New Projects for the New Year

I’m starting off the New Year like I ended 2011, by working. After a great weekend with the Hubby, family and friends in Del Mar, Ca, I am back in my office working on new artwork. January 10 will be the anniversary of my decision to delve into the world of art licensing. It’s been a fun and educational year for me, culminating with my agent, Jan, from Painted Planet Licensing taking my portfolio to the Atlanta art licensing show for the first time.

After a lot of trial and error I finally feel like I am slowly defining my style after a year of bouncing all over the place with no direction. I’ve never thought of myself as an artist. I’ve always related more to the title of designer so it’s hard for me to think of my work as art. I guess I see myself more as a decorative artist or product designer. Trying to compete in an industry filled with amazingly talented “real” artists is pretty daunting but I am no stranger to rejection and failure. They have been my constant companions throughout my various careers and I have always somehow come out ahead. Probably because I am so stubborn and just work myself to death until I get it right. Practice makes perfect!!!

My next huge project for this year is the illustrating catalog for the Helser Brothers Jackie Von Tobel Collection catalog for my signature drapery hardware line!!!!

I am thrilled to be working on this and we plan to launch the line at the IWCE show in Chicago in April. I can’t wait to see it all finished. This has been a huge undertaking for Helser Brothers and they have been fantastic to work with. I can’t wait to show you all the finished product line – it is Fabulous!!!!

I hope you are all working on fabulous new creations in your lives for the new year. May 2012 see all of your dreams and aspirations come true………………………………….

IWCE ~ Surtex Whirlwind

May has been a busy month with trade shows almost every week. First was the IWCE show in Vegas. We sponsored a Slipcover Showcase booth to show off the many talents of some of the countries best slipcover artisans.

I sent templates to some great gals all over the country and they sent me back the most beautiful slipcovers made with my fabrics.

The ingenuity and craftsmanship of these gals is amazing. People just flipped for all of the designs.

I took some really bad photos of them all but luckily my good buddy Kay Ellen was there with her fabulous photo skills and she managed to shoot a couple of good shots.

The Zebra striped Bergeres were a crowd favorite, possibly because people could sit and rest their aching feet!

Kay Ellen is a pro stager and she grabbed this pillow from another booth to show it off on the zebra ground. I think they look great together.

The Vanity table from Ready to Cover turned out so cute! I love the zebra hem.

Thanks so much to the very talented Teresa Bennett , Deb Fowler ~ Christy Statz ~ Kippi O’Hern ~ Emily Pettit ~ Barbara Roth ~ Linda Meeks & Jackie for making these beautiful slipcovers. I will be posting about each one of these talented ladies in the next couple of weeks so stayed tuned to see more of their great work.

The next stop was my debut at Surtex, the nations premier trade show for artists who license their work for surface and pattern design. Companies come from all over the globe to meet with artists and find new art and patterns for their goods. This is where designs for tabletop, wallpaper, fabrics, stationary, and much more are bought and sold.

Here I am in my booth. It was such a great experience and I learned a ton about this new industry. My daughter Angelica and the handsome hubby came with me to help and we all had a great time.

We tried to lure in attendees with lots of candy!

Angelica was a pro as always.

The handsome hubby and I went to the opening night party for the ICFF ( International Contemporary Furniture Show) at the MOMA Sculpture Garden and we had a great time. The ICFF and the National Stationary Show run concurrently with Surtex at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in Manhattans each year.

There were some really great booths at the show – so much talent and creativity! I hope some rubbed off.

Loved those paper pinwheels.

This was our neighbor from the UK, little Alfie. He was the show stopper.

We had great neighbors and met a slew of new friends and caught up with some old ones as well.

There is always a surprise every time I go to New York. This is what I ran across walking back to the hotel one rainy day. A Hawk just hanging out on the sidewalk. It was surreal. I’d always heard of hawks living in the city but had never seen one and I never thought I would see one just two feet away from me.

In short we had a great time as always! Here’s Angelica and her Dad drinking champagne at the MOMA! What a great time.

Now I am back home putting the finishing touches on my slipcover book that I have to hand into my publisher on Wednesday! More to come soon.

Shedding Some Light on the New Year

2010 was a rough year for many of us and I for one am really looking forward to 2011 and the chance to start fresh!

The New Year brings with it for me opportunities to design new products and work with new partners.

I’m working hard finishing up my next two books and my Bedding modules for Studio.

I plan to spend more quality time with my kids and my terrific husband.

I resolve to get more exercise, keep up my healthy eating and try to age gracefully for another year.

I plan to really try to enjoy every day to its fullest and not dwell on negativity.

I hope you all find your key to happiness and joy in 2011! CHEERS `:)’

* Lampshade slipcover images from The Design Directory of Slipcovers (available Spring 2012)

copyright 2010 Jackie Von Tobel

Honeysuckle for 2011

Honeysuckle pink is the Pantone color for 2011! Luckily it is one of my favorite colors and a staple in the Jackie Von Tobel Collection.

Even Peanut loves it!

JVT Collection Debuts at Las Vegas World Market

I’ve been missing in action here in blogland but I have a good excuse. I was working day and night to get ready for the official launch of The Jackie Von Tobel Collection, my new line of fabrics and pillows, at the Las Vegas World Market.

My collection will be available year round in the Postcards Home Showroom in building A suite 119. Craig and Donna the co-owners of the beautiful showroom have been absolutely wonderful and helped me get everything ready for the debut. Thanks guys!

We had a great launch party and I was thrilled to have some great friends, blogging buddies and fellow designers from all over the country attend.

We introduced some new patterns and colorways including the zebra stripe in coffee and the new Gypsy Flower in coffee.

Here are a few patterns in our cotton candy colorway.

I was floored to see Suzanne Kasler stroll into the showroom and had a nice chat with her. She is definitely one of my favorite designers and such a gracious lady.

Ronda Carmen and her husband made it to my launch party along with Brad Ford and the great gals from Editor at Large, Julia Noran and Sophie Donalson.

My friend and fellow blogger Tobi Fairley came by with her lovely mother.

I also had the pleasure of speaking on a panel discussion on New Media at market with Tobi, Brad, and Ronda. It was moderated by Julia Noran and Sophie Donalson of Editor at Large.

It was a fun panel with loads of tips on how to make social media work to promote and grow your business.

We had a great group in attendance and I had the opportunity to meet a reader of my blog and her sister, in town all the way from the Virgin Islands!

If you are in Las Vegas I hope you will stop by the fabulous World Market Center and visit my showroom. We’d love to see you!