WHAT THE WHAT?!

Wow. Just WOW. I'm not sure if I'm even ready to write this post- it's all so surreal. But here goes...I am so excited to say that I won the Special Studio Award of being represented by Lilla Rogers Studio! (Read their post HERE) This final round of the Global Talent Search was pretty intense! We were to design two boards of a home decor line based on a trend board given to us by Margo Tantau (Art Director for Midwest CBK). I chose "Vintage Cottage" and just started brainstorming. I knew I wanted to do some animal/floral platters so I jumped right in. And actually, those are the only items that stayed in from start to finish. I have about 3 other boards worth of illustrated products that did not make the final. The whole time I just tried to stay confident and true to myself. I knew that if I was designing things out of fear of losing, my work wouldn't come across as strong. Here's what I ended up submitting:

I love where I landed with these boards. I knew that perhaps it wasn't the most commercial stuff- but I also knew that Lilla liked my quirkiness. Now I need to do a shout-out to some awesome peoples. My hubs and family for being the ultimate support crew! Emily Balsley and Candice Hartsough McDonald for encouraging me to take MATS a year ago and being super artists to bounce ideas off of! Also a shout out to the other finalists- I know Lilla's choice couldn't have been easy. And then a mega CONGRATS to Kate Mason- the grand prize winner and Clairice Gifford- my fellow studio prize winner! 

Now....how do I get that rug made?!