A new logo, a new website, and a big CONTEST!

First things first. I have a new website.

Now, moving on, there is someone I want you to meet. His name is Percy and he is my new logo. He's looking right at you.

One of the things a good graphic designer will tell you when you are designing a logo is that it must, as its primary directive, appeal and have relevance to others and communicate your message, your brand. Choosing an image that has significant meaning primarily or solely to you is, at worst, an act of self sabotage, and at best, missed opportunity.

Well, just TRY telling that to Percy.

Percy is convinced that everybody loves crickets. Its hard for me to be unbiased too, I've always loved them. The old houses I grew up in were never air tight to begin with, doors and windows were left open in the summertime, and so the sound of crickets was a year-round constant, inside or out. Whenever I would visit a tidy, airtight house, the first thing I would notice was the quiet. The distinct lack of crickets. I had sort of forgotten about that, having lived in increasingly more airtight houses since, but then I stumbled across this perfect sentence and suddenly remembered.

"In China, crickets are a metaphor for summer and courage.."

The rest of the story, if you want to know more about how Percy and his friends ended up on my wall, is here.

FIND THE CRICKETS AND WIN A BIG PRIZE!

But what I'm really interested in knowing is what the rest of you think of Percy, and wether or not you have seen him before. Maybe on a fabric print past? I can think of three prints - a Munki Munki print, a Free Spirit print, and a KOKKA print - that all have crickets hidden (and not so hidden) in them. Sometimes, FYI, crickets look a little like grasshoppers.

If you can correctly name (or describe) these prints by no later than June 1st, your name will be entered into a drawing, where you will have the chance to win a pair of Keds Sneakers made from your choice of any of my past fabric prints ( a few exceptions apply, but not many!), a generous sampling of my new fabric line, Far Far Away II, and a signed copy of my book, Weekend Sewing.

But ssshhhhh! No helping! It will be more fun that way.... email your answers to me directly. Remember, I have to recieve your answers by June 1st in order to enter your name in the drawing... and good luck!