We’ve been thinking, struggling, analyzing and searching our hearts to choose from all the amazing entries we had for our Design Team search…it hasn’t been easy – and once again, gratitude is the one best word I can find for how I feel.
It’s hard to believe that SFTIO was just a glimmer of an idea less than a year ago. From Winter CHA 2008 to today, it’s been an incredible roller coaster of anxiety and elation, as you would expect with any business – but this isn’t like making widgets for me – it’s about what I love, believe in and stand for. I am so happy that this concept has touched your hearts and that you all choose to invest your time and energy to make this community what it is – a place where people can fully explore their emotional experiences through our great craft. Thank you.
It’s hard for me to even put into words how grateful and fortunate I am to have a collaborator and dear friend like Paige Ramos, who has been a champion for SFTIO from way before its inception and a daily source of encouragement for me and creative solutions for the business. She has been at the center of evaluating and selecting our Design Team, and Paige’s creative mind is instrumental in developing challenges, crafting our monthly music lists, and generates many of the things that keep SFTIO fresh, fun and inspirational. Paige will officially be taking on the critical role of Creative Coordinator for SFTIO and will, among her many responsibilities, help develop future kits, seek out new marketing opportunities and expand the ways in which we connect with each of you.
I want to thank our outgoing DT members, Amanda Berens and Bjay Jaminal, for being among my first artistic partners in creating this place. They jumped on board before the site was live because they trusted and believed in what was possible. I am eternally grateful to each of them for adding their personal spin to my vision and bringing it to life. Amanda and Bjay are finishing their terms with us at the end of December and we hope they will stay with us as a valuable part of our community – our Inaugural DT. They are wonderful artists and great ladies and I feel so blessed that they chose to work with us.
The very gifted Nancy Doren has been promoted from our DT to Design Team Coordinator and will be taking on the role of managing the new team of talented designers who will be joining us for the period of January to June 2009. Nancy has been an incredible support as we have grown the business and she has proven herself to be an invaluable member of our management team. She is a fantastic artist, a terrific communicator and truly embodies the Inside Out approach to art and life. I am so happy to have her on my team.
The SFTIO team is planning great things for the future, including branded products, books and magazine articles, retreats and classes, teen and tween self-esteem scrapbooking-based programming and an expansion into the art therapy and holistic healing worlds. We’re all looking forward to sharing these new developments with you and engaging you in creating this together – we can’t do it without you!
So without further ado, here is our New DT:
Anam Stubbington
Nicola Booth
Laura Croft
Please join me in welcoming these lovely, talented ladies to our site and our community – they bring with them really diverse life experience, design know-how and the emotional depth that makes SFTIO so special.
We’ve also invited the following wonderful ladies to serve as guest designers for a month during the next six months:
Andrea Davenport
Fiona Yeoh
Felecia Krech
Christi Wright
Deb Famularo
Summer Johnson
Thank you again to everyone who applied – it was a humbling experience to share in your art and emotion and to recognize all the great talent we have here in this community.
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