2018 creative team call
Hey there! Molly here. Part of my role here at Becky Higgins is to oversee the Creative Team, alongside my friend and co-worker Laurie. We love this part of our work, and I’m excited to share a bit about the process of creating and building an ongoing Creative Team.
Each year we totally re-set our Creative Team; we find all new contributors. Right now is that time of year when we begin the search for the 2018 Creative Team. It’s hard to be too excited about it because we completely adore our 2017 team (as we do our 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012 Creative Team members) … they are talented storytellers, brilliant photographers, and have the biggest hearts. We love them and we love what they share with us and with you throughout the months + year.
And yet there’s something exhilarating about the idea of starting fresh, finding new and inspiring talent, and introducing you, our customers, to a whole new batch of documenters who are sharing their stories and talents through their scrapbooks. We know there are many of you who are using Project Life® to document your stories – past and present. You are helping your children learn to document as you allow them to contribute to your family album or help them create albums of their own. You are sharing Project Life with your family + friends and encouraging them to print their photos and write down their stories. You are talented photographers using images to leave a legacy for future generations. There are many who are currently sharing Project Life pages and ideas online and via social media. We are beyond grateful for all you are doing to inspire others in your own ways and avenues.
We know that our Creative Team is a great source of inspiration to many of you … they help fuel your creativity and motivate you to work on your Project Life albums as you see what they have to share. We can’t blame you … they’re fantastic! And yet we realize that there are many more talented “Project Lifers” out there. It is because of this that we want to invite YOU to submit your work to be considered for our 2018 Creative Team!
{ how we are building the new Creative Team }
Our Creative Team opportunity is open to all – anyone and everyone from well-known scrapbookers who have been published and have large followings, to everyday scrapbookers who may only share their work with family + friends or no one at all! Men, women, and teens. Single, married, no kids, lots of kids, and empty nesters. Those using our physical products, those who choose to design digitally, and even those who are using the Project Life App to document the everyday! Everyone has a fair chance as long as you meet the requirements listed below.
If being on a Creative Team is not of interest to you but you know of someone else who really inspires you with their Project Life pages, please encourage them to check out this opportunity! Or feel free to drop us a note and send us a link to someone you think we should know about.
{ what it means to be on the Project Life Creative Team }
Creative Team members are asked to do what they normally do with Project Life, true to their own personal style. They submit four layouts or projects each month using our products (which they’re likely already doing for themselves or their family anyway) so we can share their awesome work on our website and social media outlets. Once in a while there is a “special assignment,” but really, we don’t ask much. We even reward you with monthly emails from me. *wink* Expectations will be more clearly defined with the final Creative Team when they are chosen.
Of course we hook you up with lots of Project Life goodies during the year while you are a part of the Creative Team too. ; )
{ what we are looking for }
We would love for our Project Life Creative Team to represent a variety of life scenarios. We know most scrapbookers/Project Lifers happen to be in their 20s to 40s with kids, so naturally we’ll see lots of submissions from people in this boat. But we want to see teenagers, grandparents, young adults, married or not married, kids or no kids, living in the city or in the middle of nowhere, or on the other side of the world. We've loved having a guy on our Creative Team, too, so we're hoping that works out again for 2018!
Here’s what will get you noticed … no matter your life circumstances or where you live. We are looking for:
1. FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHY | You could be a fascinating person with a super-interesting life, but if your pictures aren’t great, it’s not really the perfect fit for our Creative Team. We are looking for pictures that are clear, crisp, and interesting and that have good lighting and excellent quality. You don’t have to be a professional photographer, but you need to have some skill behind the lens. And we know many of you do. Don't be intimidated; your phone in your pocket is absolutely good enough, no need to invest in a new camera!
2. GREAT STORYTELLING | You don’t necessarily have to be a stellar writer … the little Journaling Cards are only so big, right? No – we are talking about the storytelling that happens with the way you document your life, primarily through your photographs. So not only do we want fantastic photography, but we would love to be inspired by how you photograph, what you take pictures of, and how well you illustrate experiences in your life through your lens. This doesn’t mean that your life itself needs to be perceived as anything but what it is. You could be a world traveler or a stay-at-home mom and that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you capture our attention through how you document life.
3. USE OF PRODUCT | Naturally, we are looking for folks who make Project Life products look good. We are also looking for SIMPLICITY. The goal with our team is to inspire people with the simplicity of our products because that’s the whole nature of Project Life. Slip photos and cards into pockets and you’re done. Sticking with Project Life Cards (Core Kits, Mini Kits, and/or Themed Cards) along with our Photo Pocket Pages or Mini Albums is all you need to get on our Creative Team. It will really be your photography and storytelling that will capture our attention the most. Our product line has grown tremendously in the past few years, so we feel it is possible to stick with the basics of our product line and achieve fantastic results. Please don’t feel like if you do a little embellishing here & there, your chances will be slim. That’s not the case. We’d just like to see our products paired with your photos.
4. LAYOUT PHOTOGRAPHY | The actual photos of your Project Life layouts need to be excellent. Good lighting, very clean & clear, no flash, no distracting background. Photos should be taken from above. You see, we don’t require our Creative Team to part with their pages so we can scan or photograph them. Instead, we ask that they photograph the layouts and projects themselves – and that’s why it’s imperative that your layout photos are awesome. If you want to see how our current Creative Team photographs their layouts, check them out by clicking around on their various blogs or by searching our website for “creative team inspiration.” One tip -- photograph your layouts on a piece of white or black foam board or even a wooden background. This is super helpful with the overall quality of your photos.
{ how to submit }
Email submissions to creativeteam@beckyhiggins.com and include the following with your email:
– in the subject line, please include which team you are applying for: physical, digital, or app
– your first + last name
– your location (city, state, country)
– links to all things YOU (website, blog, shop, gallery, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever)
– a little about you (single, married, kids, no kids, empty nester, teenager … whatever) – short + sweet, please
– 3 to 5 images of layouts you have completed (remember – see no. 4 above as this will have a big impact on your first impression with us)
Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, November 8.
Specifically, our cut-off will be at midnight Pacific Time that day. If you are chosen to be on our Creative Team, we will personally contact you via email by December 1. The 2018 Creative Team will be announced at the end of December.
If you have any questions at all about submitting to be on our Creative Team, you can email molly@beckyhiggins.com. If your question is GENERAL and something that perhaps others would likely want to know as well, simply leave a comment and we’ll do our best to answer questions here (publicly) also.