On November 27, 2015, I was invited as a guest expert on Fox News to talk about the hot trend of coloring books for adults. Books provided by Fox Chapel Publishing including my 3 new titles: Modern Flowers, Boho Paisley and World Beat, Mandalas & More. Art supplies sponsored by Sakura of America, Xonex, Faber-Castell and Caran D'Ache.

Wishing all mothers a rockin' day with their kids. I will be spending a great day with my son going to our favorite art galleries and vintage shops. 

ALLA welcomes Teresa Woo-Murray! Surface designer and illustrator, Teresa Woo-Murray of Woo Hoo Design Studio joins forces with fellow LA artists. She has licensed artwork on many products such as fabric, rugs, greeting cards, gift bags and wrap that can be found at Target, JoAnn’s Fabrics, The Container Store, Bristol Farms and online retailers.

Woo Hoo Design Studio recently signed a licensing contract with Oklahoma Embroidery Supply and Design (OESD) for her Cupid and Floral Collection, a grouping of 25 designs for machine embroidery for release in January 2014. For more information, visit http://woohoodesignstudio.com/Home.html

ALLA also introduces Bella Caronia, a brand new art created by Amanda Caronia. Bella Caronia is a surface pattern design brand created for those who love nature and color. Designer and creator Amanda Caronia has a strong artistic eye and specializes in hand paintings and drawings. Her designs are a mixture of vintage inspirations and a unique modern sketch style. With a BA in studio art from Colorado College, she also earned a certificate in textile design from Otis College of Art and Design. Working on her artwork collections since 2008, she is proud to join Art Licensing LA and share her favorite designs with others and debut at Surtex 2014. For more information, visit http://www.bellacaronia.com/

I am always so thrilled to discover sewing projects made by talented crafters featuring my fabrics. Here is a lovely fabric journal project by eamylove for her blog, Amy Made That! The fabric is from the Boho Girl Blueberry collection by Wilmington Prints.

Sewing Notebook - Across the Pond Sew Along Blog Excerpt:

Here in Pennsylvania, the sun is finally coming out, so I took advantage of it to show some photos of my brand-new sewing notebook! {It's my project for this month's Across the Pond Sew Along!}

Those are my pretty white Easter tulips... oh, look, they need some more water! As I was saying... this month we are making journal covers, so I decided to create a Sewing Notebook from a composition book.

There are so many great tutorials out there, and you can find more links for them, plus inspiring photos when you visit Susie's Sunroom...  and Amanda The Patchsmith.

I was almost paralyzed with indecision... which tutorial or pattern should I use, and which fabrics should I pick?

I recently received a very sweet gift...a fat quarter bundle of Boho Girl by designer Debra Valencia, in blues and greens! I had my heart set on using those for my journal cover. Normally these cool colors are calming and soothing... but in this case, the prints are full of movement and energizing. {A perfect combination for a sewing journal, right?}

For my pattern, I could no longer resist purchasing The Notebook Slipcover by Gingercake Patterns. {Within minutes of buying the PDF, I was on my way to making my cover...woo-hoo!} And only about an hour or so later, I had my first notebook cover!!! {I made mine very simple, without the flap or button closure.}

I love the way this pattern lets you use several coordinating prints, so you don't have to choose just one favorite! I made the little pockets for the interior. The topstitching detail is easy and pretty.

Now, I must admit something about that pattern didn't make sense to me while I was sewing. This morning I decided to email Virginia {Gingercake, herself} to ask her my question.

Near the end of the pattern, the measurement for the seam that holds all of the layers together was much larger than I thought it should be, and my little notebook had too much wiggle room. {It was an easy fix...I just stitched it around again, with a narrower seam, and it fit perfectly.}

Virginia got right back to me and explained that the seam was made bigger, so that a binder or heavier notebook would have room for the thicker sturdy covers. {Makes sense...I'll have to make a note of that, in my Sewing Notebook.}

And then... as I was downloading these photos from the pattern site... I had an epiphany...I completely forgot to do that
final topstitching through all of the layers!!! That would make it look even more tailored and professional. {See what I mean?}

I guess I was just so excited to finish it...that I didn't finish it! You know what that means... I'm gonna have to make more of these! If you make one...or more...please show us what you've created
in the Across the Pond Flickr Group!

Related links:
Amy Made That! Blog:
http://eamylove.blogspot.com/2013/04/sewing-notebook-across-pond-sew-along.html

Sewing Patterns
http://susiessunroom.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-showers-bring-journal-covers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SusiesSunroom+%28Susie%27s+Sunroom%29 

http://www.gingercake.bigcartel.com/product/notebook-slipcover-pdf-sewing-pattern

Across the Pond Flickr Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/2154636@N22/

Boho Girl fabric available at these online retailers:
http://www.somewheresewing.comhttp://www.fatquartershop.com/Blueberry-Lime-Boho-Girl-Debra-Valencia-Wilmington-Prints.asp
http://melindasfabricshop.com/K4801/kits.html

The Art Licensing LA agency participated as first-time exhibitors at Surtex 2013 in booths #734 & 736. Our planning for the show took 10 months but was well worth the effort. Set up was a breeze completed in less than 3 hours. The show was a great success with 50+ manufacturers visiting our booth to select artwork for consideration.

More than an art resource, the ALLA artists are partners with each manufacturer for success: building brands, designing innovative product lines and growing sales and categories. Our vast combined experience includes art direction, branding, graphic design and production, character art, fine art, package design, design of style guides and point of purchase. All five of us are Los Angeles design professionals, and are all extremely knowledgeable about printing and manufacturing techniques, as well as experts in digital artwork file preparation. 

With a combined library of over 2000 images, ALLA effectively applies our creative talents to give each client an edge within each market. We currently offer popular licensing themes: florals, nature, wildlife, beach, food, wine, coffee, holidays, travel, pet, home, garden, baby, children, paisley, novelty, inspiration, humor and more.

We can develop custom themed collections upon request to meet the demands of current trends. We understand consumer trends and provide strategic direction for product line development to manufacturers.

Watch our promotional video which was featured on the Surtex website just a couple of weeks before the show: 

Inspired by the art licensing community grown out my art licensing seminars, I came up with the idea of launching a new type of collaborative agency of independent artists. Serving as the mentor of the group, I am pleased to announce the formation of Art Licensing LA established on January 1, 2013. The founding members include: Sara Berrenson, Ginger 17, Jeanetta Gonzales, LuAnn Roberto and Debra Valencia. The group of 5 Los Angeles-based artists include a diverse blend of art directors, painters, printmakers, illustrators and graphic designers. 

Art Licensing LA specializes in artists based in the cultural melting pot of Southern California. Inspired by the California lifestyle: progressive, modern, colorful, confident, bold, non-traditional — we have a sense of style that translates across all markets and regions. We are especially passionate about creating a wide variety of fine art, surface design, illustration and graphic design suitable for licensing to manufacturers in the stationery, gift, home décor and craft industries. 

Our mission for 2013 was to exhibit as an agency at Surtex. We meet in person for monthly dinners at a restaurant and also communicate by email and phone regularly. Like a virtual studio, in lieu of a physical space, we provide peer support with professional opinions and feedback on in-progress collections; an advisory board of sorts. As colleagues, we cooperate together as a group to share marketing, publicity and sales tasks. The jobs are divided up by website, booth design, press releases, marketing collateral, video direction, client outreach, research, etc. It is also really helpful to bounce ideas off each other and get the point of view of another designer. Once artwork is selected by a licensee, contracts and client communication are the responsibility of each individual artist. For example, two of our artists are currently licensed with the same manufacturer for ceramics but with very different artwork. For more details, visit our website:  http://artlicensingla.com/

Based in Los Angeles and seeking education on the topic of the business aspects of art licensing, I could not find anything locally. From 2003 to 2005, each year I flew to New York and walked both Surtex and the National Stationery Show. I attended as many seminars as my budget could handle. In 2007, I officially launched the Debra Valencia™ brand and transitioned my career from graphic designer to licensed artist.

I saw a need for an art licensing community in Los Angeles as well as accessible business education about art licensing on the West Coast. I began with teaching small seminars on the licensing basics and launching a Facebook networking group for local artists, designers, illustrators and photographers interested in learning about how to enter the field. If you would like to follow my postings about art licensing, visit this link:https://www.facebook.com/ArtLicensingProfessionalsLA?ref=hl

I proposed this topic as a continuing education course for professional artists to Otis College of Art. In Spring 2013, I taught “Licensing Your Art and Earning Royalties” for the first time. I took the content from my beginner and advanced seminars and greatly expanded the content to 10 week course with a total of 30 hours of class time. This extended course really gave me the time to go into detail about portfolios, product categories, contracts, making submissions to manufacturers, marketing and other ways of making money from art.  I’m pleased to announce I’ve been invited back and will be repeating the course in Fall 2013 with updated content! For more information, visit: http://www.otis.edu/

Cheyanne made this beautiful totebag for me using my Kyoto quilt collection fabrics in the blue/grey color scheme. The sewing pattern is her very own creation including the fabric flower. My trips to Tokyo combined with my attraction to the graphic simplicity of Japanese woodblock prints from the 1800s were the inspiration for the Kyoto Collection. The main motif is a modern interpretation of the chrysanthemum flower symbolizing the changing of seasons as well as endurance and integrity. The brief beauty of cherry blossoms lasting only a few weeks represent the transient nature of life. Bamboo symbolizes strength of character since it can resist the forces of nature.