Featured Designers: smangieri

Tell me 5 things everyone should know about you

1 I'm a baby-boomer

2 I'm a Human Resources Director by day

3 I'm short

4 My favorite quote is, “Let the work I've done speak for me.”

5 I do a wide variety of designs from whimsical to serious. My biggest market niche at the moment is designs for professionals such dentists, lawyers, teachers, clergy, nurses and others. I try to dispel the stereotypical style assumptions that plague many professions and it's catching on. Parents are now buying my artsy attorney designs for their kid's law school graduation invitations. I'm hoping the graduates will wear my artsy attorney Keds to court.

How and when did you find zazzle?

My best friend was getting married in 2007 and wanted a customized stamp. Someone had told her about Zazzle. I designed the stamp and both she and I were really impressed by the quality of the stamp. I then started doing business cards for friends. I started my gallery December 2008 and the rest is history.

Do you have any formal art or computer training?

I use computers extensively at work and as part of my side-line at Zazzle but have had no formal computer graphics training. I am self-taught. In short, I'm just a creative-geek type.

What is the best advice you received since starting zazzle?

When I started out, Vicky Brago-Mitchell told me it's a good idea to thank a customer on the product page for their purchase. I've done that even though I know that the customer most likely does not see it unless they happen to return to the product page. Well, recently that DID happen. My Rudyard Kipling IF print is one of my personal favorites. While the point of view in the IF poem is that of a father giving advice to his son, a woman purchased it for herself as a tribute to her father who recently passed away; he had always read that poem to her. I was really touched that she took the time to post that information on my product page.

If you were abducted by aliens and knew you would have to wear the same shirt for the rest of your life - which one from your store would you want it to be?

Probably the most appropriate would be the one I have with Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote, “When it is dark enough you can see the stars.” I'm not sure about the fabric or style. That would depend on how close or how far from the sun I'd be stranded. Then again, I could bring several shirts and dress in layers.

If you spilled coffee on your mouse pad and needed to replace it with a mouse pad NOT from your store, which would you choose and why?

I really like the Frack 960 Mouse Mat by aloramyst. It's a really interesting design.