I will never forget the day I met Paul & Kezia Whitteker. Poof! In walked this beautiful couple, all smiles and confidence, they shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and a beautiful friendship was born. I’m not kidding you, these two exude happiness and positive vibes all over the place–and it’s absolutely contagious. You can’t help but feel good about yourself, the world, your evening meal, the argument you had with your child that morning, and the grocery shopping you have to do later that day just because you’ve spent a little bit of time with this dynamic duo. While Paul is the businessman in the family and Kezia is the inspired artiste, one without the other is like peanut butter without jelly. And so, even though I’ll be interviewing Kezia and getting her take on trends and how they apply to her designs today, it just wouldn’t be complete without my buddy Paul hanging around in the rafters. Paul Whitteker at CHA Summer 2008 showing me how to create a bead out of Tinkering Ink paper Of course, when I met Paul and Kezia they were busy growing Tinkering Ink, a company that quickly became one of our favorites. Now Kezia is busy designing lines for Autumn Leaves , including the Wellies & Brellas line that I showed you for this week’s Moxie Monday . And while I miss Tinkering Ink terribly, I know that Kezia has found a good place with Autumn Leaves where she can spend more time on design and less time on designing packaging and catalogs. Join me in welcoming Kezia to the Moxie Fab World. I think you’ll enjoy what she has to say about trends and how they influence her work. Is trend-watching important to your creativity? Why or why not? If so, how does trend-watching manifest itself in your work? As an artist I feel inspired by the world around me, however I don’t make a conscience effort to “trend watch” or “trend research” per se. I always have something going on in my life that fills me with inspiration whether it is to walk through the forest or perhaps the television is on in my office with a European fashion show playing. Where do you find trends? Actually watching teenagers and twenty-somethings is a good way to find trends, since they are still discovering who they are and “finding themselves” they tend to hone in on the latest and greatest things of the world and “try them out”. What websites, blogs, magazines, ads, etc. are the most inspirational to you in terms of trend-watching? Why do they motivate you? I love food websites believe it or not! A few that I visit frequently are Donna Hay and Vosges Chocolates . I also get a lot of inspiration from Style and Snapfashun . Rose Cups from Donna Hay Exotic Truffle Collection from Vosges Chocolate Name a designer (or two) in the scrapbooking industry that inspires you. What do you like about his/her work? Ali Edwards inspires me to “be real” whenever I journal or create. I don’t use the pictures that I think everyone else would like to see in my album, I use the real life pictures and journal the true emotions of the event to go with it. Without giving anything away that you are working on, what trend(s) are you currently watching? The “green” trend seems to be BIG right now in every facet of our world, most companies seem to be jumping on the green band wagon. But I saw this same “green” trend happen in the 80’s when I was a teenager so I will be interested to see if it lasts. I also feel like color trends go in cycles that last about 10 years, so you can cast your mind back in the interior design world and see the 10 year cycles in everyone’s homes…70’s avocado green, mustard yellow, burnt orange…80’s sea-foam green and peach (yuck)…90’s burgundy, forest green, and navy blue… Where do you think trends get started and what propels them once they do? I think that one of the roots of all trends is nature. It is never the same from season to season, not just the change from winter to spring, but no two winters are the same either. What advice can you give to paper crafters who are interested in incorporating more trends into their projects? Look for things that inspire you or that you find beautiful and then try to incorporate that same color scheme or feeling into your project, for example…. the layout design of an advertisement for laundry detergent might make a gorgeous wedding announcement… it is all in how you look at it. In your opinion, what paper crafting techniques are trendy right now and why do you think they are appealing? Simplistic and clean seems to be trendy right now and maybe that is because of our economy. Everyone is simplifying and going more basic and structured, not a lot of whistles and bells. 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? I really love digital right now because it is so fast and forgiving, however nothing will ever replace the personal nature of a handmade creation for me. There is just something I love about cutting and glue and folding and…you get the picture. 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? My favorite part about being a designer and an artist is that every day is a new experience. I am never bored (unless I have to create a barcode, but those days are few and far between.) My least favorite part about being an artist and designer is when I have to create under pressure and there are deadlines to meet. It is much nicer to be able to let things happen organically. The creations that happen spontaneously and organically are always the most beautiful and they always sell the best at the store. 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 met some incredible people as a result of my career in the scrapbooking industry. I have been given the opportunity to travel to different places and teach others how to do something that I LOVE! Once you spot a trend, do you have a way of filing that idea away for later use that works for you? Yep I write it down, take a picture of it, rip it out… or collect it in any way that I can and then it goes on my clipboard above my desk! Which retail stores tend to get your trendy juices flowing? Anthropologie , H&M , Top Shop and the like. I really find online stores a much better way to get my creative juices flowing–and I can do it in my pajamas! Do the evolving trends change your paper crafting style, or do you inject the trends into your already established style? I inject the trends into my style, I am very erratic and not methodical or regimented at all… so that tends to show in the things that I create…. It is always sporadic in nature with a little element of surprise. Kezia and me at the Paper Crafts 5th Birthday Bash at CHA Winter 2009 Thanks, Kezia, for taking the time to share your insight with us! Friends, I’m excited to announce that I have 2 sets of Kezia’s Pretty Poppies line to give away today: Just leave some love for Kezia by midnight MST on Sunday, May 3 and I’ll draw 2 random winners to receive this beautiful line! It’s a Kezia kinda day, ~Cath
For the winners of the Provo Craft prizes on our Inspirational Blog Hop on Day Five: Join me here on the Paper Crafts Connection! Congratulations to all the winners and thanks again to everyone who played! Ladies, send me your addresses to cedvalson@ckmedia.com with the prize you won in the subject line and they’ll be on their way to you pronto! Feeling like a winner, ~Cath PS We’ll have the winners of the Cards & Gifts Week Mother’s Day challenge on Thursday. Don’t forget, the Wood You? Challenge is still ongoing through Monday, May 4! There are some darling projects there right now! Click here for a look-see! 
