Sunday 30 September 2012

Fanfare Noise!! {NEW Designer alert}

YES!! We've been hinting that something new was in the developmental phase for the last few months...and finally we can make the BIG announcement. (such a relief)

And so just WHAT and WHO is JOFY?


Jo Firth-Young of course! JOFY is the name of JO's NEW STAMP COLLECTION (collective squeal please)

I have loooooong known Jo..... even before PaperArtsy the stamp company was born. She used to come to the classes we taught (that was me, Bodgerbird aka Essex Lynne with crafty friends Anne and Debbie) monthly in Hutton, Brentwood and at that time she was doing her City/ Guilds training in textiles, mixed media, and all the other Paper-Craft stuff she enjoyed. Every month we were itching to see what Jo came up with in the Altered Book round robin. She quickly became a firm friend through these monthly get-togethers. And of course I think we learned from her as much as she from us!
These critters above are typical of Jo creating cool textile thingies - just cos she can! Our PaperArtsy Mascot is also one of Jo's critters - he's called PAMM (PaperArtsy mini mascot).

She has always had an amazing eye for colour, composition, and a clever way of interpreting and presenting her own Jo-style. She is full on into messy, altered art, yet she does it in a way that is crisp, clean tidy and not over-complicated. I adore what she creates. It is always stunning. Here is a typically Jo textile-stamped sample with a stamp from our Lynne Perrella collection.


Her Crafty CV is very full!

Some of you will already know her as the most highly craft-qualified of all of us who taught at ArtsyCrafts - yes Craft IS her day job! And she's certified...LOL And yes she even is a slight bit bonkers which is always a good quality in a crafter. We think she deffo lives in her own little Jo-land world, and if you've been in one of her classes you will know exactly what I mean....well let's give you a current example shall we...she has designed a headless snowman....who else would do that? .... of course he's very endearing, you just want to put that melty head back on his shoulders to cheer him up. LOL But of course this is the kind of thing that comes out of Jo's head and tickles her fancy. And we love her for it! And then she does something like this below.... just makes me laugh...

Jo teaches and demos regularly in and around the Essex area at Birds in the Barn near Colchester, Essex, The Craft Barn in Lingfield, Surrey, and Imagine That PaperCrafts in Upminster not far from PA HQ.

But it's likely that most of you will know her for her regular contributions to Craft Stamper magazine. She has been cover girl on more than one occassion! She creates a variety of projects with fabric, card, paper and, well pretty much anything. Here is a snippet of a fabric bag coloured with PaperArtsy Fresco Paints, and stamped with Claudine Hellmuth images.
So enough of Jo ...I guess you want to see what the stamps are like that she has designed for us!!

As 'tis the season (well nearly) and all that ... we asked her to do some Christmas themed bits and bobs, and I think you are going to love these very much indeedy!

First up the 8 minis. These are Credit card size, perfect for gift tags with the feature images, and the background designs will be useful in all kinds of ways, as you know; layers, texture, wrapping paper etc.
JM01
JM02

JM03


JM04

JM05

JM06

JM07

JM08
She also has created eight A5 sized plates. There are borders, phrases, central elements, dangly bits, pressies, a headless snowman.... LOL..... and of course, in her inimitable meticulous manner, Jo has tweaked, planned, tweaked some more, amended, changed, re-drawn, coloured...tweaked and so on for the best part of the last month to get all these images working perfectly together in oh so many ways. Just for you!

I know you will start to see examples emerge on  Jo's blog in the coming weeks.... she has great plans for her new babies, so keep an eye on her blog for more inspiration. 

Read to the bottom of this post for info about getting your hands on these new stamps ASAP!
JOFY01

JOFY02

JOFY03

JOFY04

JOFY05

JOFY06

JOFY07

JOFY08
So...what do you think? Do you likey? And how do you get them?

You could:
  1. See Jo demo with them herself in person at The Craft Barn this coming weekend at their Mini Fest Free Demo Day, Saturday October 6th. 
  2. Take a class with Jo at The Craft Barn in December using these JOFY stamps. Booking info here.
  3. Come to the PaperArtsy stand at the Great Northern PaperCrafts Extravaganza at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate this coming weekend, October 6th and 7th.
  4. Order online now, click on the links under each stamp. Or click here to see them all. Shipping estimated to start Tuesday 9th October, but could be sooner.
  5. Ask your local Stamp store to stock these little beauties. They can contact us sales@paperartsy.co.uk to order them wholesale from us.

BLOG CANDY ALERT

To enter in the festive spirit of goodwill and to celebrate this wonderful launch, please leave a comment for Jo below. I can't tell you how hard she has worked on this release, so your feedback will be so much appreciated I am sure! On Tuesday 9th October THREE people's names will be randomly drawn. Each will receive an A5 plate and a mini of their choice from this new collection. 

Please make sure we can contact you! If you comment is anonymous, then it makes it hard for us to track you down. We will blog post again on Tues 9th with the winners names and some new art samples, so keep watching this blog in case you are one of the lucky stampers to get your hands on Jo's stuff first. 

Have a great week, as you know, we are busy getting ready for the Harrogate show, GNPE - a new show on our calendar this year. Do drop by the stand if you can, we'd love to meet up with you.

Take care

Leandra


50 comments:

Helen said...

I guessed right, I guessed right! I love these stamps - they are fabulous, and very Jo!! Congrats to Jo and to Paperartsy for getting her designs!!

Gabrielle said...

Oh Jo! These are just gorgeous!!! Love those stars and the Christmas tree is so cute, and the snowman, and the baubles... Flipping Nora I love 'em all! How exciting to be designing for PA! Congrats my lovely x

Tracey-B said...

Wow these new stamps are just lovely, and different. There are going to be some beautiful Christmas cards and projects out there this year! I think I'll look out for a class.
Congratulations on a great new venture!

gayle said...

Congratulations Jo! Gorgeous stamps, loving the script in the backgrounds of the credit card sized ones :) x

Anne Essex said...

Gorgeous stamps from Jo, but they are all so lovely how am I expected to choose which to buy first?

Lin said...

Wow the stamps are fabby Jo...love the headless snowman :D these are why you've been fit to burst lol..they will make great christmas projects....and Leandra you are naughty...why didn't you have these at Ally Pally!!!

Cazz said...

Well done Jo and best of luck with the collection. You've created a wonderful set x

Lynne said...

They're all lovely, but the corner script is just fab! Congratulations on a great collection.

Miriam said...

Fabulous!!

I let out a 'ooh' every time I scrolled down - love the stamps!! Fabulous - can't wait to get my hands on them!

BondGirl said...

Well done Jo!!!

Will be popping by the paper artsy stand with baby bella to say hi!

Anonymous said...

Congraaaaaaaaaaaaats, and beeeeaaauuuuuuttttttttt!
Mwah x

Kay said...

Great stuff Jo! I love them all, especially the stars, and the tree, and the snowman, and..... all of them!!

Hmmmm.... I feel a visit to The Craft Barn coming on.

kjjc said...

Om my giddy aunt, these are just gorgeous. Can't wait to see what is done with them and for the non-christmas release. Well done Jo. Fabulous.

Elaine said...

Congrats on the new collection. Love the pile of presents and the poor headless snowman!!

Gillian .... said...

Huge congrats Jo, had a funny feeling it would be you and sooooooo glad it was. I have oooo'd and ahhhhh'd as I scrolled down the blog post .... not sure the bank manager is gonna oooo & ahhhh the same lol. x

snazzyoriginal said...

Love, love, LOVE these and I don't even 'do' Christmas xx

Deborah said...

Jo, you had me at JMO1 :-)

And then it just got better and better. I love the colour reccomendations too - so refreshing!

Emma Williams said...

Congratulations Jo, it's well deserved and one word about the designs...wow! Such gorgeous stamps and I think I might need them all! Thank you for giving me the inspiration for my Christmas cards..x

Belinda Basson said...

Wow, Wow and WOW again, these just make you smile and want to make cards for Christmas RIGHT NOW. They are so fresh and happy and light.

Deirdre said...

Brilliant stamps, love them all especially the headless snowman! Congratulations PA. on getting a great artist

Netrix said...

Great work Jo and teamed up with paperartsy the quality will be second to none.
All the very best for the exciting new venture
X

Lisa said...

Wonderful news, and wonderful stamps!!!! Sometimes a stamp collection makes so much sense you wonder why it hasn't been done before, and this is one of those collections! Snowman, stars and that fantastic handwriting! Love it.

Lisa Sparkle :)

Siobhan Brignull said...

well done Jo on a superb take on xmas stamps, love the rows of hanging ornaments . . mwah

Kate Yetter said...

So happy for you, Jo! I love your creations as I have been following your blog for a while. Love your new designs and so glad to see them at PA! Congrats.

TAM said...

Fabulous stamps, well done Jo - don't think my Bank Manager is going to be very happy !!!!

Trish said...

Fabulous stamps Jo! I did laugh at the poor snowman - cute and headless, a new one!
Thanks for the chance to win Leandra.

Dawn Louise said...

Congratulations Jo, a very talented lady indeed and now we have your designs to continue to inspire us all. I'm loving the designs and some are versatile to use all year round x thanks paperartsy for chance to win some x

Unknown said...

Fabulous stamps love them all, finally found what i need for this year!

Glennis F said...

What a fabulous collection of Christmas stamps - I can't pick a favourite - Congratulations to Jo

ForgedinPaper said...

These are just fab it's hard to decide which is my favourite. Looking forward to seeing the samples with them on the blog. Great Giveaway.

Fiona said...

Fantastic fresh style Jo, love that they still have such clean lines. Text incorporation is fabulous as well! Congratulations on the release :)

Neil said...

Hi Jo; congratulations on your new stamps; they look amazing! Looking through them there are plenty that I love! And I'm sure they'll sell well too.

Jacqui Chimes said...

Lovely stamp sets Jo

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful collection of Christmas stamps. Bright and lovely.
Congratulations Jo, Christmas cards will never be the same.
Margriet

Janet Wilson said...

Fab new stamps, hope to see them at Harrogate on Saturday

Unknown said...

There will be no stopping you now - I visualise lots of unique sets of stamps in the future - I am thrilled for you. I can't get to your demo's sadly, I live in Norfolk -I actually sat on your table in Olney where we did a jewllery day.

It's great to be able to get your designs from Paper Artsy - and you know one of the best things I love - apart from each design being so original - is the fact that they will never be looking 'dated' and I can see them being used year after year - a great investment indeed

Anonymous said...

These new stamps are just FAB! I would love to win one. Enjoyed seeing you at Bluewater last month. AnnieS amsswsdotsparkesatvirgindotnet

jojo79 said...

Wow, I'm going to be poor. I love all of them. Well done Jo on some amazing stamps and I can't wait to see what you do with them.

Jo
x

Julia Dunnit said...

A huge well done, not only a great collaborative project, but a fab new collection for us stamp junkies. love the intro you've given Jo, and really, above that, love the images.

Paula said...

How wonderful Jo! Your gorgeous stamps are so versatile and so fabby & funky.
Wishing you all the best luck with these. The craft world is going to LOVE them.

Shirley said...

Well done Jo for creating such a fantastic set of stamps. They are all great and will certainly be a joy to use.
Can't wait to get some ( all! ) of them to add to my Christmas stamp collection.
X

Steph Martin said...

Well. Done Jo- love your work . Love the designs of your new stamps.

Jeanette Eells said...

Hi Jo,

Congratulations on your new stamp range, they are wonderful. I used to go to the stamp classes at Hutton, and you helped me make my first stamped Christmas card. So I have a big thank you to say to you. Love the designs and hope that we see a lot more from you in the future.

Lynn said...

Congratulations, these stamps are wonderful and I can see that they would be used in many different ways. Love the snowman and the tree with the handwriting. The baubles are great too - where shall I stop.

Anonymous said...

Well, well, congratulations to Jo and P.A. --- such fun stamps -- absolutely whimsical! They make my fingers itch to grab them and play! Will add them to my Wish List and get some asap.
Greetings from froggieland - Sally

Rebecca said...

These are such fun & quirky stamps I love them all the hardest thing is choosing which ones to get. Isn't she a clever girl, well done and see you in Kettering.
Happy craftin
Rebecca

Debbie said...

I got a set yesterday at Harrogate and love them. I've been playing with them this morning. I love the quirkyness of the headless snowman. Great to chat and watch the fab painty demos. Debbie

Karen said...

Fabulous, fun collection.
I look forward to seeing them everywhere: I am sure they'll be very popular. Well done Jo!
hugs
Karen in France

alison horne said...

lovely, quirky images, look forward to seeing samples made with them and getting my sticky mitts on them.x

Lesage said...

Hi Jo, c'est toujours un immense plaisir de découvrir toutes ces magnifiques choses (timbres, pochoirs, ateliers...) dans cesse renouvelées. Il y en a pour tous les goûts. Merci pour nous