Ask Around: Melissa Phillips

Today is a real treat for me, friends, and I'm hoping that you will think so as well. For in this edition of Ask Around, I'm featuring one of my favorite designers and sweetest friends, Melissa Phillips.

Until recently, one of my tasks here at Paper Crafts was to monitor the "Send Us Your Best Work" folders in our Yahoo email account. This is the place where designers send us projects they are working on for possible publication in our magazines. (If you are interested in submitting your best work, click here.) Before each submissions judging, I would sift through the project images we had received and pull the ones that were appropriate for that particular issue. For example, if we were working on a Mother's Day feature, I'd pull all the projects that would work for that feature and I'd bring them to the submissions judging.

Soon I started noticing a girl named Melissa Phillips. She had a unique style, one that I had not seen before. Her style was light, airy, soft, and pretty, and I was spellbound by it.

Gradually, she started getting picked up multiple times in numerous publications. I started calling her "my girl," as in, "Look, here's another beautiful project from my girl, Melissa!" She was making a big splash here at Paper Crafts--indeed, she was splashing all over the industry.

As time went on, we became good friends as well. I'll never forget the first time I met her. Her husband was doing some business at a place just about a mile from my home and Melissa was coming with. I insisted on a lunch meeting with the team, and we broke bread on my front porch all together. Initially I was shocked at how tall was, but mostly I couldn't believe how soft-spoken and sweet she was. For Melissa is the very incarnation of the style she has invented--light, airy, soft, and pretty.

I'd like to thank Melissa for taking the time to answer my questions on how she is influenced by trends and invite you to enjoy one of the sweetest reads of your life.

Melissa: Hello everyone! I’m so excited to be joining you today and am grateful to Cath for the opportunity to share with you a few things I love about this wonderful hobby of ours. Looking back, I think I have always had a love for paper and glue…it’s fascinated me since I was little, but I didn’t give myself the time needed to explore this hobby until I graduated from college a few years ago. It seemed that at that time, my ducks were in a row and I was ready to do something for myself and so I started making thank you notes to send out after my little girl arrived. I was enchanted….and it’s only gotten better. Paper crafting is something I love and have grown with and I am thankful to have found it.

Is trend-watching important to your creativity? Why or why not? If so, how does trend-watching manifest itself in your work?

This question makes me laugh a little as I don’t think of myself as trendy or as a trend follower…I love what I love, and if I am drawn to it, I will create with it or try to recreate what I feel when seeing it. I don’t like the process of creating to feel forced, so for me, I create with the things I love and tend to ignore the trends.

Where do you find trends?

It seems that I am hopelessly stuck in one trend and I love it…that of shabby chic, vintage, weathered, and aged. I believe that this trend found me as nothing speaks to me more artistically and emotionally. I feel my grandma’s soft hands, see my mom playing the piano, and envision my great-grandma hanging out her linens to dry in the sun as these beautiful pieces of art float through my mind and in front of my eyes.

What websites, blogs, magazines, ads, etc. are the most inspirational to you in terms of trend-watching? Why do they motivate you?

I’m a vintage soul at heart, so while I love to see what others create when following trends, nothing inspires me like those who use all things timeless, aged, shabby, and ready to tell a story. I even have favorite colors that seem to always draw me in more than others…colors that speak to me personally and create a feeling of gentleness and love. Country Living has a way of inspiring me to try new color combinations.

Amy Atlas has a way with color and design that makes me run to create.

Every nook and cranny of Inspire Company is filled with bits of inspiration and wonderful artists.

Name a designer (or two) in the scrapbooking industry that inspires you. What do you like about his/her work?

I have long admired Carolyn Peeler…it seems that heaps of inspiration can be found in one single square inch of her creations. She has a softness to her creativity that speaks directly to my heart.

Keisha Campbell has a wonderful way with techniques…she makes them seem so simple and doable. I was first introduced to machine stitching on my chipboard through Keisha’s work, and am drawn to her simple flair for absolutely beautiful creations.

Without giving anything away that you are working on, what trend(s) are you currently watching?

I love watching and incorporating the use of vintage things into new projects and creative areas. To see old book print or sheet music used in paper-crafting today makes it all the more meaningful. Those timeless pieces each have a story to tell.

Where do you think trends get started and what propels them once they do?

Trends create excitement….they have a way of engaging people in such a way that makes them get up and try something new. Trends create growth in that, each new trend continues to grow and develop and take on a life of its own.

What advice can you give to paper crafters who are interested in incorporating more trends into their projects?

Find a trend you LOVE and try it…perhaps it’s not for you…perhaps it’s forced once you do try it. I think it’s important to not let the trend shape you and your style, but to welcome the trend into who you are and how you create. Don’t change for what’s popular and desirable at the present time, or you may lose yourself in the waves of trends that will come and go. There is something for everyone, whether it’s bright and bold with funky written all over it, playful and humorous, clean and simple, or many different combinations of what’s trendy. If the current trend is incorporating butterflies in your paper-crafting, there is a butterfly for you and your current style…always remember there are many options available when it comes to creativity….there is no right and wrong.

In your opinion, what paper crafting techniques are trendy right now and why do you think they are appealing?

Embossing has taken on a life of its own and I love the dimension, depth, and texture it adds to paper-crafting.

I have noticed a huge evolution in the world of stamping over the past few years….artists are thinking outside of the box and creating a new excitement in this area, so much that I think many are allowing themselves to try stamping and are enjoying it.

Glitter is EVERYWHERE and can be found it all styles of paper-crafting. I love the life it brings to projects.

Dusting off the sewing machine and using it in paper-crafting is another trend that many are trying their hands at….one of my most favorite techniques. :) I love the personal touch it adds to everything….it makes it touchable and homespun.

In your opinion, what paper crafting products are trendy right now and why do you think they are appealing?

Kraft is WONDERFUL and here to stay….it is extremely versatile and seems to fit into many different styles of paper-crafting.

A must-have for me and one that I see everywhere is adhesive pearls and rhinestones….they are super delicious :) and add the perfect finishing touch to anything.

And, dare I say hemp and buttons….they go together like peanut butter and jelly I tell you….one is not complete without the other and I see this wonderful duo all over.

What is your favorite medium in which to work and why does it appeal to you? Has that changed over time? Why or why not?

Paper + scissors + glue = true love. :) I’m a little old fashioned that way, but I need to touch, mold, create, and experience each aspect of paper-crafting with my hands…it makes me happy

What is your favorite part about your job as a designer…and why? What is your least favorite part about your job as a designer… and why?

I love being creative plain and simple. It’s healthy, it’s rewarding, and it’s fun. I also get to work from home…in the wee hours of the morning, such as now, while my little house sleeps. :)

I must admit that the organizational issues that come with being a designer aren’t my thing….my stuff is everywhere….out of control…but somehow my husband still love me for my messes.

Name some doors that have opened to you as a result of being connected to the scrapbooking industry and what that has meant to you.

I have the wonderful opportunity of designing for my favorite companies…I work with product that inspires me and suits me perfectly. I have met the most amazing women…created lasting friendships, and have grown individually….taken chances and been rewarded for doing so. It’s been so good for me personally to take hold of something, such as paper-crafting, and allowed myself the time to turn it into something I am passionate about.

Once you spot a trend, do you have a way of filing that idea away for later use that works for you?

Nope. :) Remember what I said about the whole organizational thing…let’s just say there is much going on in my head at all times.

Which retail stores tend to get your trendy juices flowing?

I’m a Pottery Barn lover….Williams-Sonoma…Tai Pan….anything home décor related draws me in and won’t let me go. It’s amazing how inspiration can be found everywhere.

Do the evolving trends change your paper crafting style, or do you inject the trends into your already established style?

Most definitely, I inject them into my style…I have tried to change my shabby ways and become a funky girl at heart….but it’s hard work, not enjoyable, forced, and I don’t like the outcome…so I open my door and let it in and use it how I will.

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Now seriously, friends, wasn't that the very definition of sweet?

Leave Melissa some love here by midnight MST on Wednesday, April 15 and I'll draw two random winners. One will win this Sweet Things Kit designed by Melissa for The Scrappy Gourmet and the other will win 5 handmade cards created and autographed by Melissa herself.

And did you notice her comment about how trendy stitching is on projects? Click here for the details on our Stitch in Time challenge going on now until April 13!

Grateful for Melissa,

~Cath