Meet the Artist and Giveaway: Smile Lifestyle

I think you'll find the wait was well worth it

on this long line of giveaways.

Up next is Smile Lifestyle.

One lucky winner will receive one fabulous set of Letterpress Animal Notecards!

Buy it here

Edmarie and Elmarie sent me a lovely set alongside the giveaway set and I can honestly say

they are even more charming in person than they are in the pictures!

I can't wait to send one off, such unique little messages and creatures.

I think it'd be just the thing to brighten anyone's day :)

If you haven't yet visited Smile Lifestyle, 

be sure to head over and see all of the lovely cards they have to offer. 

I'll be showing you a few as we get to know our sponsor.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
A: We are identical twin sisters residing in Aurora, Il, about 25 miles west of Chicago. Art and Design have always been a passion that we've shared. I am more of a fine artist and my sister is a graphic designer. We knew we've always wanted to take our work to the next level. In the Fall of 2010, we finally launched our
first paper goods line that combined our styles.

Buy it here

Q: What's it like working together? Who does what as far as the creative process and running the business?
A: Working together is probably the easiest thing that we do. We have a really close relationship. And, in a literal sense, so close that we just live a couple of minutes away from each other. It makes it convenient for us to get together, whether it may be a brainstorming session or a weekend of screen printing. As far as our creative process goes, we basically start off with a brainstorm/intake meeting discussing our next collection. Then, individually, we interpret ideas appropriate to our own style. I design most of our illustrative collections, while my sister designs our patterned collection. We're both very involve in the production after designs
are finalized. In the business side of things, my sister handles most of the paper work and finance, while I manage a lot of the marketing.

Buy it here

Q: I love the "punny" greeting cards, they are very unique. How did this idea come about?
A: When we designed our first patterned collection, we didn't know it would become our signature line. We both love pattern and the shapes it creates around white space. It's almost elegant and hypnotizing when you stare at it. Our 'punny' sayings are the added surprise to break that 'hypnosis' and keep you smiling. We're  grateful for the feedback we've been getting from our customers and we'll keep these 'punny' cards coming.

Q: What is your most popular design?
A: The most popular design that we have is one of the Smile Signature line, "Love you like no otter". This card has been our best seller and have been featured on Etsy faves.

Buy it here

Q: Any new designs in the works?
A: We are super busy preparing our Holiday collection, which we can’t wait to debut in the coming weeks. We will be featuring more hand illustrated designs that are quirky, colorful, and fun. In addition, we also added on to the Smile Signature line.

Buy it here

Q: Tell us a little about the events you are participating coming up soon. Will these be your first shows? 
A: In addition to our Holiday collection, we are also debuting new collections at two big shows. We just finished up The DIY Trunk Show. Up next is the One of A Kind Show in Chicago, which has an Etsy pavilion. It will be held from Dec. 1-4 at the Merchandise Mart. We are ecstatic to take part and can’t wait to showcase the new collections that we have been working on. 

Buy it here

Q: Just for fun, what are your favorite Etsy stores to window shop? 
A: Edmarie- I am a big fan of Clare Elsaesser’s tastes orangey. I think that she’s such a brilliant artist. Her subject matters are just random moments in life, but she captures them in a way that makes them such beautiful moments.

Ready to Shop? I thought so!

The gals at smilelifestyle would like to offer my readers 

an exclusive coupon code. Just enter Modern20 at checkout to receive 20% off your entire holiday purchase of $20 or more.  

How to Enter the Giveaway:

1. Follow this blog (Mandatory)

and leave a comment here saying you did.

2. Like smilelifestyle on Facebook

and leave a separate comment here saying you did.

3. Follow smilelifestyle on twitter

and leave a separate comment here saying you do.
Make sure to bookmark my giveaways page if you haven't already, 

and READ THE FINE PRINT

Fine print:

Only 3 entries per household please
Giveaway ends November 29th at midnight PST
Winner will be chosen by random.org
Entries will be validated
Winner will be announced here
Winner will have 3 days to contact me, 

after which a new winner will be chosen

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter

Recently I have had to choose a second winner for quite a few giveaways 

due to lack of an email response from my winners. 

If you really want to win, check your SPAM folders often, or better yet 

add moderntypography@aol.com to your address book. Good luck!