Featured in Southern Living

We were featured in Southern Living. We were featured in Southern Living. No matter how many times I say it to myself, I still can’t believe it.

 It all started last year, days before Thanksgiving. I received a private message on Etsy.com from an Etsy admin. The message was titled: Press Request – Southern Living Magazine – URGENT! I honestly almost wrote it off as spam. I mean, I hadn’t been printing professionally but for only 8 months. As I read it for the seventh time, I realized this wasn’t a prank, or spam. Etsy wanted to give me the chance at representing them in a national publication.

They wanted to feature my Cheers and Polka Dot letterpress coasters along with other etsy artisans for an article on hostess gifts. The words “potentially,” “criteria” and “tentatively” were used a few times, so I tried to have a very reserved mindset about it. I didn’t want to get my (or any of my family member’s) hopes up, so we tried to keep it a secret. Then, just days before Christmas, I received a message from a Southern Living editor:

Hi Christy,
Just wanted to let you know that these are confirmed to be in the February Issue. As a matter of fact, instead of using several products for hostess gifts, we decided to use only your coasters!:)
Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, indeed!! I’ve read Southern Living for years and it has become my favorite of all of my subscriptions. I couldn’t have felt more thankful, honored, or proud.  We told all of our family, and friends – it wasn’t a secret anymore! We were so unbelievably thrilled when we received our copy in the mail and flipped through to see our product featured in an article about hosting a dinner party! Here is the article: 

Now when I was initially approached by Etsy, it came with a warning:

Please be aware that if your work gets featured, there may be an increased demand for it, and you should be prepared for this. It is very difficult to predict what that demand may be.

I took precaution and pre-made an exorbitant amount of coaster sets. I thought it was overkill but, they seemed to be selling very well on their own, so I felt safe in overstocking. There was no way of knowing what was to come. As of today, the magazine has been out for over a month, and I just sold out for the fourth time. Our family jokingly calls them “Penny Blossoms.” If you love the Big Bang Theory like we do, then you will get the reference. 

Looking back, it was such an amazing experience. Not everyone gets their 15 seconds of fame, and I am so grateful to know what that feels like now. I mean sure, it wasn’t a full page spread or anything, but it was big for me. It was big for Dinglewood Design & Press. It gave us the opportunity to be discovered by so many others that appreciate and love letterpress. And maybe, just maybe it will open the doors to future press opportunities! (Call me!) 

Things have been amazing over here. Between our Southern Living feature and my lovely brides flooding in for wedding season, I have been super busy! That is why I haven’t written a blog in over a month. Don’t worry, I promised my self a long time ago I wouldn’t become one of those bloggers who is always apologizing for not writing enough. Blah! Don’t you hate that?

Anyway, I am so excited about our upcoming blogs. I’ve been working with several very stylish brides, and I’m really proud of what we’ve created. I am bursting at the seams to share with you! Until then,

Take care,

Christy