I feel like it’s time for a new look around here. I love my current logo (created by Liz Wong), but I think it’s just time for a makeover. I also thought it would be really fun to have a Logo Design Competition!

So, how about it? Are you an artist or graphic designer? Enter your design for my new logo and you could win some fabulous prizes. There will  be 3 winners: 1st place, runner-up & honorable mention.

Details for entry:

1. Open to artists & graphic designers who want the bragging rights of having created the Indie Fixx logo (as well as winning some sweet prizes).
2. Entrants must submit 2 files—3646 X 729 in 300 dpi & 875 X 175 in 72 dpi.
3. Accepted file formats include: tiff, psd, pdf, jpg.
4. The Indie Fixx colors are: Orange (EB9315) & Blue (1093B4) & should be incorporated in some way.
5. Entries can be emailed HERE.
6. Entries should also include a brief bio as well as links to your website.
7. Your entry will be used as the header image on this page as well used to create banner ads, business cards, letterhead, bookmarks and more.

Prizes:

Beside bragging right, the creators of my top 3 designs will win the following.

• 1st place - 6 months of advertising on Indie Fixx (150×200 BTF banner ad) + $150. Value=$450
• Runner-up - 3 months of advertising on Indie Fixx  (150×200 BTF banner ad) + $50. Value=$200
• Honorable Mention -  2 months of advertising on Indie Fixx  (150×200 BTF banner ad). Value=$100

What am I looking for:

I tend to gravitate to designs that are cute, fun & whimsical. Some may even describe me as a little ‘twee’. I am open to something totally new though. I will answer any questions you may have about the design creation and all entrants are welcome to email me.

The Official Rules are after the jump.

(Continued)

 By guest contributor Amy Anderson 

Green your wardrobe with this outfit of stylish, eco-friendly finds!

1. Dress from Conscious Clothing   2. Sandals from Tread Light   3. Bracelet from Squishy Sushi   4. Belt from Pretty Birdie   5. Bag from Uzura   6. Earrings from Decorate the Diva

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is an Indie Fixx interns and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me with a variety of projects.

I’ve put together a collection of some of the cutest handmade goods found in the Winter Love Galleria. What do you think?

1. MonkeyTree Creations
2. Miss Indie
3. Tasha Mckelvey
4. SweetBeaker
5. Freshline Illustration & Design 
6. Stephanie Fizer
7. Rabbit & the Duck
8. Glue and Glitter

The Indie Fixx Galleria is an online showcase of handmade, indie-made & vintage goods. Think of it as an ‘indie mall’ featuring a mix of designers & boutiques to provide a curated shopping experience. Participants do pay a fee to take part, but the Galleria is juried.

Now accepting applications for the Green Galleria - March 5th - April 23rd

All types of goods will be considered including handmade & vintage, but there will be a focus on green goods (both eco green & color green) as well as goods for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, April Fool’s Day and Earth Day. All artists, designers, crafters and indie boutiques that create or carry handmade, vintage and/or indie made goods are welcome to apply. The cost is $20. The deadline to apply is: March 2nd.

Send your url or 3 small images to apply.

Here’s today’s  Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx interview.  I gotta run right now, but will be back later today.

1. What’s the name of your business & what do you create and sell?

Little Alouette, a Wee wood toy company! Teether, blocks, toys, rattles!

2. What’s your creative process like?

We write notes and sketches and tape them to the wall in our dining room. It’s like in college when I had to learn quotes or formulas or dates- I would write them on a big wipe off board and when I was just hanging out I would see it. I would be drinking beer on a Tuesday night and I would just see it and learn it. Nowadays it is kind of like that only I am changing diapers or paying bills or whatnot and just cooking those ideas into my frontal lobes.

Joe is the one who comes up with the first draft of anything and then me and the kids test it and play with it and help work out the kinks.

We also need music. It’s like the elixir of creativity round here.

3. How did you get your start and what made you decide to take the plunge and sell your craft?

Joe started making Finnian toys when he was a baby and it just organically grew from there.  Two things helped:

-We were annoyed at toy recalls and worried about toy safety.
-We were broke and people kept urging us to try.

We did. We are still broke, but are deliriously happy to be trying to forge our own way. Smiling all the time at the entrepreneurial spirit we are rubbing into the souls of our children. Happy to be a family that gets to be together more than most.

4. What have you recently been reading, watching and listening to?

Reading: Marlena Morling poet and tons of Joan Didion lately
Watching: Shameless British series/ Weeds
Listening: Madness and Camper Van Beethoven lately

5. What are your inspirations in your art and life?

My family, the past, colors, music, my old granny.

6. Share something silly about yourself.

I like to make lip synch videos on my laptop.

7. Is there something that you learned as an adult that you wished you knew as a kid?

That everything always works out somehow.

8. What’s new or in the works?

Ride on toys. More developmental toys. Fun stuff!

Yesterday, I shared my new office with you. And as you can see in the image below, I am still in need of some curtains. I’ve decided to make my own and thinking that cafe curtains will work best in the room. It’s a small room and my desk is right in front of the window, so I don’t want big heavy curtains.  Just something light and visually interesting…of course, that means I want a patten. But what pattern? I’ve been looking at fabric for weeks now and I am going cross-eyed. Worse than that, I’ve become indecisive in the face of the tremendous possibilities out there.

I’ve narrowed in down to 15 possibilities and I need your help in deciding.

Take a look at all the choices and choose what you think would look best or offer up a different suggestion. The color on the walls is Behr’s Reflecting Pool. It’s Gray with a purplish tint.

1. Scene in Lavender by Etsuko Furuya at Phat Fabric
2. Turquoise Hive by Patty Young at J Caroline Creative
3. Andrea Pink from Wonderfluff
4. Grassy Plain by Etsuko Furuya at Phat Fabric
5. Ivory Fiona Floral by Anna Griffin at J Caroline Creative
6. Totem by Summersville
7. Field of Dreams in Sky by Lecien at Hawthorne Threads
8. Lace Fans in Robins Egg by Ink & Spindle
9. Woodland Creatures in Blue by Etsuko Furuya at Hawthorne Threads
10. Spring Flowers by Kobayashi at Purl Shoho
11. Anniko Metro by Daisy Janie
12. Colt Circles in Sand by Skinny Laminx
13. Mum Mustard by Swanky Swell
14. Butterfly Jubilee by Mod Green Pod
15. Bye Bye Blackbird by Kokka at Hawthorne Threads

Which one do you like for my office? You can choose more than one fabric.

poll by twiigs.com

Remember back here I mentioned that we recently moved my office to an upstairs room as part of our home remodeling project? Well, I am finally ready to share some pictures with you of the finished product. It’s a much smaller space than I had before, but I think I made it work (after getting rid of quite a lot of clutter).

The space is not completely done, I do still need to put up my art, but I just can’t decide what to put up. Moving from a much larger space to a smaller space I have way more art pieces than can fit on the walls, so I need to make some difficult choices about what to put up and what to keep in storage. I’m thinking I may need to just rotate, since making this decision is like asking me to choose which one of cats is my favorite…they are all my babies.

I also need to add some curtains. I plan on making my own, but more to come on that later.

So, what do you think?

My desk , bulletin board and the view out the window.  I know the paint looks blue, but it’s not. It’s called reflecting pool (from behr), but it’s gray with a purplish tint.

Here’s the closet with my paper fox garland. I took the doors off the closet, because it’s much more practical to me withour the doors. The black accent wall is actually blackboard pain, which I intend to mark up as soon as I get some chalk markers!

My little crafting table. My sewing machine and other supplies are downstairs in another room.