Blog Posts

Peace, love, Balance....and gratitude

12/3/2014

happy holidays from our family to yours! xxz

Life is about balance. Balance of work, play, responsibilities and fun. The "SEASON OF LIGHTS" is a frenzy of activity swirling around. We are working extra hours, planning for family gatherings, and of course SHOPPING! Being a self-employed artist part of my responsibilities is to "self-promote" my art and design, which I have always found very difficult to do. I believe a lot of artists feel this way - we would much rather just paint or design, and let someone else market and sell our work. It is a real "push" for me to say "hey, buy my stuff"; but I am also acutely aware of the fact that people spend a lot of money in December especially for Christmas and Hanukkah, so self-promote I will....

There is so much excitement in the air - colors, lights, scents and sound - the classic Jingle Bells echoing in the backround - even for "non-Christians" the Christmas tunes are quite catchy and memorable, the smell of cinnamon and pine trees linger on every corner, and there are LIGHTS EVERYWHERE!!! It is a month of sensory overload - in a good way. I love to walk around the City and see all the fabulous window displays, check out the "holiday" decorations, and enjoy the spectacular people watching.

The end of Thanksgiving is usually the beginning of the holiday chaos. To me "giving thanks" is not something to celebrate once a year - but a daily celebration...as is "PEACE ON EARTH" the true message of this season, and sometimes the overlooked one. So for the rest of this season enjoy the moment you are in - try to slow down just enough to see the Peace around you, enjoy the Love in the air, balance your days so chaos doesn't take the joy out of your nights, and be Grateful every day for this breathtaking journey we are all on together.

wishing you a season of Peace, Love, Balance and happy shopping xx zakia

Change is in the AIR....

10/5/2014

The Autumn months are a hectic time of year -- full of new beginnings for many. The brisk cool air and ever-changing leaves are wonderful motivators to make personal life changes. Children return to school, college students fly away from their homes and go off on their own for the very first time!, and jobs open up for the busy holiday season. Animals frantically gather food and look for a toasty place to stay for the upcoming colder months - birds navigate their way to warmer weather.

No matter what your religious/spiritual beliefs are, there is a good chance you will be celebrating some Holiday over the next few months. My favorite is Halloween! Although I am not a big fan of scary/gory things - I do love that for one day a year we can dress up and "BE" anyone we want; regardless of our skills, education or background. With a little imagination and creativity you could have "super powers", walk on the wild side, or be a famous celebrity or historical character - the possibilities are endless!

What if we carried that Halloween Spirit into our daily "real life routine"? -- BE whoever you want, in spite of societies expectations of you or your "limitations" (self-imposed or otherwise). Just become that person you always wanted to be - or at least as close to that person as possible. What changes will you make in your daily routine and life...how would you live differently if you could? Let the magic unfold.

Who will you be....

ZOMBIES INDIAN PRINCESS SUPER HERO
(drawing C. 2014 Robert L. Stott, II)

HAPPY AUTUMN!!!

9/22/2014

SUMMER LOVE

8/1/2014

Everyone has a season they resonate with...mine is SUMMER. I love the warm weather, the lazy beach days, and the relaxed schedule. Motivated by the ocean sounds, fireflies glowing at dusk and laughing children - my summer is filled with fun memories and creating sunshine inspired original artwork and designs. I enjoy the luxury of waking up late every day - and staying up even later at night to watch the children play "manhunt" or finish a project I am working on for a deadline. The colors of summer are spectacular - from pastel subdued shades of peace, to the brightest and most vibrant colors of energy.

The Caribbean captures this summer spirit year - round. The amazing turquoise ocean, with rippling waves splashing against the soft white sand. Or the calm and serene Caribbean Sea filled with gorgeous colorful swimming sea creatures. So many places to explore! I recently had the pleasure of visiting Turks and Caicos', the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Keep on the lookout for new patterns and designs over the next few months with the breath of these diverse islands incorporated into my artwork.

Enjoy the last month of the hazy, lazy warm days of summer. Let your thoughts drift away with the splashing of the waves and be energized by the spirit of Summer Love.

Peace, Love and Light xx zakia

What's your season?

Surtex 2014 recap...

6/17/2014

WOW...it has already been a month since exhibiting at Surtex 2014. If I don't post my Surtex recap TODAY, it will be surtex 2015 before I know it!!! So here are some notes which I hope will help any artists who are thinking of exhibiting in the future.

1. The difference between fantasy and reality;

in our fantasies;  we are standing in our booth and the company/companies we most want to work with walk up to us smiling and offer us the licensing deal of a lifetime.

in reality;  we are standing in our booth and company after companies walk by, some glance over at our booth out of the corner of their eye, some wait until we turn around before swiping one of our business cards, and some people actually stop to to chat for a few minutes (YAY!!! - potential licensing deal of a lifetime!)

2. Engage and interact with everyone;

You must interact with everyone. Smile, say hi, ASK QUESTIONS... "what company are you from?", "can we exchange business cards?" "what are you looking for?" "do you buy artwork or license?" Get people talking - you will find out very quickly if they are artists, designers -- or if they are in need of artwork. You as the artist know better than anyone your own work, and what you are capable of - flaunt your stuff!

(the deals I am currently working on now are with the companies I asked the most questions of during surtex!)

3. Conferences, conferences, conferences;

Surtex offers these amazing conferences (you do not have to be an exhibitor to attend them- but they do cost to attend.) As an exhibitor you are entitled to 2 free conferences. I learned SO much in these conferences. I chose "Catorgory Gurus" and "Anatomy of a licensing contract." The tricky part is the timing of the conferences - (if anyone has any suggestions on how to be 2 places at one time... I really didn't want to leave the booth at all, but thankfully I did have help!)

4. Surtex is like a wedding day;

You work like crazy for months, preparing amazing new designs and collections, come up with a fantastic booth display that really shows your work, think of some cool "give-aways" to hand out, and make or buy press kits -- so you think the show is the finale (the wedding day)- HA, HA, HA, no -- surtex is just the BEGINNING! now the REAL work begins. (just like marriage after the wedding day.)

5. Follow up, follow up, follow up;

Take the initiative after surtex and follow up with emails and artwork submissions.  The few weeks right after surtex is your giant window of opportunity. Research the companies you made contact with, do not loose the surtex connection Go after those dream companies (even if they didn't make it to your booth.) Think of exhibiting at surtex like paid advertising - take advantage of the publicity!  This is your time to shine.

6. A few notes about display and set-up;

I received a lot of praise and attention about my booth from other exhibitors and artists (thank you!), so I wanted to share with you what I did; It was really quite simple. I had the banners printed online from Staples (i ordered a banner in the store as well, but the quality was different, and i liked the online ones better) They were on sale too, so i got an amazing deal on them. The banners were lightweight to transport, and so, so easy to put up with Command Strips (take down was a breeze too.) Everyone's budget, style and taste is different (we don't all like brie...) and there were some very elaborate, expensive, gorgeous booths. Your budget for the show will probably set the tone for what you do - just make sure you love it, and everyone else will too!

7. You are an awesome talented artist;

and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!!  MOST artists, designers, writers, actors, and creative people flip back and forth from delusions of grandeur to thinking they should give up their craft because they just aren't good enough. The truth is if you love what you do, keep doing it. Persistence, faith and determination will keep you on your path to success. Make sure to have lots of fun along the way. Good luck - and i hope to see you at Surtex 2015!

xx zakia

PHOTO FROM ON THE SURFACE SURTEX NEWSLETTER, OPENING NIGHT CRUISE

SURTEX photo - zakiazdesigns APRIL Flowers on bottom right!!!

Surtex 2014 thank you

6/3/2014

Well it has been 2 weeks since the grand finale of Surtex 2014 and I feel like it was months and months ago!! So much has happened in the past few weeks (ALL GOOD!) but before too too much time passes I wanted to post some thank you's....

THANK YOU TO ALL THE TALENTED AND AMAZING ARTISTS WHO EXHIBITED AT SURTEX -- it is so wonderful to be part of a community that is as caring and thoughtful as these designers. I just wanted to mention a few of my favorites and share a link to their websites;

Josephine Kimberling - http://josephinekimberling.com

Nicole Tamarin - http://www.nicoletamarin.com/

The Paper Crown Co./E.S. Redmond - http://esredmond.com

Kathleen Francour - http://www.kfrancour.com/

Elizabeth Olwen - http://elizabetholwen.com

The above list is a tiny sampling of phenomenal artists who exhibited at surtex 2014 - what I love about the artists I mentioned above is that their LOVELY personalities radiate though their work. Best of luck to you all!

As promised, I'd also like to share some links to a few BLOGS that I follow - (there is a bit of crossover here - almost all of the bloggers are artists as well, and all of the artists above blog too!) Thank you to the following "bloggers/artists" who share their experiences with the world;

http://www.art-licensing.biz/

http://patternobserver.com

http://daridesignstudio.com

http://artlicensingacademy.com

http://creativeconceptsdesignstudio.blogspot.com

Again there are many more amazing blogs/bloggers about art licensing and the design business - these are just a few that have inspired me.

I will be back soon (I hope) to share my "SURTEX 2014 RECAP" so check back from time to time. Peace, love & light!!!

FOLLOW ME ON MY NEW TWITTER ACCOUNT!

5/26/2014

Thanks to the lovely "Dari and Dari" sisters (check out their awesome art at daridesignstudio.com) I have finally figured out twitter (sort of). I am so excited to see amongst my new "followers" are the talented and beautiful HGTV stars CARLEY KNOBLOCH and lAURIE MARCH. Thank you Carley and Laurie for following me!!

Please follow me on TWITTER..

zakiaz twitter

PRESS HFN magazine Home Furnishing News

5/25/2014

hi all,

hope your return from SURTEX DESIGN TRADE SHOW has been as smooth sailing as mine! I just found out that ZAKIAZ DESIGNS was mentioned in the HFN newsletter (Home Furnishing News) and I am THRILLED! Thank you to HFN! Peace xx zakia

SURTEX 2014

5/22/2014

HELLO WORLD! I have just returned from the most amazing experience in my art career - 3 days of exhibiting at the wonderful textile/surface design trade show at the Jacob Javits Center in NEW YORK CITY. I am honored and flattered by all the interest I have received in my designs from fabulous companies -- and I am looking forward to developing wonderful collaborating relationships with all of you. THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH!

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Dear friends,
my name is ZAKIA and I am an artist, designer, painter, mom, daughter, sister and girlfriend. I am not much of a "blogger" but I will be sharing with you links to my favorite blogs and websites on this page...with an occasional post from me. Hope your days are filled with love and light!
Peace, xx zakia