Featured Designers: Gothic Toggs

Tell me 5 things everyone should know about you

1 I'm a hopeless romantic.

2 My 5 children are my whole world and the best thing I ever created.

3 I have to be creating something all the time, whether it's cooking, gardening, or my art. I am a typical Virgo that way ;)

4 I will give the shirt off my back to anyone who needs it, as long as they ask, I can't stand a thief. It rather denotes a lack of honor. Guess I'm basically an old fashioned girl.

5 I take my self too seriously sometimes.

How and when did you find zazzle?
It was a complete accident. I was running an occult forum at the time ( almost 2 years ago now ) and we were kicking around the idea of bumper stickers or keychains or t-shirts to sell to the members to help off set the cost of upkeep. I just searched custom t-shirts on a whim and came up with Zazzle.

So I opened Sanguin Lover, and created the t-shirts, some older members may remember seeing them in the store. The forum was called House Prytania.

Anyway, I posted the T-shirts, and made a couple of other ones from things that had been kicking around our family for a while. Just text at that point, I knew nothing about computer graphics at that point.

I already had over 200 products in my store by the time I made my first sale one month later. I was hooked =)

The forum is long gone but the stores live on!

Do you have any formal art or computer training?

I don't have any formal computer training. Everything there is self-taught trial and error. I took my first "real" art class in 4th grade. And every year after that all the way to graduation. Everything from Art History, to Ceramics.

What advice would you give a friend if they wanted to try zazzling?
That it's the most fun you can have making money ( well, LEGALLY anyway in most states ;p ) And never feel like your work isn't good enough. Because it's a very big world out there with tons of people in it. There is bound to be somebody who "get's " what you were trying to say.

What would you say if you were introduced to a stranger and they were wearing one of your Tshirts?
I would smile my brightest smile, offer them my hand and say a very heartfelt thank you.

If you had to pick a birthday card for someone, from any shop that is NOT yours, which would you pick and why?
Easily, I would have to say Myka Jelina or Alessandra Fusi. They both have a wonderful grasp of color and playfulness in their work. I have been a fan of Myka Jelina for years, literally. And found Ms. Fusi after joining Zazzle. Both are just awesome artists.

List your shops:
Gothic Toggs
sanguinlover's Store at Zazzle
gothictoggs's Store at Zazzle
fracturedlife's Store at Zazzle
gothicbusiness's Store at Zazzle
followyourfeet's Store at Zazzle
gothictoggsuk's Store at Zazzle
fetishgirl's Store at Zazzle
vampsinvintage's Store at Zazzle
sweetnessandlight's Store at Zazzle
riffraffnovelties's Store at Zazzle
Sanguin Occasions

pick three designs to be featured