to pay for these images to be seen,
but every once in a while there is an
opportunity to advertise for free and that
is great when it happens. Advertising,
like postage is not cheap. We also make
sure that we have an up to date CV for
each artist.
5. WHO ARE YOUR MAIN VISITORS TO
THE GALLERY?
lll As our gallery is in a fishing village
of outstanding beauty and which many
people come to see for themselves.
Sometimes bus tours drop their cargo
of people off at the Harbour front and
they visit all the galleries in the area and
usually end up in a the
pub before catching
their bus back. We have
found that it is a good
idea to have a mixture
of reproductions as well
as original paintings.
Very often we don’t
sell a single original

15. 15
painting for a whole
week, but will sell
several unframed
reproductions or
original prints from as
little as £12 each.
Cards are popular, especially as in
some cases we have the images on cards
of some of the paintings on the walls, and
many, many images of the village itself.
We have mostly local artists. One of
whom has written a book called “The
Mousehole Mice” and these go very well
indeed. We have some unknown artists
whose originals are on our walls and some
very well known artists’ work as well, with
prices of originals ranging from £120.00 to
£12,000 hanging side by side.
6. DO YOU GET APPROACHED DIRECTLY
BY ARTISTS SEEKING GALLERY
REPRESENTATION?
lll Sometimes people come in to ask if
I will accept their work in my gallery,
and I dislike being caught off balance and
will never make a decision even if I like
something because I will need to discuss
it with Paul, but our gallery is so full of art
at the moment we really have no room for
any more whether I
like them or not. I will
generally reject anyone
on principle who simply
comes into the gallery
with a portfolio and who
hasn’t even glanced at
the walls and who has no idea of what sort
of art we show.
We are predominantly a gallery showing
representational and figurative art, and
not abstract art. So when someone comes
in with a black canvas with a squiggle I
don’t have any problems about telling them
that it is “not our handwriting”. Some
artists DO have a look around first and I
have more time for those people. My own
work is naïve and quite different from the
representational works of our bestselling
artists, but I have now made space on one
of the walls for myself, which I had not done
before, and it makes for an interesting mix
of representational, figurative, AND naïve.
JUDY JOEL - Painter and Gallery Owner – UK
The Little Picture Gallery, Mill Lane, Mousehole,
Cornwall, TR19 6PQ
W: www.littlepicturesmousehole.co.uk
E: little.pictures@virgin.net
T: 01736 732877/01736 731823

16. THE BOOK NOOK
BLOCK PRINT BY ANDREA LAUREN
l In this delightful book Andrea Lauren guides
you through the various steps of creating your
first print block. You will find numerous print
block ideas perfect for the hand made greeting
card market – which could easily be scanned, and
tweaked for the mass market. If you follow Andrea
Lauren on Instagram (inkprintrepeat) you will
can watch her step by step process on video.
l If you can’t wait to start block printing,
why not order a kit from Amazon. This
handy starter pack includes all you need
to start lino cutting. Happy days!
16
l It is claimed we have more technology in our smart
phones today than was required to send a man to the
moon decades ago. With apps, and social media,
technology is helping to move power away from the
media elite to the people – you and me. We now own
our own media (this e-zine is testament to that) and we
can connect with people across borders with whom all
kinds of business can be done.
How do I manage to fill each issue with interviews
from artists across the world? 1) By asking 2) by using
private messages on Facebook,email,and Instagram. It
wasn’t impossible to get interviews 20 years ago,but so
much more time consuming. Now all I need is time to
read through blogs,watch amateurYoutube videos,and
check peoples photo montages.This gives me a massive
insight into an artist’s mind,and their artistic processes.
To capture people’s hearts,the interviews,and stories
have to be authentic. We want to hear about their
childhood,see photos of their early work,and read
about their daily musings.
We want to hear about past struggles,and how they
were overcome. Content is king and it is worthwhile
creating something original rather than rehashing
what is already out there. I often take days compiling
articles for my magazine and get irritable when the kids
interrupt my thought process.I include lots of personal
experiences – my mistakes and successes,the highs
and lows of business. My purpose for giving up hours
of time to this project is to give value – and be part of
a conversation.It’s like missing that end of term group
photo. If you are not in the frame,you feel like you aren’t
part of that community. It is also,of course,a way to raise
brand awareness. We have to communicate our brand,
share it wide and far,and make it fun.
If you have a brand story to share email me here and
together we can be our own media moguls.
lorraine@lorrainestylianou.com
KONTENT
KING

17. 17
l When my daughter’s back is turned, I sneak her
pencil case, and try out her new products. Kids have
a way of discovering new brand variants much better
than I can. With Crayola Twistables – and a Sharpie
– I can create quick images perfect for vectorising
without the need to prime canvases, and get all my
paint supplies out. I’ve never personally enjoyed
colouring with crayons because they are not precise
enough – and too thick – but with these new slimmer
versions, the end result is much more effective.
Chubby Checker – eat your heart out.
A pack is currently under £3 on Amazon for 12.
LET’S
AGAIN

18. 18
ORDER FORM
PETAL POST CARD RANGE £6 for 6 cards
CODE AMOUNT TOTAL
PET1 Lavender & buttercups
PET2 Pansies
PET3 Lily of the valley & red daisies
PET4 Primroses & lemon stilllife
PET5 Pink calla lilies
PET6 Allium
PET7 Primitive roses
PET8 Glass of flowers
PET9 Geranium
PET10 Flowers in a stripey vase
PET11 Blue daisies
PET12 Folk art flowers
PET13 Poppies
PET14 Posy in a blue vase
PET15 Van Gogh flowers
PET16 Pink Tulips
Petal
Post
I
n this month of November, when we see lots of Poppies, the word that comes to mind is
Remembrance. What better way to remember someone you know than to send a card.
In my Petal Post range I created postage stamped themed designs from vectors of my
original paintings.

19. 19

20. E-ZINENEWS!!!!
ISSUU is bringing out a new redesigned, upgraded reading experience for all ISSUU
publications allowing you to read, search and engage with content on computers,
laptops and other devices in a new way. This is all happening in the next four weeks so
watch this space, and happy reading!
20

21. 21
l Thanks to my friend Louise of Social Bee NI for
recommending this website called:
www.buzzsumo.com
It is useful for checking what is being talked about
in your area. If you write a blogpost, or want to know
what the latest hot topic in giftwrap, greetings cards,
and homeware, is, for example you can check what
is being talked about across the world wide web. It
will help you to see how influential you are in your
industry, bring up some fun insights, and show who is
blogging and writing in your niche.
Limited to just one search a day (unfortunately) using
the free search option.
WEBSITE RECOMMENDATION
BUZZSUMO
J
ust as the fashion industry is raving about pixels on
the cat walk (check out Anya Hindmarch), pixels are
being spotted on the card walk too.
This is all to do with the fascination for 80’s memorabilia,
Sony Walkmans, old Nokia phones (Yes – my 12 year old
son bought one of those this month), Rubik´s cubes, Space
invaders, and vaporwave – a comical art and music genre
focussing on digital sounds taken from distorted 80’s
songs – slowed down to make it
sad and nostaligic. The politics
of this music genre is to mock
capitalism but I’m not going
there. If you type in pixel greeting
cards on Etsy for example, you’ll
find plenty of examples and
here is one of my own uuu
TREND WATCH
ARE YOU A PIXEL CHICK?

22. Gypsy Chic magazine
A window on the world of a greeting card publisher