Interview with A.J. of Transfinite

A.J. of Transfinite

Rico:
What's Your Name?

A.J.
- I don't have any of myself, but here's a picture of my cat.  

Rico:
List your shop(s) -

A.J. :

Transfinite

The first store I created is called QUILTBAG Scraps. Its theme is items related to gay/lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex pride. (The acronym QUILTBAG means "Queer, undecided, intersex, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, androgynous/asexual, gay".) I'm neutrois (genderless) and pansexual (basically the same as bisexual, but with an emphasis on the fact that there are more than two genders), so I wanted to create products for my communities, and those related.

Transfinite2

My second store is called Kitten Fundamentalist, because I couldn't really think of a better name. It's just that when I decided to start making non-QUILTBAG items, I thought it would be a good idea to split them up. This store is basically for everything else I think of - political-related items, t-shirts with cute kittens on them, etc.

Rico:
How long have you been at Zazzle?

A.J. :
Technically, a year or so. I made a store, stuck a few items up, and then sort of abandoned the place. When I randomly got a sale a couple of weeks ago I remembered Zazzle, and decided to come back.

Rico: Are you a ProSeller?

A.J. :
Not yet!

Rico:
What's the best advise you got when you were starting out?

A.J. :
I'm still more or less starting out, but the best advice I've seen so far is, you actually need to work at making and selling products. You can't just upload a random design, slap it on a bunch of things, and wait for the dough to start rolling in.

Rico:
What medium/tools do you use to create your designs?

A.J. :
I run Linux, so I use The GIMP to create my designs. I've heard a lot of bad things about the program, but they're pretty much universally aimed at the Windows version; the Linux version of GIMP works amazingly well.

Rico:
Who or what inspires you?

A.J. :
I'm inspired by my interests. The queer community, liberal politics, adorable scampering kittens, the Japanese language... Sometimes I just browse public domain image galleries to see if anything inspires me, but generally it has to be something I'm interested in.

Rico:
How much time a week to you spend on Zazzle?

A.J. :
I have a lot of free time since I'm job-hunting right now, so I spend a couple hours a day on Zazzle... so maybe 20 hours a week? I know that sounds like a lot, but it's not all in one sitting. I'll stop by for five minutes to check the forums, go off to eat dinner, and then come back and spend half an hour uploading a design and making some products. That kind of thing.

Rico:
What's the best advise you can give someone just starting out on Zazzle?

A.J. :
Come up with lots of different designs and try putting them on lots of different products. You'd be surprised what works well!

Rico:
What do you like to do when you are not creating art?

A.J. :
Video games, reading, and writing. When I'm not making art, I'm working on a novel I'm writing (I know, isn't everyone?) and help translate Japanese shows and comics into English (unprofessionally).

Rico:
Tell me 5 random things everyone should know about you? 

A.J. :
 
1) I have a cat. She's currently inspiring me for several cat-related items.

2) I don't identify as either male or female, so I prefer to be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns; it, they, zie/zir, or something else, as long as it's not he or she.

3) I have Very Strong Feelings about equality and inclusiveness.

4) I live in the Pacific Northwest. That's probably why I don't get off my computer and go outside more often.

Rico:
List 3 of your favorite designs you want me to feature. Tell me something about each design.

A.J. :

When you say I'm confused about my gender... T Shirts

 

When you say I'm confused about my gender... by transfinite
View more Genderqueer T-Shirts

"When you say I'm confused about my gender, you really mean YOU'RE confused about your gender." You're just confused is something trans and non-binary people hear all the time, and it really grates on the nerves. I'm planning to make a version that says "When you say I'm confused about my sexuality..." for bisexual, pansexual, and asexual people, soon.

Adorable Kittens Necklace

 

Adorable Kittens by transfinite2
Browse more photo pendant designs

- "Adorable kittens necklace". This actually got featured on Zazzle's "Today's Best" a few days ago! As you might be able to tell, I am a cat lover (and I like to run, etc.). The same design is also available on shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, and other items.

Hentaigana: It's not what you think Shirt

Hentaigana: It's not what you think by transfinite2
Use Zazzle's t shirt designer

- "Hentaigana: It's not what you think." This one is a really terrible pun... Hentaigana is an old-fashioned Japanese writing system that's not in use these days, but unfortunately, "hentai" (variant) is a homophone for "hentai" (perverted), a word often used to mean "anime porn". The handwriting on the front of the shirt is the word "hentaigana" written in hentaigana, and the octopus on the back... Well, look up "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" (but disable images first).

Rico:
This is one of my personal favorite designs from your shop 

Heartsplosion Tee Shirt

Heartsplosion by transfinite2
Browse more Hearts T-Shirts

Rico: Very nice design. I love the colors. 

Rico:
Where else can our readers find you online? 

A.J. :I'm on Dreamwidth at transfinite (), but I mostly post about my boring personal life and silly fandom-related things. I never update my Twitter, and I don't like Facebook's privacy policies, so I don't have one. Dreamwidth at transfinite