Interview with New ProSeller Carolyn Muir of Artform the Heart

Carolyn Muir of Artform the Heart



Rico:
What's Your Name?

Carolyn Muir

Rico:
List your shop(s) -

Carolyn Muir :

 
Artform the Heart

Artform the Heart was my first store. I didn't really think too carefully about the name before choosing it, if I had I may have selected something a little less ambigious. I find it difficult to stick to one style in my work and this store reflects that; it's a little bit of everything. It has some of what I consider to be my "real" artwork - pieces either painted or drawn using traditional media such as paints, pastels and pencils, as well as some of my photography and a wide variety of digital designs.

Animatastic

My next store was Animatastic - The name came from mashing together the words "animals" and "fantastic" and it does reflect what the store is all about - cute cartoon animals.

Artform Nouveau

I love Art Nouveau and the number of designs of that style in my main store were increasing rapidly so I decided to start a dedicated store. Because there was some overlap in the designs between the two stores I wanted to keep a similar theme for the name and settled on Artform Nouveau It mainly deals with original designs in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, especially the Mackintosh Rose motif.

Tee Whiz

Tee Whiz is where I exercise my weird and wacky side. My fiance also gives me inspiration for this store with his funny one-liners.

Made in the USA

Made in the USA is a store that I set up for my fiance, being that he is American. It was originally his idea to set up a t-shirt business and in researching it online, I came across zazzle. Setting up this store for him was supposed to give us a shared interest but he never took it over so it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

The Stepmom Project

The Stepmom Project is another store that was in a way inspired by my fiance, or to be precise by the fact that his having three children would make me a Stepmom. Most of the designs in this store are family oriented, but not necessarily about stepfamilies.

Rico:
How long have you been at Zazzle?

Carolyn Muir :

I began in February 2010, so at the time of writing, a little over 18 months.

Rico:
How long did it take you to become a ProSeller from when you started?

Carolyn Muir :

Technically I qualified just as Zazzle put the program on hold in October of 2010, so six months but I didn't get the official notification until July of 2011 when the program restarted and I easily made Bronze level.

Rico:
What benefits, if any have you personally seen since reaching ProSeller status?

Carolyn Muir :

Honestly I haven't seen any real increase in sales or traffic since becoming a proseller. I would say little perks like having a proseller support service, but again, honestly, if I ever had a problem then customer service were usually pretty great even before I got the proseller status. It WAS nice to get the promotional deal of offering customers a free Christmas card, I have only made one "sale" on it so far but that means one happy customer that may return in the future.

Rico:
Has becoming a ProSeller changed the way you market you shop?

Carolyn Muir :

I don't think that it's changed how I market at all. I did begin displaying the proseller badge on my storefronts but that's the only change.

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

Carolyn Muir :

Sadly it took me two to three months to even bother to find the forums. At that point I had been naming and describing my products in an "artistic" way that was of absolutely no value in the marketplace or search engines, so I would have to say that being told to name and describe products as though telling a friend about them over the telephone was one of the most valuable tips I picked up.

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

Carolyn Muir :

For traditional artwork I use pencil, pastels, watercolor and acrylic paints. For graphic designs, cartoons and other work I use a variety of digital software including Photoshop, Inkscape, Artweaver and Artrage. I also do a little bit of photography but don't consider myself to be a photographer as such.

Rico:
Who or what inspires you?

Carolyn Muir :

So many things inspire me; it would be a very long list!

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

Carolyn Muir :

I would have to say: too much! My mother and fiance would agree with that. If I'm not actually on zazzle itself then I am either creating new designs or promoting myself and others.

Rico:
What's the best advise you can give someone working toward ProSeller on Zazzle?

Carolyn Muir :

Promote, promote, promote and then promote some more. And also try to visit the forums every day for opportunities, tips and advice.

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

Carolyn Muir :

I like being outdoors and visiting places of natural beauty or historic interest, spending time with family, and I have a few favorite TV shows that I rarely miss. I am very passionate about motoGP and will not miss a race; most everyone who knows me knows not to call me or try to talk to me at race time!

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

Carolyn Muir : 

I am a proud Scot.
I used to be a professional bellydancer.
I love old Doris Day Movies.
My favorite type of music is Rock/Heavy Metal.
Gerbera daisies are my favorite flower.

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

Carolyn Muir :

 
There are two types of favorites that aren't necessarily the same thing: those that I like the most aesthetically and those that sell very well, the two don't always coincide but I have selected two that fit both categories and one that is simply my personal favorite.

Back to You - Original Pencil Drawing Figure Study Print

Back to You - Original Pencil Drawing Figure Study by ArtformTheHeart
Begin selling my paintings online for free at zazzle.com

I love this poster that's made from an original black and white pencil drawing I did in 2007. While it won't appeal to everyone, I love tonal pieces and figure studies. Even though it took many, many hours to draw, I loved every second working on this piece.

Cute Pink Pony Horse Cartoon Party Invitations

Cute Pink Pony Horse Cartoon Party Invitations by Animatastic
Browse other Pony Invitations

I'm not normally a pink girly girl but I adore this little pink pony horse party invitation from my Animatastic store. I have her on another style of invitation where she is pictured in a colorful outdoor scene and whilst I marginally prefer that version, this one with the striped border and plain pink background seems to sell more often.

Wedding Invitation Royal Stewart / Stuart Tartan

Wedding Invitation Royal Stewart / Stuart Tartan by ArtformTheHeart
Buy announcements at zazzle

This Scottish themed Wedding Invitation generates a large number of sales and custom design requests. Although it's shown here with the Royal Stewart tartan it can be made with any tartan or combination of tartans that the client requests. People are really proud of their heritage and many want to incorporate an element of that into their wedding.

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

Ice - Original Mixed Media Abstract Canvas Print

Ice - Original Mixed Media Abstract Canvas Print by ArtformTheHeart
Learn how to sell my paintings online at Zazzle.

from an original painting by C.Muir - This abstract piece entitled "Ice" is from an original mixed media painting by C.Muir. Cool blues, whites, greys and blacks emote the frosty feeling to this wintery piece.
Rico: Absolutely Beautiful piece! I love the colors and composition.

Rico:
Where else can our readers find you online?

Carolyn Muir :
 
I am in the process of setting up my website CM Design Style

and can also be found on facebook at Facebook Artform The Heart
and Facebook Animatastic

on Twitter as Twitter Artform The Heart

google+ as Carolyn M

and Squidoo as ArtformTheHeart on Squidoo