Zazzle Blog

Kristien, from the Zazzle Store rocky_rocks_designs, was kind enough to answer some questions about her artistic style and her time at Zazzle. Check out the interview below and don’t forget to check out her store rocky_rocks_designs!

Zazzle: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kristien: My name is Kristien Crumley and I’m 31 years old. I’m married to my sweet husband Matthew and together we adopted a Cairn Terrier, named Rocky, 3 years ago. I was born in Belgium, Europe but live in sunny Florida at the moment. I love every minute of living in Florida but I do miss my friends, family and chocolates in Belgium.

Zazzle: When and how did you first become interested in art? How long have you been making art?

Kristien: I love to do crafts and have been interested in art and architecture since I was a young girl. I’ve dabbled with watercolor, glass painting, but found the constant maintenance of the supplies a burden.
My first Zazzle store was more character and child-oriented designs of animals. That was fun but I wanted to experiment with other categories – something for adults and with more sophistication. I started with the vector and print style about two years ago with my second store Rocky Rocks Designs.

Zazzle: A lot of your work seems to be more vector art, are there other styles of art you enjoy as well?

Kristien: I experimented with other styles like watercolor but I feel my attention should be focused on one thing and digital media feels like the direction to go. Besides art, I like to cook, especially with chocolate. I make my own Belgian Pralines with all different types of fillings and I like to make Belgian Waffles from scratch. Anybody hungry yet?

Zazzle: What’s been your favorite Zazzle product to create?

Kristien: The invitations are my favorite because they are so versatile. You can use them for many other occasions like announcements. The different paper types are important – it gives the customer a lot of options. The matching envelopes can be designed inside and outside. Not many vendors can do that and it completes the product. I like creating a collection of products with similar designs, different colors, but with different purposes.

Zazzle: What’s your favorite Zazzle feature? How do you use it?

Kristien: The template feature allows customers to change any text on my products. I try to make all the text fields customizable to maximize flexibility. As a customer I like to have options when I see a design I like. Usually for stationary that means text and photographs.

Zazzle: Do you have any fun stories about being a seller on Zazzle?

Kristien: I think it’s funny my husband was also pulled into Zazzle because he’s not really into vector art but he’s good with computers and web sites. He helped me design my rockyrocksdesigns.com website, which uses the Zazzle store builder. Maybe the funniest part is that my entire store name is centered around my pet Cairn terrier, Rocky. So, everyone in the house got involved with Zazzle in some way. It’s a family affair!

Zazzle: What got you interested in selling your art on Zazzle?

Kristien: I was looking to personalize an item with a photo of Rocky and that’s how I found Zazzle. I had no idea you could create artwork online, make it into a product, and make some money.

I like that Zazzle lets me sell products online, which I can make at any time I like, but go on vacation somewhere and totally forget about it. Sometimes I don’t consider it work because I feel like I’m always learning something new with digital media.

Zazzle: What tips can you give someone who is just starting out on Zazzle?

Kristien: Don’t give up. It takes a lot of work and dedication to make original products. Another tip: tag, describe, and visit the forums. Most of the questions you will encounter have been found by others. Finally, promote. You’re selling a product and you need to find ways to stand out in the crowd.

Thanks Kristien!

This entry was posted on December 16, 2010 at 3:12 pm and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.