Newest custom design gifts by RGebbiePhoto - 7-30-2013

While we continue to work on new personal growth and development articles to motivate and inspire our readers, we wanted to show off a few of our newest custom designed gift products available in our merchant stores at Zazzle and Cafe Press. We have also recently opened two new websites as part of our efforts to support and promote the art and photography by us and the many other fine, talented designers that make a living from their creativity.

Gifts Corner - https://sites.google.com/site/rgpgiftstore
Welcome to our Gift Store, where you will find everything from humor to fine art! Do you have unique friends who appreciate something creative? The person that has everything? Look no further, our selections are some of the most unique and creative designs we've found! From phone cases to commuter bags, jewelry, funny keychains, coffee mugs, even pillows, you'll find the best of the best here! Shop till you drop, we're open all night!

Our selection of unique gift design items are chosen from hundreds of individual artists with millions of interesting and personal creations.

The Paper Cut - https://sites.google.com/site/rgppapercut
Welcome to The Paper Cut where you will find our personally chosen selection of stationery and stationery products. From post cards and invitations to postage stamps and address labels, if you're looking for unique, personal or one of a kind custom designs then you have found the right place.

Our selection of unique gift design items are chosen from hundreds of individual artists with millions of interesting and personal creations.

We hope you enjoy our selection of custom design gifts!

$50.95 - Red White and Blue Patriotic Theme Galaxy S4 Covers - Red, White and Blue USA Patriotic theme. White stars on a navy blue background, with red and white stripes. Button for initial, easy to personalize. Are you a Patriot? Just love the good old US? Born on Independence Day? This is for YOU!

$39.95 - Sports Balls Sandals - Sport Lovers! A theme for anyone who likes competition sports! A mix of different sports balls! Softball, Baseball, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, and an 8 ball from a Billiards set. Soccer is also known as Football in countries other than the United States. Great for coaches, players, or sports fans!

$39.95 - Baseball Flip Flops - A white baseball, dirty from being played with, stitching faded but still red.

$50.95 - Yellow Softball Galaxy S4 Case - A yellow softball isolated. Fastpitch softball league ball with natural shading.

$3.75 - Hippy Retro Flowers Friendship Greeting Cards - Colorful retro style flowers, hippy style in bright colors! Large petal flowers in a jumbled assortment. 70s Hippy look, great throwback item! WTH?? Sarcasm at its best! Only a true friend will appreciate this!

$8.39 - Soccer Ball Shot Glass - An illustration of a sports soccer ball in 3D.

$14.39 - Softball Wallpaper Large Mug - Large wallpaper design of multiple yellow softballs in a pile or stack.

$21.59 - Women's Soccer Ball Jr. Football T-Shirt - An illustration of a sports soccer ball in 3D.

Zazzled!

Our Zazzle Journey

Introduction
We are Stock photographers, and were looking for other ways to expand and grow our small little company, when we found a merchandising site called Zazzle. So Robert decided to give it a try. But I was so bogged down with stock and sales that I didn’t have time to really look into it. He put up a few images and just let them roll on the site, and we didn’t get much response on it, so we kind of forgot it for a while. Then, in October, I was reading forums and looking around for a new project. I found the store again, and looked deeper into it. This was just what I was looking for! We created the images, and sold them online, but it was always just a piece of an end product, never the finished item. Here, I could use our images to make fun things, and actually put words to our art! I had some favorite images; I always thought they would look good on greeting cards or even on tee-shirts. So, with that in mind, I let myself wander through our catalogue and chose some pictures to work with.


Man
Some of our landscapes were quite pretty, and we have several images that I always imagined hanging in our home. So, of course, I had to make some posters of our art. One of my favorite series is The Man series. I’m not sure if it’s because they are fine art nudes, photos of my husband, or if it’s because of the emotions we felt as we were shooting them. They are classic poses, images that are rarely seen anymore in current art. We wanted to show an emotional side, the fragile side that all men hide deep down. I think we did a pretty good job of it. They are available in most of our current product line.


Make personalized gifts at Zazzle.



Roar!
Our youngest model, Lauranne, is such a lively spark! She was just a tiny baby when she first hit our stock sites as a model, and we shot her every few months for her first 2 years. Then, a few months before her 3rd birthday, she was diagnosed with AML Leukemia. It’s been a very rough road, watching her progress through her disease, but she’s on her very last round of chemo right now, and is just about cancer free!! Her story has been documented by her mom at her caring bridge page, and with Kae’s permission, we set up a line of products for those who want to donate and spread the hope that little Lauranne has given to us all! Team Lauranne products are available at our store.


Make a personalized gift at Zazzle.



Love in 3D
Robert also started working more with his 3D modeling, and of course, we had to do hearts, since Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! So he made up some 3D heart images and off I went!! I have a few lines; one is playful and flirty, like the little conversation hearts you find all around. One line is a bit more… subtle. I call it my “Collared” line. I also have a “Hearts and Paws” line for our animal lovers. From funny to serious, we’ve got a bit of a selection to choose from.

Red heart with words of love, affection, and friendship. See more of our Words of the Heart line below!


Shop for a personalized gift at Zazzle.


Fun lifestyle products. Bring a small smile to your face every time you see these! Show your collared with subtlety. See our other "Collared" products here!


Design personalized gifts at Zazzle.



Other Heart and Paw Items:


Create a personalized gift at Zazzle.



These are just a few of the things that I love the most. I hope you find the time to take a look and see what we have to offer. From iPad/iPod cases to keychains, we’ve tried our best to cover it all. Easy to personalize or change around as you wish, these are high end products from Hanes, Keds and other quality lines. Of course, if you can’t find what you need, send us a message. We’d be happy to get it created just for you!

Still Not Taking a Break

Some of the other ways we have been able to keep busy is by finding other ways to market our product. We have several irons in that fire already, but decided, ehh, what’s a few more? We started a store on Zazzle to see what we could offer, and it’s been a lot of fun to build up and merchandise. But I find it’s also a whole lot of hard work! It’s not just about taking an image and putting it on a product, you also have to figure out what message you want that image to convey. It’s a totally different mindset (for me) than stock photography.

As a stock photographer, we take an object and think, ok, how would a client use this picture? For example: A red apple. This image has a thousand uses! It can be used in nutrition ads, school ads, by doctors or dentists, or just about anyone. So, we take the picture, isolated on a white background so it can be pulled and placed in an advertisement, and hope that our apple image is snappy enough to be seen and purchased among the hundreds of thousands of apple pictures already listed on our agency’s site.

Now, with the store, we now have to figure out HOW to use that image. Hmm… Sure, we could put it on a shirt that says An Apple a Day, or any of the other overused phrases that we hear about apples all the time. But now we’re on the marketing side. And an old worn out phrase isn’t going to attract customers to purchase our product. So now we have to come up with a new and exciting way to present that image, incorporate it into something witty and fun, and hope that it gets seen and goes “hot”, or at least draws enough interest for someone to browse our other products.

And then there is the copyright/trademark issue. We face it with stock, but we always have to remain mindful of it. Putting the phrase “Just Do It” is an infringement against Nike. “It’s the Real Thing” is an infringement against Coke. And fonts have to be watched, you can’t use a font that is used by a company, because that’s misrepresentation against that company. In other words, you can’t use the familiarity of a product to sell a “pirated” product, because they are the ones that did all the advertising work, not you. So now, you have to come up with something completely original, with your own work. You can’t see a picture and take it from the web and use it in your items. It MUST be original. And you should have a model release for any products you use. How would you feel if a photographer took a picture of you smiling, and you ended up on thousands of tee shirts and mousepads, without any sort of compensation or prior agreement??

There is so much to think about, so many different ideas that have to be shelved. Zazzle has over 35 billion items for sale. Which one is going to be the one that people see and want to buy?? So, for now, we’re brought out our Wermz, and are setting them up in Christmas hats around Christmas ornaments and the like, and hoping that people find them funny or cute enough. And we have a lot of our abstract images on different items. We’re trying to remain colorful as well as contemporary. Cross your fingers for us!

To visit our zazzle store, and see some of the ideas we’ve had, visit us at:
http://www.zazzle.com/rgebbiephoto*

As for Robert, he’s doing his best to meet the demands I’m making for new images and illustrations on the ideas that are getting spurred on by the mad merchandising frenzy I’m on! He is also working on a manuscript of his self-help writings. We’re very excited about that project, he’s taking a lot of his essays and we are weaving them together to come up with a book that we hope to release by summer. We will be releasing bits and pieces of his essays over the coming months while he’s working on that, but his focus right now is research and writing. I love his writing. He’s become such a better man since he started writing, and has made us stronger in our relationship. We have been able to get over many crippling obstacles in our lives because we remain focused and balanced. We keep our end goal in mind, and continuously strive toward that. We remain generous in nature, kind in word, gracious to those that offer assistance, and always have time for those that need a moment to talk.

We offer thanks every day to everyone for taking interest in our journey. We offer thanks for those who happen into our lives, as we feel everyone has a reason, everyone has a place, and there is always something to be learned by the various experiences we have. We find a great deal of inspiration in our life around us, and hope that you find that, as well.

Peace to you, my friends.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime

“They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead, why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?” ~ lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)

As the beginning of a new year approaches the world slides deeper into economic chaos and December 21st 2012, end of the Mayan calendar looms four years away. The United States has their first black President while the nation contends with wars and threats abroad. What lies ahead is anyone’s guess; the future could hold a year of great expansion or dire consequence.

Business owners and executives will be facing some of the biggest challenges in the coming year as ever before. New markets and industries will emerge as others shrink or vanish entirely. Those who are creative and flexible may be poised for the greatest success as others with old or rigid ideals may end up “just waiting for bread.”

Be diverse, expand the products or services you offer, consider joint ventures that can showcase your brand with other businesses that compliment your own. Collaborate on resources, networks, information and tools that can benefit your partners and associates as well as you. Do not depend on the same widget product or market approach that has been used for years, be prepared to rethink, redesign or upgrade.

Keep things focused and know what your goals are, projects or ideas can take on a life of their own. Overcome and move on, be careful that concepts, details or disagreements don’t overwhelm you and become projects of their own. It is easy to get side tracked or distracted by sub-projects and “great ideas,” don’t allow numerous possibilities to keep you from finishing one.