Plaza Festival was a few weeks ago, and after a crazy morning of torrential rain, the sun started to shine and the weather was absolutely perfect for the event! After I got off work at Bow & Arrow, I went over to walk through the fest - it was my first year to go!
As I walked around, my eyes spotted what looked to be a stationery booth. ::cue angels singing::
Allow me to introduce you to Frameworthy Designs - and the darling girl behind the brand, Tara.
I'm pretty sure that within 10 seconds of arriving at her booth and flipping through the cards, I was asking her a million questions about where she sells and gushing over how I NEEDED everything she designed. Check out all the pretties I walked away with!
Well, sometimes it pays to make a fool of yourself to a total stranger, because now we are friends! Imagine my excitement when I found out that she was selected to be a vendor for the Deluxe Winter Market. Our office is producing this event during Downtown in December. (Our partners were the ones who handled all of the vendor recruitment and selection)
Okay enough of my blabbering - here's a quick Q&A with Tara!
E: Give me a couple quick facts about you!
T: I love traveling and singing -- I can't wink or whistle any sort of tune.
E: How did you get started designing stationery/paper goodies?
T: I started designing cards my freshman year of college ('07ish). I was actually painting directly on the cards and selling them that way, so there are a few original painted cards out there somewhere. I stopped doing that when a friend of my mom's was going to buy some & she realized they were originals... she refused and said I needed to produce them. So, I took her advice and started exploring ways to do that.
Throughout college, FWD was just sort of on the back burner... a tiny hobby that I did. I always imagined I'd make a living off of it. I never put any practical thought into it until my senior year. And now, almost three years after graduation, it's a big focus of mine.
E: How did you come up with the name Frameworthy Designs?
T: The name just sort of had a nice ring to it. I used a tagline for a while: cute enough to frame. I plan on expanding my product offerings beyond cute, and certainly beyond frame-able items, but I still love the name! I especially love that I can abbreviate it to FWD, as it reminds me to always keep moving forward.
E: How long have you been designing?
T: I've always enjoyed art. In high school, I had to "pick" between my passion for music and art. I picked music, and went to OU for vocal performance. After freshman year, I knew it wasn't quite right, and I switched to advertising with an emphasis in creative direction.
I guess it was probably sophomore year when I started teaching myself Adobe Creative Suite and investing time in learning about design. And as always, I kept drawing, painting, crafting and doodling in all of my notebooks!
E: Where can people buy your products?
T: Well, people can buy directly from me in Norman, or they can visit my etsy shop!
E: What are your goals for the future?
T: I have so many goals for the business! Most of them are product goals - things I'd like to create - everything from textiles, to wrapping paper, to books. I have a few ideas that I am really eager to get started on!
Ideally, I'd like FWD to be my full-time gig by the time I'm 27 (two years...yikes!). It's a lofty goal, but I'm pretty determined, and I'm learning it's going to take lots of sleepless nights and working weekends. But I think it will be worth it!
E: Which design is currently your favorite?
T: I've been working on a lot of affirmation and advice cards and prints -- usually words that resonate with me. It's been pretty therapeutic to work on them, because it seems like the more time I spend with the words (painting, embellishing, editing), the more I believe and trust their validity in my life.
Probably my favorite card right now is the birthday card that says, "Perfectly made, getting better with age." It's such a sweet sentiment that is sometimes difficult to believe about ourselves.
E: Any sneak peeks at designs in-progress for the holidays?
E: Any upcoming shows where people can find you and meet your darling self in person?
T: Yes! Shows!
I will be at the Deluxe Winter Market in OKC Nov. 30 and Dec 1.
And the last one for this year will be in Tulsa, at the Indie Emporium on Dec. 13 and 14.
Okay guys, do you see now how I totally fell in love with this girl? Not only is she a doll, but her designs are so positive, gorgeous and unique!
I can't wait to get the prints that I bought at Plaza Fest framed and up on my walls! I also need to purchase some more of her cards at the Deluxe Winter Market for my #LetteredLetters goal.
Thank you Tara for letting me feature you on the blog today!
xoxo, E
I can't wait to get the prints that I bought at Plaza Fest framed and up on my walls! I also need to purchase some more of her cards at the Deluxe Winter Market for my #LetteredLetters goal.
Thank you Tara for letting me feature you on the blog today!
xoxo, E
Love her cards!!
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