Talking With Tami » greeting cards

African American Expressions

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:25:09 +0000

Lisa,Greg Perkins(owner of African American Expressions)Me

The gift show was here in Atlanta over the weekend and I had a chance to stop down and check out my favorite sponsor African American gifts. You may have noticed his banner on the right side of my blog. The company also makes a skin care line that is doing very well. I love the mango lotion by www.dg-skin.com.

Lisa and Greg

Lisa Wu Hartwell wanted to check him out to so I set up a meeting. We had a great lunch and Mr. Greg Perkins showed her around his showroom located on the 6th floor of the Mart. Lisa was very impressed at what all he had. If you have ever been in a church library or at Walmart Im sure you have seen his calendars,journals,artifacts,bible totes, african american gift cards and more! He is one of the largest distributors of all african american gift items!

Greg,Lisa&Ed Hartwell

Lisa and I

I’m so glad I met him last year and we have become very good friends. He is one of my biggest fans and sponsors. If you have a gift shop or store or just want to support his business, check out his site at www.black-gifts.com

Whimsicard!

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:53:53 +0000

TalkingWithTami: How did you come up with the idea for your stationery business Whimsicard?

As the hostess of lots of parties, I became very frustrated that I couldn’t find any cute cocktail napkins with a chic Black woman on it — someone that looked like me and all of my fashionable friends who attend my parties. In the spirit of self-determination, I took matters into my own hands and designed the cocktail napkin myself. From there we decided to add cards in the mix.

TalkingWithTami: You have a variety of cards, where do you get your inspiration?

I design the kinds of cards I want to buy for the celebrations in my family’s lives. I design cards that reflect the African American experience in the whimsical and fun loving way I authentically experience it with my family and friends everyday.

TalkingWithTami: Are there any women that are in the public eye right now that inspire you?

Malaak Compton-Rock, founder of the Angelrock Project, inspires me because she’s empowering our youth through programs such as “Journey for Change.” This is her life’s work; thus, she inspires me to be the change I want to see in the world.

TalkingWithTami: Whats next with your line of cards?

We intend to continue expanding our kid invitations for a wide variety of party themes.

TalkingWithTami: How do you pitch your stationery to companies?
Currently, we sell our products exclusively through our website, although we’d love to develop wholesale relationships with stationary stores.

www.whimsicardonline.com

Artist Bella Pilar!

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:12:04 +0000

Bella Pilar

TalkingWithTami: Bella Pilar is such a pretty name. When did you know you had a knack for drawing?

Thank you tammie! I really dont remember not drawing. I was always coloring and drawing as a child, and i never stopped.

TalkingWithTami: When did you started making greeting cards for Papyrus,tell us how that came about?

Ive been licensing my work to Papyrus for about 3+ years now. The initial booking came from my art agent, magnetreps.com

, presenting my work to them. They liked my style and licensed a small handful of images. and each year since the assignments have grown. And what started with just greeting cards, then evolved into gift bags and gift boxes, and most recently sticky notes and stickers.

TalkingWithTami: Your playful drawings are so pretty,what inspires you?

Fashion catalogs and fashion magazines inspire me the most. I have stacks of them and refer to them often when in need of inspiration. Girls and their poses, shoes and outfits, colors and patterns, its all there.

TalkingWithTami: Did you have any former training in illustration,or were you born with it?

I would like to think I was just born with it , but well never really know! I did go to art school, for many years. In grade school I always took weekend art classes. In high school i studied art at the High School for Music & Art in NYC (yes- the Fame school!). And then I continued on to art college where I majored in fashion design and studied a lot of fine art. All of the fashion sketching in my fashion classes is what i was drawn to most. And I always felt the most connection with the fashion illustrating over any other area of the arts that I had studied.

TalkingWithTami: Can you tell us where your artwork can be seen and bought?

If you check out the Shop page at

bellapilar.com you can see all the goodies. There is a lot of fun stuff you can buy with my artwork on it at PAPYRUS, and you can view most of that product on my site. And there are a lot of new PAPYRUS treats coming out this fall (journals, figurines, and more cards of course), so look out for it! Also on this Shop page you can buy my limited edition (signed and numbered) giclee prints of my favorite illustrations. These are a must have!