Oh, How Pinteresting!

Add Pins to Your Facebook Timeline

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:03:14 -0800

Starting today, you can add pins to your Facebook Timeline!

Lots of people use Pinterest to get inspiration for the most important projects in their life. People use Pinterest to plan their vacations, redecorate their homes, and create menus for holiday dinners.

You can now share all of these pins on your Facebook Timeline and look back at all of your projects and inspirations across the year! To add pins to your Facebook Timeline, click the button on the top of your screen:

Success! Pins will automatically be added to your Timeline. Don’t worry, we’ll automatically group your pins, showing your most active boards and recent boards you’ve chosen to follow.

If you change your mind, you can always disable this option by going to your settings page and turning this option off:

Happy Pinning!

Pinterest iPhone App: Version 1.4

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:49:00 -0800

The latest version of Pinterest for iPhones is in the app store today! We’ve been working on changes behind-the-pins to make our iPhone app speedier, but the update also includes a new look and new features.

So when you get a chance before the holidays, we recommend updating to version 1.4 in the app store for:

Larger images in your feed
Faster search
Better compatibility with iOS 5
Tabs that drop away while scrolling for easier browsing
Saving pins to your Camera Roll

We hope you enjoy it and happy pinning!

Interview with Chrissy Jensen: Owner of Domestica

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:44:00 -0800

Photo by Erich Ernst

Shop owner, music lover, poster collector, and 60s mod aficionado. Chrissy Jensen took some time out of a business holiday season at her shop Domestica to share how her business got started and what and why she pins.

Chrissy’s shop Domestica in Des Moines, Iowa

First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name’s Chrissy Jensen, I live in Des Moines, Iowa with my husband Craig + my son, Carter. I grew up out East, but came to Iowa to study fashion design at Iowa State (Go Cyclones!). Circa 1985, Iowa State was not a fashion design school. Not at all. After a semester of sewing puffy sleeves and darts, I switched to journalism.

How did Domestica get started?

It really kinda all goes back to Etsy and the power of the internet. I’ve always been interested in design - industrial design, graphic design, architecture. My dad had stacks of print magazines everywhere and my mom rocked the hottest pad in Philly - butterfly chairs, daybed couches, a surfboard coffee table, abstracts.

After school, I sort of fell into a career as a photo stylist. First in film and then in magazines (Des Moines is home to Meredith Corp, publishers of magazines like Do It Yourself, Better Homes & Gardens, etc. It’s a great resource for creatives here). In 2005, while researching an idea for photo-based crocheted throws, I “met” a kid online who had developed a program to Pantone color-match the Masters’ paintings. He, in turn, told me about a site his friend was working on where you could search product by color. I was so excited. All these various color bubbles appeared on screen and when you clicked them, other bubbles popped up with matching products. That was Etsy.

Craft was taking off, but wasn’t nearly as big as it is, now. Buy Olympia was the only online indie craft shop + there were literally just a handful of craft blogs. I couldn’t get an editor to jump on a craft story if I promised Martha Stewart herself would write it - it just wasn’t on anyone’s radar. But I started my own craft blog anyway, met a ton of great people through the blog + eventually found someone who wanted to open an indie craft shop with me.

The thought of having this cool little craft bubble in our own town excited us. We worked on it for about a year, but weren’t making headway with our local SBA. They didn’t understand or believe in the concept and just kept us in limbo. They even told us the name sounded like a Hispanic cleaning company…

I think this is where sometimes you just have to be bull-headed and power through despite the obvious signs. My business partner moved to Minnesota (she’s still one of my closest confidantes), but I still believed it was possible. I found another partner who really pushed the idea through, and although she didn’t stay with the shop, she gave me that extra push I needed.

Photo by Erich Ernst

Domestica is all about handmade, but that still covers a huge range of things: what do you look for in consignment pieces or products for the store?

I’m definitely drawn to clean, modern, cheerful designs. We’re fortunate that designers/makers are drawn to our shop, so we get a lot of inquiries. It’s hard not to take everything - especially when the artist is clearly at the top of their game, but keeping it modern and cool gives our shop a little different feel. Oh, and prints. It’s a sickness. We have hundreds of prints + posters.

Chrissy’s group board “Mad Men Style”

You collaborate on a group board devoted to “Mad Men Style.” Is 60s modern your favorite design-style or period and, more importantly, who is your favorite Mad Men character?

Let’s get to the more important Mad Men character thing first: I only have two “star” crushes, Dean Winters and Jon Hamm. That said, I like Don Draper better when Peggy Olson’s in the room. It’s dynamic when the two most complicated characters share the screen.

I used to like Betty best, but this last season, they made her so pinched and uncomfortable. I liked her better when she was, as my friend once put it, “like Grace Kelly with a crack in her skull” - standing on her front lawn pulling birds out of the sky with a shotgun while a cigarette hung from her mouth.

And yes, I love the 60’s and really, ‘62-’65. The clothing, print and ad design…

Chrissy’s group board “Des Moines”

Since you’re an Iowan (and we also have two Iowans on Team Pinterest!), what would you say are the best parts about Des Moines or the whole state?

I’m not a native, but I’ve lived here 25+ years now (really?). I think being in the middle geographically has an affect on Iowans’ sensibilities. Iowans are some of the most traveled, most politically savvy, most culturally checked in people I’ve met. Even in the smallest towns, people are checked into what’s going on in the world. They’re definitely more conservative in smaller towns, but I think being farmers/landowners gives them a sense of the value of individual freedom.

Lots of people like to characterize us as living the simple life, but in a way, it’s true. Life’s so easy here. Des Moines offers many of the same cultural + recreational pursuits as larger towns, plus you get the added bonus that you’ll actually get Wilco tickets when they go on sale.

Gig posters available at Domestica

As a music and poster obsessive, what’s on your wishlist of bands you’d love to see or posters you’d love to have?

Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Sleeper Agent, Wild Flag, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Jeff the Brotherhood - I’d love to see any of them. I already have the raddest Wild Flag poster by El Jefe - one of my faves in the shop right now - and he did an awesome poster for We Were Promised Jetpacks, too.

If we had more room/resources, I’d love to get work by Mat Daly, Mike Perry, Dan McCarthy, Miss Amy Jo, Little Friends of Printmaking, Burlesque…there’s just so many people who rock screenprint. We have some of the best already, so I’m thrilled to have who we have.

Chrissy’s “Mad About Print” board

How do you use Pinterest, both for Domestica and for yourself?

Wow. it’s really changed over the last year. At first, it was definitely just a clever way to clean up my desktop. Then my friends and I started a board just to share things with each other and then I think the full scope of Pinterest’s value set in.

I think I tend to use it as a community more than anything - connecting with people I don’t really know, but who have similar interests or who know something I might find valuable. I don’t tend to pin our wares so much. I see boards dedicated to people’s creations or their Etsy store stock, but I worry that it’s too one-dimensional - it doesn’t tell a very rounded story about me or who I am.

I’ve been trying to add a Pin It Button to our blog posts and shop items, that’s a huge! marketing tool, thank you, but I’m still not sure I’m coding it correctly. :)

You can find Chrissy’s boards here and shop online at Domestica here. Happy holidays and thanks so much for sharing Chrissy!

Interview with Chronicle Books

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:27:00 -0800

Way back in August we got the chance to meet-up with hundreds of pinners in the SF/Bay Area. One of the most enthusiastic groups we got a chance to talk to was a “delegation” of happy pinners from Chronicle Books. As soon as we started chatting with Kate, Kristen, and Guinevere, how and why they pin started pouring out: Kate as an editor for Chronicle Books and Anthology Magazine, Kristen to work with artists and designers as a design director, and Guinevere as a community manager and blog-writer.

It was one of the first times we got to meet a team that pins together so when we got a chance, a pinterview naturally followed:

The Chronicle Books office in San Francisco

Chronicle Books could be very basically described as a publishing company of visual books, but how would you describe where you work and the mission of Chronicle Books?

Kate Woodrow: I’d say Chronicle’s mission is to create exceptional publishing that’s instantly recognizable for its spirit, creativity, and value. (I’d say that because it’s literally part of our mission statement!) At the end of the day, we work hard to make distinctive things—books, games, journals, puzzles, stationery, apps, and so much more—and we have a lot of fun doing it. If I had to be anywhere every weekday, Chronicle Books makes for a pretty spectacular playground of creativity. (Plus we throw some pretty wicked parties.)

Setting up for a “Pantone Day” party at Chronicle Books

Each of you has a different role at Chronicle Books: can you give us some insight into what you do?

Kate Woodrow: As an editor, I acquire and then help develop roughly 30 art-driven gift products and illustrated books a year. It typically takes about a year to get from the initial nugget of an idea to a finished product on the shelves—but the more complicated projects on my list can take years of format development! I’m always on the hunt for new artists and brands to collaborate with.

Kristen Hewitt: I am an associate design director, and I work on mostly non-book titles—stationery, journals and gift items. I also work on developing new formats and making sure the house as the whole is always coming up with new and interesting formats for us to produce.

Guinevere de la Mare: I’m the community manager at Chronicle (the Chronicle Books blog here), so it’s my job to manage all of our social networks and connect with our fans online. I love what I do because it allows me to engage directly with customers, bloggers, authors, and artists. It’s incredibly valuable to have one-on-one conversations with people, hear what they’re saying about our books, and pass that feedback back to the rest of the company.

Chronicle Books “Books We Love” board

Chronicle Books has a Pinterest account and you all pin together on group boards. How does the office use Pinterest: is it mostly just for fun and community-building, or does pinning together help solidify design ideas too?

GdlM: A group of us at Chronicle all discovered Pinterest around the same time earlier this spring and we were immediately struck by how perfectly it complemented what we do. Our core business is built around visual sharing, and so much of what’s shared on Pinterest—design, typography, crafts/DIY, recipes, fashion—overlaps beautifully with what we publish. It instantly became a font of inspiration and a great new way to interact with our authors (many of whom pin) and our online community.

KH: As a designer and art director, Pinterest has become an incredible tool for me. When trying to establish a visual palette for a project, I used to create style boards that I would send to either the photographer, stylist, illustrator or designer and now I can just send a board specific to a project and send a link to the artist. By making it a shared board we both can pin things and collaborate on developing the look and feel together. It’s really become such a great tool!

If you were forced to pick, what would be your top Chronicle Books pick and why?

KW: Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives by Helen O’Neill. I’m partial, because it was my first acquisition at Chronicle way back in 2006. But, this illustrated biography of the infamous wallpaper designer is such a juicy read—and a beautifully packaged design book, as well

KH: This is tough because I work with so many amazing artists, each bringing so much passion and enthusiasm to each project. One of the projects that I’m most proud of is not a book, but a stationery line we have with Rifle Paper Co. called Botanicals. It’s a notebook collection and stationery set that is probably just about the prettiest project I’ve ever worked on. When Anna Bond at Rifle Paper Co. sent the final art to me when I opened it I actually gasped with excitement. The final collection has lots of details that just really make it extra special. Both sets are wrapped with twine and the journals have the word “notebook” stamped in gold foil and metallic gold printing on the interior texts sheets. It’s swoon-worthy!

GdlM: I love hand-drawn typography and I’m a sucker for those inspirational quotes you see all over Pinterest (yes, I have a board for them) so I have to say my favorite book right now is Everything Is Going to be OK. The artwork in the book is lovely, and a number of my friends contributed work so I’m a bit biased. But ultimately, this little book is like a hug in hardcover (“You are so loved!”), and that’s a beautiful thing.

All of you are pinners in your own right as well: what are your personal interests and projects?

Kate’s “Presents” board

KW: I love to cook and tend to pick recipes based on how delectable the end result looks, so food pins are an essential part of my visual recipe box. Perhaps my most useful board has been my collection of “Presents”—it’s saved the day for so many recent gift purchases!

Kristen’s “In the Garden” board

KH: I love everything about parties and making pretty things! I have a community garden, and really love and am inspired by being in it. I’ve gained a whole new respect for growing food since I started my garden and it’s fun to see what others are doing and be inspired by others in the pinterest world. In the spring, I will be helping my sister design her backyard and we have a shared board for that which is so great! In regards to personal projects, that’s the one I’m probably most excited about!

Guinevere’s “Kid A” board

GdlM: I have a toddler at home, so my most active board is dedicated to kid stuff. I pin project ideas (chalkboard paint!), cool stuff for him (skateboard swing!), and handy tips I want to remember (use baking soda to get crayon off the wall!). I also moonlight as a ghostwriter for a shopping blog, and Pinterest has become my go-to source for inspiration, as well as my online notebook for saving product links for future posts. It makes my life so much easier!

Thanks for taking the time to share all the reasons you pin! You can find Chronicle Books on Pinterest here.

Pinteresting Trend: Saturated Geometric Patterns

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:08:40 -0700

1. Matt W. Moore “Crystals & Lasers” exhibition; pinned by Little Bird Big Chip onto I Like Stuff

2. Cappellini Proust Geometrica armchair; pinned by Ian onto Inside

3. Howkapow mug designed by Matt Keers via MAIYA; pinned by Leila onto The Home

4. Paper garland by Weekday Carnival; pinned by Irina onto Party Perfect

5. Sarah Applebaum installation; pinned by Sage onto Art

Interview with Julie Karatzis & Eugenia Bazigos

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:28:29 -0700

Planning parties, weddings, photo-shoots, and daily dinners: these are all reasons people pin. Home improvement boards are also popular, but building a house from the ground up, on an island in Greece, with your whole family? That’s definitely one of the bigger projects we’ve seen on Pinterest.

So between Julie’s work as a publicist and letterpress printer, Eugenia’s job at Google, and of course lots of pinning and blogging, we caught up with two sisters who are helping their dad’s dream come true.

Julie and Eugenia as kids

First things first, can the Bazigos sisters describe some basics facts about each other?

Julie: We’ve grown up as best friends and have always been there for each other. Eugenia is definitely the little sister in every sense. I embarrassingly used to make her my go-for when we did art projects as kids, “Eugenia, grab me the scissors” and she’d bring them. She’s grown up to be totally independent, marches to the beat of her own drum, works incredibly hard, does what she wants, and doesn’t let anything stop her.

Eugenia: Julie has OCD - this is almost certain. She can’t deal with disorder and is the type who reorganizes supply cabinets for fun. She’s always in the middle of a project - and growing up, I was definitely her little helper :) She’s always inspired me to bring out my inner artsy, but she definitely holds the crown here.

Julie’s Kefalonia, Greece letterpress print

Julie, you’re one-fourth of Secret Agent PR which specializes in design clients including the American Institute of Architects and Dwell Media. You also have your own design and letterpress studio, Cartoules Press. Meanwhile, Eugenia you’re a Berkeley alumna who’s now a Display Advertising Specialist at Google. Are you two competitive at all or did pursuing your own passions lead you to where you are?

E: Other than making a bet with her when I was 12 that I’d get better grades then she did in high school (I won), really not a whole lot. Our parents always encouraged us both and we just wanted to see each other succeed.

J: If anything we’ve always admired each other for the things we’re good at, and help strengthen each other’s weaknesses. I’ve always been the creative one, Eugenia’s always been the smarty-pants, great student. I was also a good student and Eugenia is creative as well, but we each pursued our own passions, while still having interest in each others work.

E: With Julie in PR and me in Advertising, we’re often thinking about the same things from different angles. It’s always fun when our worlds collide and we can seek one another out for professional advice.

J: She loves to attend design events with me, while I enjoy learning about the latest in the tech world from her, so we really balance each other out.

Eugenia’s “Living Room Love” board

From both of your boards, it’s easy to tell you’re both opinionated about design and interiors. How did you get interested in design?

J: I’ve always loved design. As a kid, I wanted to be an architect. I also love art, drawing, and creating so that’s definitely been a constant in my life.

E: Yeah me on the other hand — I’m a late bloomer in terms of appreciating design. I never really had much of an opinion until college. And even then, it didn’t cross over into being an obsession until last year when I moved to a new apartment in San Francisco. Along the way, I’ve taken inspiration from some of the most influential places I’ve lived — the bohemian, eccentricity of Berkeley; Andalucia’s bright colors and geometric patterns, and Greece’s easy lifestyle and beautiful shapes and colors. Pinterest and the rise of Emily Henderson have only perpetuated this obsession.

Julie’s “Studios ‘n Office Spaces” board

J: As I’ve gotten older and more exposed to the design community it became very obvious to me that this is what I was meant to do. Add Pinterest to the mix, and before I know it, it’s 3am and I’m so far down the design rabbit hole. Both my work as a publicist to architects and designers, and as a graphic designer and letterpress printer, I really get to use my educational background in communications, and my self-taught skills in graphic design to live and breath my passions on a daily basis in these various iterations.

Progress on the Kefalonia house, from Julie’s blog

Your family is currently involved in building a house in Greece together. Can you tell us about how this all got started, the location, and your aspirations for it?

E: This was originally our father’s dream. Every summer we’d go to Greece and stay with our grandparents in their village on the island of Kefalonia. Those summers including a packed house full of our cousins, our parents, and our grandparents are some of the best memories of our childhood. I can always remember our father searching for property so that one day we could have our own house to create these memories.

In 2006 he found a piece of land with a sea view (which was number one on his list). Over the next few years he researched a crew of individuals he could trust to help build his dream, and oversee the process while we’re here in the States. It was all very exciting for Julie and me, but during the design stage I think is when we really became more involved.

Julie and Eugenia’s grandparents house in Kefalonia, from Julie’s blog

J: This house is definitely our father’s baby, but he trusts the two of us to infuse the house with great design. I should mention that he’s a mechanical engineer, a designer himself, so debating elements of the house with him can be challenging (and fun) for us, because he loves the practical; we love the pretty. Then throw my mom the artist/teacher, and my husband the banker into the mix, and you’ve got some lively discussion. It’s really brought us closer though, which I think is the point, and I will always cherish having done this with them. We look forward to the memories we’ll all be creating here for a lifetime.

Julie and Eugenia’s group board “Kefalonia House Inspiration”

Clearly a project this big takes a lot of planning: can you fill us in on how you’ve been using your “Kelafonia House Inspiration board”?

J: We actually have two boards. The first is a “Kefalonia House Inspiration” board, which is composed of images from other homes in Kefalonia, and Greece in general, that have inspired us. The second is called “Kefalonia House Products” and it’s composed of items we’ve already chosen for the house. It’s been really helpful for both of us to collaborate and put our visual ideas in one place where we can make notes, “at message” each other with our thoughts, and even show our family the board to illustrate what we’re envisioning.

E: Thankfully we only ask our parents to click on links - they aren’t exactly techies.

J: Pinterest is allowing us to pull together all of our family’s disparate design styles, and visually see if they can actually work together.

Views in Kefalonia, from Julie’s blog

Have there been any major challenges along the way?

E: Oh man. Yes. We have way too many chefs in the kitchen. And speaking of chefs, deciding on the specific elements of the kitchen has been the hardest part.

J: When you think about how we’re building this house from over 6,500 miles away, so far things are running pretty smoothly. We’re so blessed to have family who live there year round who can check in from time to time, and we’ve hired a fantastic crew of professionals who have been doing a great job. If you consider the fact that my parents and Eugenia live in the San Francisco Bay Area, while my husband and I live in Long Beach, I’d say we’re pretty organized about getting this done.

E: There’s definitely a lot of Skyping going on to discuss details and the Pinterest boards really help pull that together.

Besides the house, are there other reasons you use Pinterest?

Eugenia’s “All Hallows” board

E: I’m currently organizing all sorts of ideas for Halloween. I’ve been finding so much inspiration as I plan for a party I’m throwing. Other than that, I use it all the time for inspiration and general happy procrastination.

J: Personally I love using Pinterest to curate my favorite design items, and to create visual wishlists of things I’d like to purchase for our home here in Long Beach. Professionally I use Pinterest to catalogue items that inspire me, whether it be in my stationery design, or packaging. I also write a blog, so I use Pinterest to visually capture the items I want to include in a post, and then I can easily site where the image came from by referencing my pin boards.

Thanks so much for sharing some memories and stories with us! You can follow the progress of the Bazigos house in Kefalonia on Julie’s blog here.

"Pinning With Purpose"

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:06:20 -0700

Source: Christine’s pins

If you love pinning and you have your own business or brand, here’s an event that might interest you.

Pinner, blogger, and former small-business owner Christine Martinez is teaching a class in the SF/Bay Area on Thursday, November 3rd titled “Pinning With Purpose: How To Build Your Brand With Pinterest.”

The topics include: how you can pin to build a brand story, how to perform your own market research, and how to reach new audiences with your boards. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to do this without breaking the #3 Etiquette rule: pinning purely for self-promotion.

Get the rest of the info and sign up here.

Pinteresting Trend: Muted Patterns

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:06:12 -0700

1. David Pearson Design “Art Direction and Graphics 1960-1970” for Penguin By Design; pinned by Melanie onto Design & Illustration

2. Musings in Femininity; pinned by Joyce onto La Mode

3. Jane Churchill spring patterns via Apartment Therapy; pinned by Casey onto Pattern

4. The Brick House kilim pillow covers, The Brick House’s boards; pinned by Rorie onto Interior Lust

10.14.11: Weekly Pinterest Round-Up

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:38:06 -0700

Source: left two photos from Soda Pop’s recipe post; Claire K Creation’s cake

This week we added a new “Education” category for teachers, home-schoolers, or any and all interested parents. The category has been filling up with pins even quicker than we thought, so Friday’s first link we want to share is to Denise’s blog Sunny Days in Second Grade and her latest classroom activity, inspired by her pins.

As always, more creations and projects below - Happy Pinning!

1. Claire shares recent recipes she’s made on “Pinterest Comes to Life”; Claire’s boards here.

2. How Jessica of Life as Mom users her pins in real life, including getting a new haircut; Jessica’s boards here.

3. DIY shelves posted on “Pinterest Yields Actual Productivity”; Poor Robin’s boards here.

4. Alissa is undertaking “31 Days of Pinterest Creations” for gift ideas; Alissa’s boards here.

5. Julia on All Things Social used her pins to redecorate after moving; Julia’s boards here.

Pinteresting Trend: Faceted Designs

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:10:19 -0700

1. Jennifer Cameron “Facet Runner” for Danica Studio Collection; pinned by Sarah onto Color

2. Tabitha Bianca Brown “Amethyst” print on Etsy; pinned by Kristin onto Etsy Finds

3. Matthew Shlian “Tesselation Series” paper art; pinned by Karen onto Other Things

4. Lumini “Rock Lamp”; pinned by Jessica onto Furniture

5. J1Studio T. shelf; pinned by A-chwn onto Fun

10.07.11: Weekly Pinterest Round-Up

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:07:00 -0700

Source: Ashlie’s melted crayon project

This week, a special mention goes out to green design site Re-Nest for their post “Pinterest & the Green Community” and describing Pinterest as a site that’s inspired them to go out and do just as much as they pin. With that spirit in mind, here’s another week of celebrating what you’ve made from your boards!

1. Ashlie completed “A Week of Pinterest” creations with art projects and recipes; Ashlie’s boards here.

2. Simple Organic is kicking off its first “From Pinterest to Real Life” monthly link-up with loads of recipes; Nicole’s boards here.

3. Autumn made three wreaths with “A Little Pinterest Inspiration”; Autumn’s boards here.

Pinterest, Refreshed

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:25:43 -0700

Next week, you will visit Pinterest and find it looking fresh and new! Here is a taste of what what makes refreshed Pinterest special:

A Fresh Look

Pinterest is now cleaner and lighter, making it easier to focus on the best part - the pins! By keeping Pinterest itself minimal and understated, we hope that you will find it even more satisfying to explore Pinterest and surround yourself with what inspires you.

Easier to Pin

Discovering and organizing your favorite things on Pinterest should be as simple as possible. We have worked hard making Pinterest easier to use: quick to pin, simpler to comment, and easier to find Pinners that share your interests. We’ve also made it much simpler to mention other Pinners - just type ‘@’ followed by their name in any comment, pin, or edit form on the site.

Better Boards

Boards are the heart of Pinterest, but today’s boards don’t do justice to the incredible collections that people have created. We’ve worked carefully to make boards special: less like a web page, and more like a beautiful, living, physical thing to share with others.

This is just a taste of the visual refresh coming next week. As always, thanks for pinning, and we hope you love the improvements we’ve been working on!

Interview with Crosby Noricks: Founder of PR Couture

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:46:00 -0700

There’s currently an avalanche of runway photos, trends, and street-style being pinned as the fashion industry makes its seasonal migration from New York to London and onwards to Milan and Paris. And as “fashion month” ensues, we decided it was the perfect time to interview the travel-happy, animal-loving, newborn-hiker Crosby Noricks, founder of PR Couture.

Her blog was one of the first to discuss fashion’s relationship with social media as it evolved, and now it’s a hub for industry news, interviews, tips, and articles on brand management, freelancing, internships and more. As expected, we got some expertise, suggestions, and of course a few stories about her boards!

Hi Crosby! First, can you tell us a little about yourself?

Like Elle Woods, I am a Gemini vegetarian. Unlike Elle Woods, I am a curly-haired brunette that prefers kittens, mini ponies and pygmy goats to tiny dogs. I was born in Santa Barbara, and I moved to San Diego for graduate school and have been here for the last seven years, which is longer than I have ever lived anywhere. It’s not a place I never thought I would end up, and luckily I am able to travel quite a bit, most often up to San Francisco, my favorite city in the world thus far. However, I have come to appreciate the gorgeous weather, preponderance of bougainvillea, proximity to the gorgeous Hotel del Coronado and beach, and the storybook-style one-bedroom yellow casita I currently call home.

In 2006, I started PR Couture, a blog that explores fashion PR, marketing and social media from an industry perspective. I currently work as the director of social media at Red Door Interactive, working with consumer brands on their digital strategy. Luckily, this sometimes means I get to play on Pinterest for work.

Crosby’s “Vacation” board

This year, I decided it was time to spend less time online and more time outside, and have enjoyed exploring that world. Much to everyone’s amusement, I now own shoes explicitly for hiking. I am currently fantasizing about having one of those fancy blenders that would allow me to make watermelon gazpacho in seconds, turning my favorite Instagram photos into canvas prints, and getups for an upcoming trip to Palm Springs.

There are a lot of fashion-lovers on Pinterest, but the fashion industry can be a little mysterious: can you give us some insight on what a fashion publicist does on a typical day?

A fashion publicist is primarily responsible for managing the relationship between her clients and the media, but what that means on a day-to-day basis might include everything from developing a strategic plan with key messages and seasonal strategies, to stuffing gift bags or keeping track of media and celebrity sample requests. A fashion publicist is always thinking of innovative ways to position not just her client’s products but the brand story itself and the various mediums in which that story can be told. As the lines continue to blur between traditional PR, marketing, social media, customer service, etc there are more opportunities than ever before to become involved in the overall business direction of a brand, as well as close engagement with today’s social customer.

In the past couple years, globally recognized labels are creating social campaigns left-and-right: any trends you think will happen as the fashion world gets better acquainted with the web?

“MOVE” Rachel Roy Spring 2011 from Dominique Palombo on Vimeo.

I think that they key to a successful social campaign is pairing the right content and message with the right opportunity for the consumer. In fashion, this is emerging with the influx of short fashion films, fashion bloggers or customers curating and creating content, and unique opportunities for the social consumer to experience the brand in new ways. I think the challenge for many fashion brands is still how to integrate social strategy with other digital strategies as well as offline activities – in-store, events, the products themselves…

You work at an internet presence management company; opinions on sites and networks must be on your mind a lot. So lay it on us: what do you like about Pinterest? What can we do better?

A few ideas

When I’m not logged in, I see a variety of pins, but when I login they disappear. I’d like to better understand how to navigate back to this original view
My biggest challenge is discovering new people to follow – a recommendation engine “People who like this person’s pins also like X” would be great, as would a search recommendation “we see you are searching for kittens, you may also want to search for cats, or pets.”
When repinning something where the person has left a comment, it’s not clear that the comment is from that person, and not from me. I’d like a clearer distinction to indicate what comments are mine and what was there before. And what is the protocol on deleting/keeping other people’s comments?

And finally, what do you think someone can learn about you from Pinterest?

Crosby’s “For the Living Spaces” board

I think that Pinterest is a great way for people who might only know me through PR Couture to learn more about my personal aesthetic – whether it’s a gorgeous steel and wood modern farmhouse dining room table, a bright red canvas teepee, or a gold vintage clutch. It’s also a way to see what’s on my mind – my vacationing board came about when I was inspired and excited about an upcoming trip to Hawaii.

Thanks for the pinterview, Crosby! And, to answer your questions:

The page of pins anyone sees when they’re not logged into Pinterest is generated from the Everything section. If you find something there that you want to interact with, you can open the pin in a new browser window/tab and then log in. If you refresh the page with the pin you like, your browser will detect that you’re logged in so you can comment on it, repin it, etc.

And as for proper repinning conduct: you definitely don’t have to keep the original pinners’ descriptions. The original pinners are all linked automatically and given credit when you repin, as well as the original source-link.

09.16.11: Weekly Pinterest Round-Up

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:20:00 -0700

Source: Lofty Bites chicken rollatini adapted from SkinnyTaste’s recipe

New mobile site! New office (just got plugged in)! And of course another week of creations. Get a kick-start on the weekend with inspiration from these pinners and links. And, if you do make something from your boards, you know we want to hear about it so say hello and send us an email.

1. Leah of Lofty Bites made some healthy recipes; Leah’s boards here.

2. Jill and Eric are committing themselves to one resolution per week, starting with some art projects from Pinterest; Jill’s boards here.

3. Tracey’s “Construction Party” for her grandson’s birthday, inspiration and photos from the party on her board here.

Pinteresting Trend: Washi Tape

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:56:00 -0700

1. Brooklyn Bride photo by Jenny Ebert, styling by Jackie Weppner; pinned by Dana onto Celebrations

2. Washi tape fabric designed by I Heart Linen, I Heart Linen’s boards; pinned by Sheridan onto Fabric

3. Neon tape collage by A Creative Mint, A Creative Mint’s boards; pinned by Stephen onto Awesomeness

4. DIY washi tape art by Sarah Hearts, Sarah’s boards; pinned by Renata onto Craft DIY Projects

5. “Three Daily Alarms of Attunement” tape drawing by Alex Menocal; pinned by Lanie onto Art

Pinterest Mobile

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:13:00 -0700

We believe that mobile is extremely important, and mobile users should have a world-class Pinterest experience. Our goal is to make Pinterest available to anyone, anywhere they go. In support of this, we released a big update to our iPhone app last month, but lack of bandwidth on our end has left Android and other smartphone users in the dark.

This is a milestone release that marks the first step in allowing everyone to pin, regardless of what smartphone you use. Pinterest Mobile is an HTML5 application, so anyone can access from their phone’s web browser. That also means that we can update it with new features a lot faster than a native app.

From when I first started on this project, I wanted Pinterest Mobile to allow for people to experience all of Pinterest anywhere, without ever needing to visit the site on their computer. We’re still a ways off from that goal, but this is a significant first step.

What we’re launching today is a streamlined experience for iOS and Android. You can view pins and boards, look at profiles, follow people and of course, repin all the things you find. In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding the ability to search and browse by category, edit pins, and create new boards. Support for other touch based devices like Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry will be coming soon. Of course, we’ll be fixing bugs as we find them as well.

I’m really excited to be a part of the Pinterest team and I hope you enjoy Pinterest Mobile! As always, if you have any feedback or bug reports, be sure to let us know! You can visit Pinterest Mobile by going to www.pinterest.com on your mobile device or directly by hitting m.pinterest.com.

09.09.11: Weekly Pinterest Round-Up

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:01:14 -0700

Our open call for more Pinterest Parties and pin creations definitely didn’t disappoint: we got pictures of barbecued chicken, wreaths, shelves, you name it! Keep ‘em coming with an email or link to your blog and get inspired from these pinners right now.

Also, special thanks to Shape Magazine for a pinteresting post about self-esteem, using inspiration boards, and the question: “Can Pinterest Change Your Life?”

1, 2. Leslie’s Favorite Things Party with instructions on how to host your own; Leslie’s boards.

3. Sharla’s “rag” wreath; Sharla’s boards.

4. Tammy’s healthy barbecue chicken; Tammy’s boards.

Pinteresting Trend: Wine Crate DIYs

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:18:00 -0700

1. Maria Helgstrand’s living room, photos by Pernille Kaalund and Louise Riising; pinned by Matt onto Spaces and Things

2. Linsey’s DIY wine crate garden, Linsey’s pins here; pinned by Stacy onto My Outdoor Wonderland

3. Nina Gotlieb’s DIY crate shelving via Design*Sponge, photos by Miha Matei; pinned by Tiffany onto Wouldn’t It Be Lovely

4. Sandra Juto’s side-table via N.E.E.T. Magazine; pinned by Ania onto Interior Calm

This week’s round-up doesn’t have many links, but we...

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:45:27 -0700

Amira's monthly cooking party

Kristin's DIY ruffled streamers

Sara's tomato and goat cheese tart

Lindsay's mac and cheese muffins

Katherine's caprese snacks

The spread

Notebooks for Kristin's friends

Kristin!

Colorful raffle slips

"I Dream About Pinning" sign

This week’s round-up doesn’t have many links, but we owe two pinners a huge thank you for hosting Pinterest Parties of their own!

Amira’s monthly girls’ night get-together involved all of her friends picking a recipe from their boards to share. Needless to say, it looks like the party was a delicious success!

Meanwhile, Kristin’s “Favorite Things” party celebrated all her friends’ current obsessions and the hostess’s own pick was… pinning!

Not only did Kristin use a board to save recipes and decor tutorials for party-preparation, she also pinned everyone’s favorites to the board after the party so they could all refer back to it together. You can check out the “Favorite Things Party 2011” board here!

Of course, you don’t have to throw a whole party to be an avid pinner, but if you do create or cook anything from your pinboards, send us an email with a picture! If you want to show it off, we’d love to share it with the community too!

Pinteresting Trend: 3D Type

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:12:00 -0700

1. Proposal for Lyon Airport Signage designed by Grapheine; pinned by onto Hope onto Bloom Viz

2. Anamorphic Typography project by Joseph Egan and Hunter Thomson; pinned by Marco onto Artist

3, 4. Ebon Heath stereo.type sculptures; pinned by Molly onto Typefaces

5. Nike Stadium display designed by Rafael de Cardenas Architecture At Large via B3 Designers; pinned by John onto Inspired Work Spaces