You can probably guess Annie’s signature product from her Zazzle store handle (Perfect Postage). Though she loves invites, cards and paper products, her passion is custom postage. It was the first product she sold on Zazzle, and she loves how easy it is to customize. Hailing from Kansas City, MO, Annie chatted with us about her designs and her tips for other sellers.
I’ve always been passionate about art, design and Photoshop — I’m mostly self-taught. I’m one of the older designers on Zazzle (got started in 2007).
My style is romantic and floral with lots of pastels and swirly fonts. I’m not into big, bold colors — I like to keep it soft and subtle.
Flowers and nature inspire me. I love to take photographs, explore botanical gardens and spend hours outside. My kids always make fun of me because I carry my camera everywhere. I love traveling, and a lot of my designs incorporate pictures of my travels.
I would suggest keeping the text minimal if you’re designing for custom postage. If you have too much text, the stamp becomes hard to read. I always discourage brides from putting too much on custom postage. You should also make an effort to drive traffic to your store. I’ve found success with social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Pin your products and blog posts to Pinterest.
Here are my favorite products:
This is my “Love is patient, Love is kind” design. This has been a favorite of mine for some time. I love the romantic feel of the design.
This always reminds me of my vacation with my sister in Hawaii several years ago. She drew the hearts and I shot the photo. It’s been one of my best sellers.
During a visit to New York, I shot this photo of a flower arrangement from a street vendor. I added the “love” text to give it more of a wedding feel.
One of my custom requests came from a bride who wanted love birds in a cherry blossom tree.
This design was created by accident…I was moving layers around in Photoshop that I didn’t mean to move. I loved the result and it’s been another great seller.
This is one of my all time favorites, and it’s not postage! I created this binder for a Zazzle contest several years ago. Although it didn’t win, I have sold many of these over the years. This is special to me because the recipes shown on the binder are actually recipes from my family (no party is complete without Aunt Mamie’s brownies!).
March 22, 2013 at 9:06 am |
Love it! Finally, Annie of Perfect Postage in the spotlight!
That Eiffel Tower design is amazing.
March 23, 2013 at 2:24 am |
WOW! Congrats on the wonderful article! Great exposure and positive all the way around!
March 25, 2013 at 8:18 am |
So happy to see PerfectPostage featured here! Annie is the most talented and gifted wedding designer, as well as being one of the most helpful and generous sellers on Zazzle. Her elegant style and wonderful eye for graceful color tones makes her work outstanding and recognizable. She has been my mentor and cheerleader, and she remains my friend and the one I most frequently recommend when I refer people to Zazzle. Congratulations, Annie! Your work will have a treasured place in the hearts of happily married couples for a lifetime, and your kindness will have a place in my heart forever! Hugs — Teri
April 1, 2013 at 2:01 pm |
Neat—I agree with Colleen! Can’t wait to send it to Aunt Mamie, since you mention her name.