Hello Friends! Here we are again, time to welcome a new featured designer to the spotlight, but before we do, I wanted to make that I reminded you all or maybe brought it to your attention for the first time, we have a fabulous summer event that will be kicking off this summer and you can help us out by suggesting a challenge! You could even become a babe! Wanna know more? Check out this post in the forums for all the details. Now, this week’s featured designer is Cindy Schneider, she has been designing templates for a decade or more at this point and is one of the best in the business. Cindy has such a fun and distinct style, even if she’s trying a different layout configuration, you can absolutely tell it’s her design and I love that.
This year our theme is ‘Designer’s Choice’ What does that mean? Well, just what it sounds like! This year our wonderful team of designers will be coming up with a heap of fantastic new collections inspired by whatever is exciting or motivating them in the moment. They have total freedom to express themselves however they’d like, and we’re super excited to see where this adventure takes us over the next year. Cindy’s Hello Friends are some of my favorites Cindy templates, I love the ones that she creates that include premade titles! I don’t know about y’all, but when you’ve been scrapping for 16 years, new title ideas are few and far between. Plus, I love to get as many photos on one pages as I can, without making it look too cluttered, Cindy is a master at this. Don’t forget you can get Hello Friends with a $10 purchase. Just add $10 worth of goodies to your cart and it will automatically be added! The offer is good until our new releases go live on June 30th.
Are you ready for our interview with Cindy with the questions that are directly from our SSD community?
How do you define your style? What does that style include? How has your style changed over the years?
Cindy: I guess I define my style as having lots of layers, photos, and the page filled! Not sure if there is a word for that, but these are my favorite templates to create and they generally sell the best. I also love creating themed templates and including wordart. In addition to page layout templates, I also have a few other types of templates in my store such as layered wordart, word frames, and date labels.
Where do you see your designs going in the future? Is your focus changing in any way?
Cindy: I have been designing templates for quite a long time now and I watch for the general trends to change, but I try to remain true to my own style. I guess if products are still selling fairly well, and that’s what customers want, there is no need to drastically change anything. I do try to come up with new ideas for my store….I have added a Stickers and Stamps collection, my Everyday Singles, All About Me templates and my month by month collection to try to keep things fresh!
Is there anything you don’t like about designing?
Cindy: Aside from the fact that it ties you down to a desk all day, I have no complaints. I love being able to work from home and stay creative at the same time. The only difficult part about designing templates for so long is coming up with new ideas week after week while not becoming too repetitive.
What brings you joy?
Cindy: The thing that brings me the most joy is seeing my 2 kids healthy, happy and enjoying life as they enter adulthood.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Cindy: I always wanted to be a veterinarian because of my love for animals, but then realized I could probably not emotionally deal with the death aspect.
What’s the last really great book you read or tv show you watched?
Cindy: The last really good book I’ve read was Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (I’m a big psychological thriller fan) and the last great tv show I’ve watched was Maid on Netflix.
Who are your favorite designers? Who do you buy from when you want to scrap with something other than your own products?
Cindy: We have so many amazing designers at our store. Some of my favorites are Kristin CB, WendyP and Studio Flergs. When I do find time to scrap (which is rare these days) I am usually using my own templates and I find the collections from these designers work well with my them!
I think I need to read that Jar of Hearts, I’m always looking for a new psychological thriller, maybe I can find it in audiobook.
The team has been creating so many lovely layouts with this template collection, I can’t wait to give you a little peek.
Ok everyone, have a great weekend! Don’t forget to come back next Friday to get a look at all the goodies Cindy will have in her featured designer 15 sale! Until then, happy scrapping.
