A fond farewell

I have a sad post to write today 😦 It’s sad, but true; There She Goes is closing their doors by end of this month. The official announcement is here.

TSG has always been a special stamp company for me. I was first introduced to it by Jackie Rockwell. My collection of TSG stamps from then on has just grown and grown. So today I want to take some time to think of my journey with TSG.

First the designers. I have had past and present TSG designers for Iron Craft three times! With Debby Hughes, with Danielle Lounds and with Torico. We used TSG stamp sets in two of these 3 features. So many of my favorite designers have been TSG Trendsetters that its an honor to be a Trendsetter myself!

Then the stamp designs. Torico has been my favorite illustrator since so long now! And Jessica, owner of TSG, is herself a great illustrator too. Again, its hard to name everyone in this little post but the illustrators of TSG kick ass. The variety of stamp designs was just awesome. Really. I had a pretty challenging time coming up with ideas not already present in the TSG collection as an illustrator myself!

So apart from the Iron Craft challenges, I also played in TSG challenges and once got spotlighted! I can’t forget the Donkey stamp set that Kim O’Connell inspired me to buy and use. I was star struck when Kim started a post in response to mine and visited my blog to comment on it! The set is still one of my favorites!

TSG is a very innovative company. It was the first one I saw offering Silhouette cut files for stamps. I love my Cameo and love the cut-files-for-stamps idea for its endless possibilities in limited space! TSG is also a very organized company. Thanks to Jessie Rone, our releases and other weekly activities were smooth and fun! Thanks to Sandra MacLean, our Pinterest boards stayed updated and beautiful. And Meredith kept our Facebook page lively and updated all the time. There you have it, an insider’s view to the very efficient and fun TSG DT!

This is where I should add a few words about my big moment – when I joined the TSG DT as an illustrator! The post talks a lot about how I felt but suffice it to say that the experience has simply been A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

So its a hard goodbye but one that must be said. Thank you Jessica and wish you lots of happiness and luck in your future!!

Whats next for me you ask? I’m not sure to be honest. I would love to continue illustrating but it may take time finding a new place to call home. So I’m just going to wait and figure out things as I go. Perhaps 2014 will bring some even newer adventures with it 🙂