2013 SURTEX

Given that I had only about twelve total hours to cover all of the great shows happening at the Javits in conjunction with the National Stationery Show, I had to pick and choose, and sadly, missed one show entirely—the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)—and made short shrift of others, including the Supply Side of the National Stationery Show and the new Creative & Lifestyle Arts show. I’m most sad to say, though, that I was unable to do any justice to SURTEX, taking only a few quick passes through. (For those of you unfamiliar with SURTEX, it is a major marketing event for illustrators, designers, and other artists to showcase their work and find buyers and licensors for a variety of applications, such as textiles and toys, stationery and ceramics—essentially, anything that illustration and design can be applied to.)

All that said, I was able to chat with several remarkable illustrators. Here they are….

Gina Martin and I are both members of the same online design community, so I’ve had the great pleasure of watching her remarkable career accomplishments over the years. It was such a treat to meet her (and her fantastic friend, Karen) in person at SURTEX, and see her beautiful work first-hand. I’m particularly excited about the upcoming debut of her line of fabrics, “Wrens & Friends by Gina Martin” for Moda.

Another member of that same online design community is paper artist and illustrator, Patricia Zapata. Patricia is well-known for her paper crafts book, Home, Paper, Scissors: Decorative Paper Accessories for the Home, and for her “A Little Hut” blog, which Patricia uses to share fun paper craft projects she creates from the ground up, as well as updates on her wonderful illustration and design work. You can also read Patricia’s take on SURTEX as a first-time exhibitor.

Sometimes, a booth stands out from the crowd, and the Happy Go Lucky Creations booth was one of those. Every time I walked past, Lucky Nielson’s upbeat illustrations literally smiled out at me. I particularly liked the fresh, fun palette Nielson works with and the funky-retro feel of her illustrations. In addition to her more traditional-style illustrations, Lucky does some very nifty things with needle-felted art. Lucky offers another first-time exhibitor’s perspective of SURTEX on her blog.

Leah Hoelscher’s booth was filled with vibrant, sophisticated floral patterns. Her editorial illustrations are excellent, as are her intriguing map illustrations. Leah provides a nice overview of her SURTEX experience on her Little Arrow blog.

Natalie Timmons of Natalie Timmons Designs was easily one of the best marketers I saw (and this includes everyone at the Stationery Show, too). She was unusually adept at drawing people into her booth, engaging them in conversation, and providing them with materials that were not only representative of her and her work, but also were of genuine use to the person receiving them. It’s no surprise that Natalie comes from a marketing background, but what is extra-impressive is that she shares information, tips, and techniques with the rest of the creative community through her blog, Creative Leaps. (There’s a lot of pertinent SURTEX-related info in her most recent posts, including information on booth graphics, the costs associated with exhibiting at SURTEX, and more.)

The Jill McDonald Design Inc. booth was filled with bright, whimsical illustration. I particularly enjoyed looking through her state map illustrations. (For those of you thinking “Geez, her work looks familiar,” Jill’s illustrations can be found on a variety of products and in a number of children’s books, including several titles for Barefoot Books.)

Sadly, that’s it for Surtex, folks. I probably could have come up with several weeks’ worth of material if I’d had the time. I’ll just have to stay an extra day, next year.

Next: my NSS wrap-up post. Phew!

Please note: the image labels I’ve used are not official product names/titles. For more information on any of the products or illustrations in this post, please contact the wonderful people who created them.