New Designer Debut: Getting to know Lynnette & Mari!
Happy Sunday Sweet Shoppers! Have you seen the amazing classic releases our newest designers added to the shoppe last night? There is soo much yummy stuff in there for you to devour including some scrumptious treats from these two lovely ladies. I’m really excited to have you get to know Mari and Lynnette a little better today and even happier that all 6 of these amazing ladies are finally going to be adding their wonderful goodies to the shoppe week after week from now on…
Lynnette Penacho
Who are you, where are you from, and who do you love?
Hello everyone! I’m Lynnette aka Nettio of NettioDesigns and I’m a 29 year-old child-free tech-lovin’ gal from the Silicon Valley/Central Coast area of California. After college, I married my awesome husband Adam who is currently a Captain in the U.S. Army, which means in addition to dealing with the occasional deployment, we’ve also had the opportunity to live in such “exotic” locales as Seoul, South Korea, Colorado and most currently San Antonio, Texas. We’ve been married six awesome child and pet free years and when I’m not busy scrapbooking or blogging, I love to travel, spend time outdoors and hang out with my husband and family.
How long have you been designing?Â
Well, I think I’m the relative newbie of the groups since I only officially put on my digital scrapbook designer hat one year ago when I opened up my own store, NettioDesigns. But I’ve been using my computer to design for much longer than that and have been digital scrapbooking for 6 years offering the occasional freebie as part of my role as a Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe, so the progression to template designer seemed like a natural one.
What’s the best thing about designing? The worst?
I love the way designing allows me to combine my love for memories, graphic design and technology into one awesome package. And of course, the portability of the digi-world is definitely an added bonus when you move around a lot. But what I especially love is getting to know all of the awesome people in digi and seeing all the creative ways people use my designs. Nothing makes me happier than when someone takes one of my templates and really makes it their own.
The hardest part of designing for me would be staying focused, finding time to do all of the things I want to do and not allowing myself to get overwhelmed by all the amazing things other designers are already doing.
What excites you about the digital scrapbooking industry?
I love how tight knit the community is. You aren’t just buying from some random corporation, you can actually interact and get to know the designers and scrapbookers you love personally which I think is SO cool. It also amazes me just how far this industry has come in the time I’ve been digital scrapbooking. Makes me excited to be a part of where the industry is going next!
How do you feel about starting your journey here at Sweet Shoppe Designs? How do you hope to grow? What do you want to accomplish as part of our team?
Oh gosh, even though I’ve been a Sweet Shoppe Sugarbabe for over 4 years now, I was SO nervous about applying. This is my digi home and always where I felt my designs fit best, so I can’t even tell you how excited I am to be starting this new chapter of my design journey alongside everyone I already know and love. One of things I really missed with having my own store was the team atmosphere we have here at the Sweet Shoppe so I’m really looking forward to being able to work alongside all these amazing designers, continue growing my brand and inspiring scrapbookers to step outside their comfort zone and embrace what makes them awesomely unique and amazing.
Describe your design style and what inspires you.
I like to refer to my template design style as “modern paper-lovin’ ” which is my way of saying I love clean lines, modern shapes and room for lots and lots of patterned paper. I love designing templates that act not only as a jumping off point for an awesome design but also as a source of inspiration for a topic or project that someone might not scrapbook normally, like All About Me pages or mini albums. People don’t always have to use my templates the way I intend but it’s always exciting to me when one of my templates inspires someone to try something new. I’m definitely inspired a lot by paper scrapbooking and graphic design so I do try to keep an element of realism in all of my designs and especially love when someone sees one of my layouts and doesn’t realize it’s digital. It’s like the ultimate modern paper-lovin’ stamp of approval.
Mari Koegelenberg
Who are you, where are you from, and who do you love?
Hi my name is Mari Koegelenberg, I am a South African Ex-Patriot living in the Napa Wine Country California. I have 2 adorable Kids a loving Husband… and they make my life complete (and also very very busy).
How long have you been designing?
Too Long? lol I started in 2005 and had a brief stint as Owner of the ‘Southern Hemisphere’ Digital Scrapbooking Site Snap n Scrap but when my husband was transferred to the USA I scaled down and returned to just good ole designing.
What’s the best thing about designing? The worst?
The best is the satisfaction of creating a complete kit from a concept/color scheme and having it be exactly as you envisioned or even better! 😉 The worst is the lack of time or umm time management (uhm damn you pinterest and other interesting sites! ROFL)
What excites you about the digital scrapbooking industry?
As a Hybrid Scrapper the near limitless possibilities. Anything you can dream of doing is as easy as just playing on your computer and creating it from scratch and implementing it into your crafts. I started out with some awesome ideas for Cutting Files a few years ago and they are to this day some of my most popular products. Taking something that is flat and making it into something tangible and 3D is in my opinion just awe inspiring.
How do you feel about starting your journey here at Sweet Shoppe Designs? How do you hope to grow? What do you want to accomplish as part of our team?
Oh gosh, this is a day I never ever thought would happen. I have always felt I am not good enough and as a result that has kept me back in so many areas of my life and design work. When I received the acceptance email I was in total shock…I could not believe the fact that I will become a Sweet Shoppe Designer (one of the highest accolades I can think of in this industry!).
I am so happy, scared and beyond excited to start on this brand new venture. I hope to grow and expand as a designer and keep doing what I love so very much. I also cannot wait to get to know my Design Idols better and even make some pretty stuff with them! 😉 And I cannot wait to get to know all of the wonderful people that call Sweet Shoppe home. From the past month I have been amazed at this wonderful community.
Describe your design style and what inspires you.
I am literally all over the show… one week I would make vintage shabby stuff and the next something more modern. I love adding a retro kind of feel to my kits and I am a FONT Junkie…LOOOVE fonts! 😉 And oh yes Patterns oh my I love patterns…I dream of patterns and one of my favorite pastimes is figuring out a pattern and trying to recreate it in my own style. My biggest inspiration is color…I always joke but for me color has its own unique personality…it talks to me (yes proof that designers are crazy people! ROFL). I almost always start with color, then I like to ‘theme’ my kits. I usually have a clear idea of what Theme I want for the kit and this influences my design style, patterns and all the other bits that make a kit complete.
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So there you have it! Thanks so much for spending the weekend with us getting to know our newest designers! We hope you’ve enjoyed it! As always, these girls are looking forward to bringing you the sweetest new treats in all of digi-land, so be sure to check back each Saturday to devour all of our newest releases!
