Lilla and her gorgeous craft line, Ruby Violet, are featured in Uppercase’s “Lucky 13” issue. – Julia

From the publisher of Uppercase Magazine, Janine Vangool:
“Hi Lilla
I hope issue #13 has arrived to you safe and sound! It is lovely to see you in the pages there again. Here’s a jpg of the spread.”

Looks like a great time was had by all and the jewelry projects look gorgeous! – Julia

Visit Derby Farm in Arlington, MA to purchase Ruby Violet products or online here.

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As well as picking the winner, Lilla chose the five runners-up in the They Draw & Travel map contest.

Our “Datcha” near Tashkent, Uzbekistan by Yulia Drobova from Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Miyajima, Japan by Megumi Goto from Tokyo, Japan

Home Sweet Seattle by Cheryl Lee from Seattle, WA

The Fantastic Antarctica by Aneu Martinez from Barcelona, Spain

Aylesford, UK by Rebecca Bradley from Baltimore, MD


Monday: Linda’s Flower Pop notecards for teNeues

From the They Draw & Travel site:

“Wow. Wow! WOW! We received 225 entries in our Marvelous Map Contest. They are all so beautiful and inspirational and informative and unique. Some are really funny, others are super hip, lots are really cute and a bunch are true masterpieces! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the great artists who so joyfully share their artistic talents and travel insights with us and armchair travelers everywhere.

Picking only 6 winners was almost impossible and we could NOT have done it without the help from our celebrity judge, Lilla Rogers. Lilla represents some of the greatest illustrators in the world and we really respect her aesthetic sensibilities and style. A big thanks to Lilla!

$1,000 Grand Prize Winner
Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok by Pinyada Ratanasungk from Bangkok, Thailand
Our judge Lilla says that she loved this map especially ‘…for the gorgeous, masterful drawings, the color palette, the unique and fresh imagery, the ability to pique interest in the location.’ We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!”

Thank you Salli and Nate for the wonderful opportunity to see so much gorgeousness! It was a real treat and honor to judge the work. – Lilla

Friday: Runners-up of the They Draw & Travel map contest

Good news: You’re getting lots of work. But I can know it’s very stressful. I’ve been there when I was a full-time artist with tons of projects, and here are my tips on time management:

1. Write each item on a small sticky piece of paper (post-it notes).
An item to write down might be:
sketch animals for bag
get ideas for pattern
scan in all line drawings
color in patterns
etc.

Break down each item so that it is small.

2. Then, take a large calendar and place those post-it’s onto the calendar, spreading them out until the due dates.

Realistically see how each day looks. Too many post-it’s in a single day? Spread it out more. See how it looks and that will help you decide if you have any time available for any projects. That way, you are making a decision based on facts.

I hope that helps! I still use this method.

Also: get lots of good healthy food for your refrigerator. Prioritize your life so that you only do what’s really important to you.

Good luck!
–Lilla

I am sooooo excited to announce the debut of my new line, Ruby Violet! I am a crazed crafter and am thrilled to have partnered with the lovely Prima group.

I’m about to fly to Chicago to go to CHA to launch the product line of embellishments, cuffs, necklace kits, rubberstamps, scrapbooking papers, and tons more!

A special shout out to Suzy Ultman for her help and wisdom and to Hsinping Pan for her art on some of the buttons.

Hope you like it!

— Lilla

To celebrate the launching of They Draw & Travel – Maps Illustrated by Artists from Around the World – its creators, Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell, a brother and sister design and illustration team, are having a “big, fat contest!” with over $2,000 in prizes. And guess who is the guest celebrity judge?! Lilla. What’s next? American Idol? — Julia

For more information on how to enter the contest, click here. Deadline is July 24th.

We’re looking to order a Formica top to place on our round conference table. I found these really nice patterns and thought you’d like to see. I would LOVE to design textures for Formica. Formica, are you listening???

Monday: RIBBIT RABBIT // illustrated by Mike Lowery // out now!

From Escape from Illustration Island’s website:

“Episode 60 of the Escape from Illustration Island Podcast features an audio interview with Artist Representative Lilla Rogers. Together we discuss her transition from Illustrator to Art Rep, as well as her thoughts on a strong portfolio and the changing landscape of our industry. ” Listen here.

Wednesday: Wine Spectator: Consumer Opinions Uncorked

This is a wonderful piece that I enjoyed a great deal, by Whitney Smith, a potter, from Oakland, California.

love your customer, even when you don’t
“I worked a few jobs in high school that required constant interaction with the public, and I learned– as did my supervisors– that customer service was not my forte. People would get on my nerves with their foolish expectation that I should serve them quickly and politely. I would shake with indignation if a customer gave me attitude. Of course I was young and untrained, and I had little idea what the word “customer service” meant, only that it sounded like somebody else’s job.

I thought being an artist and escaping into my studio every day was a great way to avoid having too many encounters with the general public. I have learned over the past 14 years that the best way to guarantee that you will be interacting with the public all the time is to be an artist who actually sells their work directly to people who want it.

The great thing about being totally wrong is that I’ve been given the opportunity to learn to be a person who can gracefully manage all kinds of encounters with clients and give great customer service. It’s been a long learning curve, because inside I still have a piece of that teenager that gets very upset when people complain, or want something from me that I’m not prepared to give. I’ve alienated customers with snappy responses, defensiveness, and irritable behavior. I’ve learned that just makes me feel just as bad as the customer does, while not solving the problem I’ve been presented with.”

Read the rest here:
this artist’s life: love your customer, even when you don’t

Wednesday: New Work by John Coulter for Seattle Met: Shorter Sale