Today I want to present the international Pocket Letters® brand design team! Woo hoo!! I’m so pumped right now because these ladies are TALENTED and I can’t wait to share their creations with you. You can expect to see them post on this blog quite a bit, so stick around! In the meantime you can get to a know them a little better below. Also don’t forget to follow their social media  for some instant crafty inspiration!

Carina Magaña

My name is Carina and I’m from the Pacific Northwest. I LOVE crafting, I’ve been crafting for over 10 years now. I have two dogs that mean the world to me. I love all types of paper crafts, but I have to say my favorite would be scrapbooking and swapping with pen-pals!. I’m excited to be part of the team and I can’t wait to start creating and sharing my ideas with the  community.

Instagram | YouTube

Becky Sher

Becky Sher has been an obsessive collector of beautiful stationery, stickers and other paper goods since childhood. In 2016, she stumbled on pocket letters and quickly became hooked. She soon started sharing happy mail projects on Instagram and became part of the wonderful international community of snail mailers. In addition to creating happy mail, Becky loves yarn crafts like knitting and crochet. She owns Ruth & Dottie (ruthanddottie.etsy.com), selling handknits and other whimsical handmade products. Formerly a journalist and college professor, Becky now teaches craft workshops for kids and teens (and sometimes adults!). She lives near Washington, D.C., with her husband and two kids.

Instagram | Pinterest

Lilliana Sanchez

My name is Lilliana Sanchez but my friends call me Lilly. I am 38 years old and I have a 16 year old daughter by the name of Liana who I am terribly obsessed with (Lol). Lets just say she keeps me busy.  I have been with my amazing partner for 7 years and life can’t get any better without them two. I have 2 sisters an older and a younger one which makes me the best part of any sandwich “the middle”.  Some of my favorite hobbies is obviously crafting and making pretty things, but I also love makeup and fashion. I am your typical girly girl who loves everything pink.. I incorporate my girliness in all of what I do because it basically describes me in a nutshell. I discovered Pocket Letters around 8 months ago and all I can say is I wanted to know more, I wanted to learn everything.. The idea was just amazing to me.. Creating pen pal mail and making it look pretty at the same time was mind blowing to me.. I have always loved paper.. I was that kid that used to go through my moms purse and steal her receipts , take home all the papers teachers got rid at the end of the school year and lastly take all the bank deposit sheets from the bank (LOL). Paper has always fascinated me, some of my favorite things to collect and hoard are notepads, paperclips and pens. Snail mail has shortly become one of my favorite things to do. And it is a very relaxing hobby. Hope you guys enjoy my work 😉

Instagram | YouTube

Deb Patete

Debbie is a wife, mother, nurse and crafter.  She is mom to 4 children ages 31,30, 26 and 25 and has 2 puppies that hang out with her in her craft room.  Debbie lives in Buckeye Lake, Ohio with her husband and works as an Operating Room Nurse.  She holds the professional degrees of MBOE and BSN.    Debbie has been crafting for approximately 15 years and enjoys the crafting community and more importantly the friendships which are made through these connections.

Instagram | YouTube | Blog

Suzy Q. Orozco

Hola! I’m Suzy. I am a mommy of twin boys, photographer & craft artist based in Chicago. I started photography and crafting at a young age and most of my skills are self-taught.  I love creating and capturing pretty things. I enjoy eating good food, exploring new places, spending time with great friends and indulging in the occasional craft beer. Fun fact: I met my boyfriend at a Brewery back in 2013. We now have this thing where we visit as many Breweries as possible each year. Current count is 12.

Instagram | YouTube | Blog

Emmanuelle Terrier

Hello ! My name is Emmanuelle Terrier and I live in France with my husband and our 4 children. I am a teacher in a vocational school. I started scrapbooking about 18 months ago when I discovered pocket letters and fell in love with this format. I have made many friends both on pocketletterpals.com and Instagram which I joined last year. I love to craft for them and try to do my best to send Happy Mail. I also have a passion for planners and really enjoy decorating them. When I don’t take care of my family or craft, I read (I am a book worm !), watch TV series or hoard scrapbooking supplies ! I am looking forward to sharing my creations with you.

Instagram | Blog

Morgan Langley

Hi my name is Morgan! I’m from Georgia and I am a full time student, but still love to craft! My favorite things to create are pocket letters, mini albums, and handmade cards. I also love journaling and documenting my memories and photos! I have three younger sisters and through them and their experiences with mean girls, making it through middle and high school, and just being a girl in general, positivity and kind messages are so needed. I want to make people smile. I encourage writing from your heart and spreading happiness, while being yourself. This is the message I want to convey in all my posts and shares on social media–to remind every girl and every person that they are loved, they are important, and they are beautiful.

Instagram | Blog

Shing Genevieve

Hi ! I’m Shi Ying (or Shing), 24 years old! I’m currently pursuing a degree in International Business Management. I love crafting a wide range of stuff. I started from scrapbooking, to DIYs, to project life, to planning, and also snail mailing (Pocket letters & Flipbooks)! I really love making pocket letters because it’s an outlet for me to relieve my stress, use up my stash (lol), and at the same time send happy mail to others! I used to struggle with layering (still am) but I’ve become better! So don’t give up okay? I enjoy making new friends along the way and sharing ideas! So don’t hesitate to be my friend! 🙂 Maybe we can become great swap partners in the future! Teehee!

Instagram | Blog

Renee Tramell

Instagram

The first project my team will be working on is this Succulent Springtide printable! It’s perfect for spring!

Excited to learn more? Sign up for the “First Class” Pocket Letters™ Intro Course with Founder, Janette Lane

This is an email I sent out to my newsletter subscribers (you can join my newsletter here for free). I received so much positive feedback about this and I wanted to pass it along to all my readers.. Disclaimer: I’m not going to do this often, so make sure you get on my list! I share much more there.

Subject Line: Are you good enough?

Dear Pals,

Today I want to tackle a sticky subject in the crafting community–Design Team/PR Team Calls.

Have you ever applied for a design team? When you weren’t picked did you feel like you weren’t good enough? Well friend, today I want to tell you a few things that might help you and the first is this:

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH.

As you know, I had a design team call for the Pocket Letters® shop a few weeks ago. (My team will be announced SOON!) I received hundreds of entries. HUNDREDS! And every single person that entered was TALENTED, creative, and downright AMAZING! But here’s something else I’m going to say and I hope you don’t get offended because I’m only saying this to help you in the future.

Sometimes talent isn’t enough.

If you haven’t been picked for the creative teams you’ve applied for, it’s probably not because you lack creativity or skill. So many factors are considered when picking a dream team! Here’s some questions I want you to ask yourself, because this is what you may be missing and or need to work on:

-Do I have an active platform to share my crafts (blog, social media accounts, YT Channel)?

-Does my aesthetic/style match the brand I applied for?

-Do I consistently share my crafts on my social media and blog?

-Do I have an engaged audience?

-Do I have past design team experience?

-Do I have strong writing skills?

-Did I follow the directions on the application?

-Do I take good, quality photos of my projects?

(Read this post I wrote about how to take better pictures of your planners with your phone. The tips I share can be applied to any craft.)

Now let me stress this point…

Companies are looking for people who naturally fit their brand.

They’re interested in working with crafters who already behave like they’re on a design team.

This is especially true if you’re looking to apply to a team as a first-timer. Also please don’t think that this has much to do with subscriber numbers. It really doesn’t.

I picked someone for my team that has a little over 100 followers. Want to know why? Because she’s sharing her crafts with the world and taking it very seriously. You can tell right away that she prides in her creations and has a true passion for it. Her photos are fantastic! And while her blog doesn’t have many followers, she shares consistently, and the quality of her posts is outstanding! Her effort shows in everything she does. Basically put, she’s sharing like she’s already on a design team. (I can’t wait for you to meet her!)

I hope you know that I’m telling you all of this so you can be successful on your applications. I’m seriously rooting for you!

In fact, I know that you have the talent it takes to be on a team… but don’t forget, brands are looking for more than that.

Take some time to consider all I’ve shared today. And if you want to apply for design teams in the future here’s some things you can start doing now to show recruiters you’re really serious about your crafts:

1. Start a blog and post at least once a week. (WordPress or Blogger offer free platforms)
2. Start a craft account on Instagram and a Facebook page and post REGULARLY!
3. Hashtag your posts and engage with others in the crafting community to increase your followers.
4. Work on improving your photography. (Read this post on how to take better pictures with an iPhone.)
5. If you’re really serious, start a YouTube channel.

Rooting for you,

Janette Lane

Pocket Letters® Founder & Owner

PS. If you haven’t already, I invite you to check out my FREE PLANNER CLASS on Scrapbook.com! It pairs perfectly with a crafternoon session! (affiliate)

Excited to learn more? Sign up for the “First Class” Pocket Letters™ Intro Course with Founder, Janette Lane