Search for New Spellbinders™ Design Team

Spellbinders™ is searching nationwide for talented paper crafters, scrapbookers, card makers and altered artists to become part of our creative family! Unique experiences and opportunities await you!

To be eligible you must:

• Submit three art pieces as assigned below.
• Be available to travel to Phoenix, AZ, expenses paid by Spellbinders™, Wednesday, April 14 through Sunday, April 18, 2010. There are no exceptions to this requirement.
• Be available to serve a term as a Designer from April 1, 2010, through March 30, 2011.
• Be capable of completing all requirements, on time, during the 12-month tenure period.
• If you make the finals round, you will need to complete an assigned project and deliver to Spellbinders™ by February 22, 2010.
• Be able to submit art electronically by scanning or digital photography.
• Be able to submit paper work through the Microsoft Word program.
• Employees of the Spellbinders™ Paper Arts, their affiliates, and members of their immediate families are not eligible.

Art Application:

• Is your style fresh and funky? Upscale and sophisticated? Simple and elegant? Show us your best in a 12×12″ scrapbook layout.

PLUS

• Using apertures, pop-ups, pull-outs or basic and simple, we want to see your magic happen when it comes to card making! Submit one card.

PLUS

• Show us your altered ego! Through creative altered ideas, whether it’s home décor projects, calendars, journals, or jewelry, we want to see your best! Submit one altered project.

PLUS

• An essay, about 500 words, sharing a little about you personally and about yourself as a designer. Why is Paper Arts your passion? Why do you want to be on the Spellbinders™ Design Team? What do you want Spellbinders™ to know about you?

The following questions are for our information only. Please indicate on the bottom of your essay, if you have been or are involved in any of the following (does not count towards your 500 words):

• Do you have a blog? If so, please provide URL/address.
• Has your work been published? If so, please indicate where/in which publications and provide URLs/links if possible.
• Do you have a Creative Resume? If so, please provide URL/address.
• Do you now or have you participated other Design Teams?* If so, please provide URLs/links.

*Current or overlapping membership in the design team of competitive product companies is NOT permitted.

What we are looking for:

Your ORIGINAL creative, innovative designs. Something that makes us say “WOW!” Something that says to us that you love what you do! We would like to know the story behind each item, told in journaling, in photographs, or by other means.

You are not required to use any Spellbinders™ products in your entries. However, we are a die cut company and it certainly couldn’t hurt. Spellbinders™ die templates are universal and may be used in most leading die cut systems, please refer to the Compatibility Reference Guide for instructions.

Please Note: Art does not have to be new for this contest. It just has to be your original artwork.

Required for Design Team Tenure:

• Monthly: one layout, one card and one altered project, one option style project.
• Trade Shows: A minimum of six trade show projects per year, to be assigned.
• Consumer Shows/Education: 2 Layouts, 2 cards for Education and/or Consumer booth, 1 technique board/year, other projects as assigned.
• On-Line Forums: Involved on a weekly basis on at least one on-line forum.
• Encouraged but not Required: Active with your own blog.

These are just minimums, you can submit as many projects as you want throughout your tenure.

Submission Schedule:

All entries must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 15, 2010, Central Standard Time. We sincerely regret that we can only accept entries from residents of the United States.

On Monday, February 1, 2010, Spellbinders™ will contact the top 20 entrants and invite them to continue to the final round of the Spellbinders™ 2010 Design Team Contest. These finalists will be sent product to create an assigned project for the final round of the competition. Finalists will ship their Special Assignment Entries for delivery to Spellbinders™ by Monday, February 15, 2010. Special Assignment Entries WILL NOT be returned to contestant.

On Friday, February 26, 2010, Stacey Caron, owner and co-founder of Spellbinders™ Paper Arts, will make personal phone calls to each of the lucky winners of this contest! A minimum of eight (8) Design Team members will be notified that day, so be sure to list every phone number you want us to try!!!

You must be available to travel to Phoenix on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, remaining through Sunday, April 18, 2010.  Spellbinders™ Paper Arts will pay all expenses for this trip. Your Design Team assignment will officially start on April 1, 2010, and last until March 30, 2011. First projects will be due on April 30, 2010.

How to enter:

1. All entries should be submitted electronically to designteam@spellbinders.us.
2. The subject line should be “Design Team Entry: your name”
3. Each project must be attached to your email as a separate file. Please label your files as such:
…..a. YourName Layout.jpg
…..b. YourName Card.jpg
…..c. YourName Altered.jpg
…..d. YourName Essay.doc
…..e. YourName Entryform.doc
4. Please take clear, high quality photos or scans of your work.
…..a. Please submit at 72 dpi, 10” x 10”.
…..b. Please insure that no individual attachment is over 200 KB.
5. Complete the entry form below and send it via email with your entry. (Click on the form and Save As to save this .jpg to your computer, or type the required information in an MS Word document.)

Designers selected as 2010-2011 Design Team Members will receive:
• A Die Cutting Machine
• A $350 Die Starter Kit
• Numerous new die templates throughout the year, with surprise gifts thrown in along the way!
• An all expense paid trip to Phoenix, AZ, with a tour of the facility, a weekend of workshops, and fun!
• The opportunity to go to one or more of the major Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) trade shows.
• The chance to have your art displayed at major shows and in major magazine advertisements.
• Financial reimbursement for each piece of art that is published in Spellbinders’™ catalogs or used in a published advertisement campaign.
• Numerous opportunities for product reimbursement throughout the year.
• A year-end bonus!!!

All questions should be submitted to designteam@spellbinders.us  with a subject line of “Design Team Contest Question.”