PTI stands for Papertrey Ink. This is a collective smack blog and Papertrey Ink review page. Papertrey Ink's continuously poor customer service has lead to a page dedicated to discussion of this stamp company and recommendations for alternative stamp companies. Minimal censorship here- I prefer to leave it up to posters' discretion.
The opinions posted on this blog belong to our visitors and we are not paid for our honest reviews ;)
I just received a newsletter from Ellen Hutson and see that the CLASSroom has Maile Belles as guest designer today. Here's a link http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/the_classroom_new/
"We are experiencing website difficulties tonight and orders cannot be placed at this time. We are so sorry for the inconvenience and we are working hard to get the issue resolved as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your patience during this outage."
22:19- agreed! Really?: "Please understand that we are just as frustrated as all of you, we are losing lots of potential revenue this evening after all of the hard work put into the last week."
The goodbye to Lisa on Nichole's blog was pretty short.
I'm sad Lisa has left PTI. I believe the "insider" who wrote about Mish and Lisa leaving PTI because of this blog. I mean, I believe PTI is aware of this smack blog and read the comments here. If I were the DT and read all the negative comments, I would be really hurt and not be inspired to do anything creative either. That's just so sad...
People need to quit with the dramatic posts about hurt feelings and mean people.
Safely 95% of the posts on this blog smack PTI's awful business practices and the rude queens who run the place.
I have seen very few personal attacks against DT members. When I have seen those attacks, I have also seen MANY posts calling the person on their behavior; there are a lot more posts praising DT members here than trashing them.
Saying "That card so and so made was ugly" is different than saying "So and so is ugly." Having a public presence means that you have to be able to take the good with the bad. Not everyone will think you're the greatest thing ever, and they're entitled to their opinion.
Grown ups tend not to curl into little balls and cry when their little feelings get hurt.
And, for the record, I think Lisa left more due to her personal integrity than meanies. I will miss her - she's always been one of my favorite PTI designers. It's hard to think of PTI without her on the DT.
all good things must come to an end. maybe now with Lisa gone Beth can become an official DT member. I'm sure she is a valued member of the PTI family and her creative contributions would be welcome. (tic)
maybe pti should consider moving their releases to regular business hours so they have someone to contact. also, the two week long over-hyped releases seriously need to end.
People need to quit with the dramatic posts about hurt feelings and mean people. ----------------------- But it's true. People do get hurt.
If you see your name or if you see a company you work for gets bashed you'll still feel something right? You do represent the company in some way.
Maybe what I should have said was there were a lot of posts suggesting that "if the DT were smart they should jump before the ship sinks and so on..." that must have had an influence.
I'm not defending PTI or any of the DT - I just said it's sad it's come to this and that I agree with the poster, this blog has had influence too in some way.
Grown ups tend not to curl into little balls and cry when their little feelings get hurt. ------------------------------ They may not curl into little balls but they still get hurt.
Well we can clearly see Nichole's priorities... The order on her blog: 1. Post about how no one can order and she is losing money - wag! 2. Bump up the post about the blog hop because even though no one will have goodies on time that was more important than saying good-bye to Lisa. 3. Toss in a piss poor good-bye message for someone who stuck up for you through a lot of this early on as well as someone who designed some pretty kickbutt sets and was supposedly a really close friend
It is really showing Nichole's true colors. The blog hop info was there at release time, Lisa's good bye was not. She moved it down to downplay it all and that pisses me off. Not sure whyi'm surprised though
We never know what went on behind the scenes with Nichole and Lisa. It sounds like there are some hard feelings but i wouldn't be so quick to just blame Nichole 3:29.
So where do we think Lisa will go? From her blog post I didn't really expect her to go one way or the other, but since Nichole wishes her the best in her future endeavors in the industry it would seem that she already has something in the works
You don't have to be attacked personally to have this blog hurt you. When people so openly bash the company that you work for and say that you are stupid or lack integrity if you stay, that can't feel good.
~nothing to do with release but ~ I have a test this week on internal auditing and quality controls and this question came up and for some odd reason PTI came to mind.
The example of an internal nonfinancial benchmark is The % of customer orders delivered on time at the company's most efficient plant.
Then when I saw the website down on release night. That covered the prevention quality cost I am also going over.
Its not necessary to bash DT members to express the truth of the situation. Any good designer needs to keep up with what is cool. Fact is, PTI has lost its cool. I applaud Lisa for moving on. She is joining the many other smart women who know when it's time to walk away from PTI.
PTI has thrown all their eggs in the release basket. Over two weeks a month they spend hyping people to open their wallets on the 15.
Now, all the repeated difficulties have finally culminated in the ultimate failure. I don't see them recovering from this. People (including myself) used to plan schedules around this night, budget for it. These are big confidence killers, who wants to take a chance to stay up anymore when they can't even deliver on the most basic services.
I have heard they won't recover from this before. They will continue to limp along as long as the magazines keep featuring pti stamps and new fans keep discovering them.
I completely believe that if Gina K said "change is good" re: Lisa, that it had nothing to do with her working for her. It had to do with Gina K understanding why someone would want to leave the PTI situation.
And I wouldn't assume Lisa has something in the industry because of that comment either. It was a way for Nichole to depersonalize wishing her luck. They are now former business associates and she is not feigning any personal concern.
Maybe they'll limp along. But for me and many others, the bloom is off the rose for PTI and I don't think they can recapture it. They used to be my go-to stamp site but now it's an afterthought. I wanted to order the Pretty Peonies dies, and I totally forgot that it was release night last night. That wouldn't have happened to me last year.
I was actually being a smart ass when I made the comment about Gina K's status update. I have absolutely no knowledge of any inside information. I was making a point about how easy it is to say something ridiculous on a smack blog and have people believe it.
I don't know why anyone tries to order on release night anyway! What's the big deal about getting it the minute it's released? I don't think they've been running out of things on release night for awhile have they? That used to be the only reason to order then. So order randomly a week or two after release night.
5:31, you're just an ass then. In my reply to you, I did say "if." You really don't have to waste your time posting bullshit just to see what happens. I promise you at least 99% of the people here know that you can't believe everything you read here or anywhere else.
5:35 ITA. Bonus - it's amazing how much of that stuff loses it's appeal after the hype. Release night is all about the hunt, not the take. Or it used to be anyway. Now, even the hunt is a frustrating waste of time.
I was making a point about how easy it is to say something ridiculous on a smack blog and have people believe it. ^ ^ ^ Just because you said it doesn't mean everyone believed it. Go back and notice how many said "*IF* that's true then..." or "*MAYBE* Gina meant..." If you want to throw shit into the discussion it doesn't prove anything but that you are an ass.
I have to disagree about the post about Lisa leaving. Was it changed or something? Because to me it reads as very gracious, complimentary and appreciative. I expected it to be much colder from the comments made here.
I seriously cannot believe how cold and vague Nichole post was about Lisa . Reminds me of her bitchy goodbye when Lauren left. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! ^ THIS! ^ I thought the same thing. Here is how my brain processed it: (my paraphrasing) NH: "It is with sad, heartfelt regret that my payment processor is down. Oh we've had some good times. I will mourn the loss of revenue, but assure you I will soon be making tons more. So, don't cry for my finances dear worshippers. Oh, and PS - Lisa left."
6:01 Really? Then it must have changed since I read it. I was the opposite - I read here first and thought the accounts were exaggerated. It was worse in reality.
I'm 6:01, and I forgot to say that it was the whole post that impressed me, so if you click on the link, take a look at the rest of the post, not just the card.
Her photos are really good, and I appreciate the way she shows and explains what she's doing.
I guess I'm just cold-hearted then?! LOL!! Tell me why it wasn't nice? Did your read both paragraphs? The one before and after the photos?
This was the 2nd para:
"I know that many of you were continuously inspired by her unique style and her amazing eye for design. Some of her stamp designs, such as On My Couch and Life, are some of our best-selling sets to date and enjoyed worldwide. She will certainly be missed on several different levels. I hope you will join me in wishing her a fond farewell."
Don't know why, but I'm not a fan of Amber. Some of her cards are good, but I hate her website and the fact that she's with Denami. H-a-a-a-a-t-e Denami stamps and her blog reads like a Denami sales pitch way too often.
i didn't think NH's post was mean but it didn't do much for me either way. She always comes across as very uptight and forced in her blog posts. Wouldn't kill her to expand her adjective pool a little, she's been touting "amazing" releases since day 1.
6:07 Maybe I am reading through jaded lenses because I have cringed for so long at everything Nh says but here is my analysis of that: (1) "...many of you were inspired..." = I (NH) was never inspired by it (2) "...her unique style..." = avoiding using a complimentary adjective sounds like NH doesn't like her style personally. Like "unique" just means unusual or odd. (3) NH talking about her best-sellers = Again showing where NH's priorities are. (4) "...missed on several different levels..." = oddly worded indicating deeper meaning such as the $$ will be missed by NH.
6:07 (the first) I just felt like Nichole used as many words as possible without actually saying she, personally, liked Lisa's work and will miss her as a friend. Reminded me of school essays where kids just try to meet the quota of words required.
If the blog hop isn't until 5/25 then why not post the goodbye to Lisa above it?? Lisa has given 5 years, and made a paper trey a lot of money. So, the early post of the same-old-monthly blog hop takes precedence??
It's the little things that make the biggest statements.
I think they should sell the business to someone who can run a business. This is beyond ridiculous. It has become expected that dealing with PTI is like playing the lottery and you will rarely come out ahead. It just goes to show that even amazing, high quality, and creative product is not close to being enough to succeed.
Is there a badge for ex-DT? Maybe a hatchet symbol? I'm surprised nichole didn't try to tie Lisa's departure into a sale. i.e.: "Speaking of packing bags, we still have plenty of canvas totes available..." LMAO
I am more anti-NH than most of you and I think you're reading way too much into her writing. Remember, she's not a great writer anyway. I love Lisa, think she's great, but all she had to say was: "I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with them and watch them grow over the past 5+ years!" Granted other former DTs have said it was pretty miserable working for them but she did stick around for a long time so maybe it wasn't quite so awful for her, and she made her name there, AND was able to design sets without having to market or sell them herself. Yes she acknowledged it was an "opportunity" but it looks to me like a pretty big one.
Just in the interest of fairness kwim? I completely see NH/PTI as the "bad guy" and Lisa as the "good guy" in the big picture. I just think - and I've never been one to say this before - that you are trying to read too much between the lines with NH's post.
In "NH speak" the word unique is highly complimentary. She uses it constantly for their products and her own work.
"Best sellers" means loved by many. It is a business you know. I'm sure Lisa is pretty happy they are big sellers too. Nobody invests in creating stamp sets just for fun - if there's no profit, it's just plain painful.
I do see bad blood between them though. Look at how gushy Nichole was when Jennifer E left. We certainly don't see any gushing from either Lisa or Nichole here.
Just for my own curiosity, does anyone here ever remember reading a +positive+ comment or mention of the papertrey owners by anyone personally involved with them in the past (ex-DT, other industry affiliates, etc). What I mean is, it seems that those that have had actually dealings with papertrey all end up strangely silent about them afterward. Like they are silent in a "if you can't say something nice" sort of way. I want to be fair, but can anyone think of a single example where they (the owners, not the products) are mentioned fondly in a blog post or reference? Also, I don't mean the little blurbs immediately after the parting - such as a DT member briefly saying goodbye. KWIM? Are there bridges that were left unburned?
GinaK and Whats-her-name-aBella didn't have much to say after the big cruise a few years ago. There were rumors that they were pretty turned off by Nichole. They didn't speak about it that I know of. Gina especially seems like the type to share a positive experience and share the love about inspiring people.
Has anyone heard a peep from Jennifer Ellefson since she left PTI? Her blog has not been updated since last October. Is she locked away in a padded room trying to recover from the trauma of being the world's most beloved customer service rep ever for the world's most beloved stamp company ever?
Remember Kelsie? She was the first guest stamp designer and worked with nichole on that set with the cross in it. She left the forum completely not too long after that. People do have lives though.
To be honest, I don't see any x-dt members from any company blogging about their fond memories. They move on. -------------------- True, but you get a sense that they still have the respect, friendship, whatever that brought them together to begin with.
I am no lover of Lisa either. I do like her stamp designs, but she was a flaming bitch at SAF to me personally and that left a bad taste in my mouth. (I had asked her if PTI was going to ask for feedback on the event for what we liked and what we hoped they might tweak for the next year - her respnse? "Well, I don't know why we would ask for that, people always ask for really unreasonable things that we cannot accommodate." yes, she used the word unreasonable. sigh)
Anywho - I STILL think Nichole was the child in this particular exchange. Why put Lisa's deaprture below the blog hop? It wasn't before, she flipped it. I think that, on top of whining about her loss of revenue was extremely tacky.
To be honest, I don't see any x-dt members from any company blogging about their fond memories. They move on. ------------------------ PTI seems like a different category though. It was hugely popular then got a really, really bad reputation. If none of that reputation was/is deserved then why aren't their "friends" saying anything to defend them? I know the pros don't want to get involved in the dirt ... but if I had a truly awesome friend who was struggling I wouldn't hesitate to help.
When pressed on the forum about the company's integrity (the Missy C, serious question thread), Jenn E did say that the pti owners were good people. Ironically, that was shortly followed by her quitting and disappearing.
I have a question for the people or person who keeps harping on how 'hurtful' this blog supposedly is:
Why are you here, then? Or are you of the mindset that you are the only positive person here? I guess you'd still rather ignore all the positive comments about the DT so that you can continue with your childish hand slaps.
And how, exactly, is it hurtful when people say things like 'PTI's website is poorly designed,' or 'PTI's customer service is condescending and unhelpful?' these are statements of fact. If you feel 'hurt' by these statements, you are either oblivious to he shoddy way PTI treats customers, or you are longin for the days when the wheels handed you their money and thanked you for treating them like shit.
I worked for an awful company. No one there ever felt personally hurt or attacked when people pointed out that our company sucked. We all secretly agreed, lol!
But of course, I worked with adults. There is no crying in real business.
Anyway, curious why you want to be part of something that is supposedly so cruel?
Maybe now that the norm is huge screw ups on a regular schedule, people will soon be happy with any tiny improvement and sing with the choir for even barely decent service. Maybe PTI is using some reverse psychology. In the beginning they set the bar too high. So they lowered it really low, so that when it comes back to barely tolerable people will be thrilled.
Seriously. If PTI would put half as much energy into fixing their stupid e-commerce website as they do hyping each new release every month, they would not be having nearly as much trouble as they are now.
@8:13 maybe the reason NH is directing people to her blog is because Lisa no longer has access to the forum. BTW, what happened to the post about the store not working? Looks like that disappeared quickly.
Rick, i tried adding something to my cart in IE as you suggested and yes, the item remained when I went back to it, but I really would love the Firefox cart to retain my items. Is there a fix on the horizon for us Firefox users?
I'm late to the PTI bandwagon so I don't have loads of their product in my possession. There are probably 5 or 6 sets from their older collections that I consider 'must haves' so it pleases me that each of the past 3 releases have not motivated me to purchase anything new. I feel like I can buy the few older items I've been eyeing and be done with them for good, even forgetting when the 15th rolls around - like the other smacker posted.
Thanks, PTI, for saving me dollahs with your mediocre new products.
New postby Ashjoy » Wed May 16, 2012 7:31 am So I really never book marked blogs of past designers because I just always go to Nicholes blog and go from there, now I'm realizing that once they are no longer designers they are just gone from the blog sidebar. Besides Lisa who are past designers or dt members that I may miss visiting.
Rick I don't think for a minute that anyone would leave the dt because of this blog - I think some people here think they wield far more power than they do.
I don't get people bringing up Jenn E. She was stuck in the middle in an awful work situation, wasn't good at the job, and made a wise decision to leave - IMHO. What do you expect from her? You expect her to be posting all over the place complaining about PTI? Praising PTI? She doesn't work for them anymore and if she wants to be involved in this business in the future, it would be crazy foolish to speak ill of a previous employer publicly. I have seen her comment on the posts of various mutual friends on FB - you know, like most of us, she has a life.
I just don't understand rehashing anything about someone who has moved on.
So first you complain that the post about Lisa isn't at the top on Nichole's blog. Then you complain that she actively goes to the forum and points it out to people who want to bid Lisa farewell.
No pleasing some smackers.
I've been happy to smack alongside you guys for a long time now but I'm beginning to see the point of some trolls/unis jumping in to say some of you are making lots of somethings from nothings.
There are plenty of things to jump all over PTI's case about - you really don't have to try to twist every little thing around.
You said, "So first you complain that the post about Lisa isn't at the top on Nichole's blog. Then you complain that she actively goes to the forum and points it out to people who want to bid Lisa farewell."
I think that these two points are both trying to do the same thing - minimize Lisa's departure. By not having it on the top of the blog and by having the topic drop of the first page of the forum NH doesn't want it to be seen.
10:00, I agree with you. I can't believe how much twisting goes on around here. And it's ridiculous to say that Nichole is trying to minimize Lisa's departure--as if we wouldn't all notice she's gone if there's not a forum thread?
"And it's ridiculous to say that Nichole is trying to minimize Lisa's departure--as if we wouldn't all notice she's gone if there's not a forum thread?"
So then what's the reason for NH not putting this on the top of her blog and for discouraging people from posting on the board about it?
Also, why did NH not post about it before Lisa did on her blog?
PTI is a business - at some point emotions and friendships have to be separated to be successful. Unless you were privy to anything we dont know what transpired. It could have been emotional and Lisa didnt want anything posted.
Since this is all smack, people can say what they want. But lets keep in mind this is a business and not a sorority.
I'd agree about Lisa not wanting anything posted if PTI hadn't posted anything, but they did. And NH addressed the issue by saying that she wanted the release festivities to die down before mentioning it. Like our emotions can't handle it all al once.
The blog hop post is probably a "sticky" post that stays at the top, and that is why it is above the Lisa announcement. And I don't read it as Nichole "discouraging" people from posting on the forum, but rather directing them to her statement about Lisa and one logical, central place to leave Lisa good wishes. Plus there is a link to Lisa's blog in N's post, so people can easily click to Lisa's blog to wish her well there.
If Nichole's blog post about the blog hop is a sticky then why does it get bumped down as soon as the next MIM comes along? Maybe it is only a sticky for 24hrs? It doesn't stay up there for long.
I believe the "insider" and I believe the insider is one of the current design team. Someone who is able to lay low enough at PTI not to arouse suspicion, but who reads here and who is not under a magic spell. I wish they would come back and tell us more. Anyone care to speculate who on the current DT it could be?
I was one who posted on the "Lisa" thread in question and I DID take NH post as trying to put down any more comments on the forum about Lisa. She may not have meant it in a bad way, but again, her passive aggressive demeanor (in her writing) just doesn't make it seem quite right. Does anyone else get "controlling b****y comment" when they read her posts. Many of her posts seem tilted in the Off position IYKWIM.
I don't think Nichole's mention of the blog post to say farewell to Lisa was to keep it out of the forum - it was an invitation. And maybe Lisa jumped the gun. Maybe she mixed up when the announcement was going to be on PTI -- maybe together they said, we'll announce it at the release and Lisa took that to mean sooner than what Nichole did. You just don't know.
There is so much energy being put into reading between the lines. Can't something NH writes be taken at face value?
Even if everything went perfectly at PTI but NH posted a MIM or an announcement 5 minutes later than normal, I think there would be people over here bitching about it. To me that stuff is not even a big deal.
Nichole's posts don't ever really bother me. You can be a brilliant stamp designer / card maker and not be a good writer. It's okay. That's why she's designing stamps and not writing books.
I also think part of the problem is Nichole's writing. Not just the grammar, spelling, hyperbole, etc. But I think she actually tries to sound very professional and formal and it just comes off as cold.
As for Lisa leaving, am I the only one that thinks there SHOULD be a natural attrition from design teams? It seems like many of the PTI DT have been around for many many years - that's not the norm is it? What's a typical DT contract time period?
I think it would be a good idea for there to be more turnaround on the PTI team. Forget who's happy, who's not -- just freshen things up! Part of the problem with them staying so long is also that the customers almost get to know them too well and become too familiar. They get attached to the DT members and it only adds to the drama and speculation when it's time for someone to move on.
Good point, 13:31 -- "As for Lisa leaving, am I the only one that thinks there SHOULD be a natural attrition from design teams? It seems like many of the PTI DT have been around for many many years - that's not the norm is it? What's a typical DT contract time period? "
Fresh faces, fresh styles - both can be, and usually are, good for a design company. I can't speak for paper companies but I know for many digital companies the contract is anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Once your term is up, you have to reapply if you want to continue.
I'm the person who posted last week that Lisa would be leaving.
I do not know Lisa, never communicated with Lisa and I did not know when Lisa would leave. And I do not know specifically why she left. How did I know?
it was obvious. and There are rumours flying among the crafty insiders (not PTI insiders) about a lot of PTI stuff. a lot of folks are not unpleased with the recent developments.
My Amuse and Fresh Ink (from Impress) Comparisoins (thanks Nancy and Fritz):
Here are the comparisons and I will also post them on the smacker board and my blog:
Amuse Sky and Fresh Ink Island are close with Island being a teensy bit more green. Amuse Bermuda is about halfway between FI Island and FI Pool. Amuse Eucalyptus is almost identical to FI Steel. Amuse Ocean is a bit darker and a bit more turquoise than FI Sky. Amuse Blueberry is about halfway between FI Capri ( little more gray) and FI Freesia (a tiny bit of lavender to Freesia) Amuse Navy is close to FI Gypsy with the Navy being a bit richer in color. I dont own any FI that are close to Amuse Pebble or Amuse Seattle or Amuse Rialto or Amuse Lichen. or Amuse Grape or Amuse Blackberry or Amuse Orange. or Amuse Watermelon or Amuse Titian. Amuse Slate is a tiny bit darker than FI Slate. Amuse Fern is a tiny bit lighter than FI Tusan Olive and Fern is a tiny bit more yellow. Amuse Sage is close to FI Pear with Amuse Sage being a tiny bit more yellow. Amuse Grass is very close to FI Basic with the Basil being a tiny bit more yellow. Amuse Evergreen is close to FI Mojito with the Evergreen being a bit more of a true emerald green. Amuse Heather Is close to FI Silver Lilac with the Heather being a tiny bit richer. Amuse Lemon Whip is lighter and a more vanilla color than FI Chamomile Amuse Buttercup is very close to FI Chamomile Amuse Lido is lighter and a little more yellow than FI Harvest (which is more gold). Amuse Papaya is close to FI Mango, but a bit lighter. Amuse Apricot is much lighter than FI Ginger. Amuse Bellini is darker and oranger than FI Mango. Amuse Burano is a bit more orange than FI Strawberry (which is closer to being a red). Amuse Cherry is close to FI Strawberry but a bit darker. Amuse Currant is a bit lighter than FI Merlot, but pretty close. Amuse Shell is a little lighter and a little less pink than FI Sugar Amuse Grapefruti is darker than Lemonade and a teensy bit oranger. Amuse Bubblegum is much more neon than FI Fuchsia (which is a deeper truer Fuschia) Amuse Squash is darker and slightly browner, but pretty close to FI Harvest. Amuse Nutmeg is slightly redder than FI Cocoa. Amuse French Roast is a deeper brown than FI Cocoa. Amuse Onyx is almost identical to FI Black Tea.
Additionally, I have these FI colors that I don't have a match for in Amuse Ink samples:
Melon (an orangey pink) Sicilian (a light blue slightly grayed blue) Blue Sage (a gray that is slightly blue) French Lacender ( a true lavender) Honey which is a pumpkin color but a teeny bit brownish) Peach (which is a true peach and darker than Amuse Apricot by quite a lot and oranger.
I am going to try to post pictures later on my blog at rubystamper.blogspot. com if I can get true colors on the pictures.
As far as what Nichole writes is concerned, I handed the iPad to my husband (who owns a successful business) and asked him to read the "store is broken" post. He read it, looked at me and said "geez that is crass - is she ALWAYS like that?". He didn't read anything into it, he recognized that she is a failure as a businesswoman.
Posted to the blog and the colors are very, very true. If you click the photos (which are below the notes) you can see the labels Nancy and I have supplied.
I just bought 7 of the Amuse through Nancy (consultant number 1137) and reinkers for them. That should nearly complete the colors I want. Seems like many of the Amuse are just between 2 Fresh Ink shades and just what I was hoping for.
I always wonder why it takes 2-3 days to begin shipping release orders. Do they take a few days off? The minute people get ship notices they post a thread on the board and I have noticed that it is not the day after?
I'm the person who posted last week that Lisa would be leaving.
I do not know Lisa, never communicated with Lisa and I did not know when Lisa would leave. And I do not know specifically why she left. How did I know?
it was obvious. and There are rumours flying among the crafty insiders (not PTI insiders) about a lot of PTI stuff. a lot of folks are not unpleased with the recent developments.
16 May 2012 14:40"
I'm wondering if I'm reading this correctly. Industry insiders are pleased (not unpleased) with "recent developments" given here in the context of Lisa's leaving.
So you're saying other people in the industry are glad that PTI is having problems? Because that's the exact opposite I've heard. What I hear is that other people in the business recognize Nichole as being very talented, and cannot fathom why there are so many problems with their business and that they are letting customer service be a problem. They don't understand how it's gotten to this point and why it hasn't been fixed. And they honestly wish the best for the company and hope they can pull themselves out of the quicksand.
Maybe, if I read your comment right, you know the competitive cut-throats, and I know the kind and generous competitors.
I don't understand why the owners of PTI don't just sell their products through someone else. If what they do well is the creative part, then leave the business part to someone else.
16:13 by reading one posting your husband came to the conclusion that she is a failure as a business woman? YOu said nothing to lead him to thinks this.
19:27 - that was my paraphrasing actually. He said "she should really stick to what she does well and let someone who knows what they're doing run the company and handle PR". I didn't say anything to him before he read the post but my point was that even reading that single post shows so many things wrong with the way PTI handles buisness.
^^^ ...and that is why I think that even if Nichole split from the other two and tried to run PTI or some kind of PTI 2.0 as her own business, it would still struggle. Your dh is right-- she needs to stick to the creative and have someone else handle the rest. Someone with tact and business sense.
And while I am at it I think someone should write all of her blog posts for her too. I about gagged when I saw her describe the farm stamp set she designed as "perfectly executed". Geez, woman, a little humility would not hurt you. Even if it's the best stamp set in the world and everyone else thinks so, you sound like such an arrogant prick when you call your own work "perfectly executed" like that!
Although I agree that Amber would fit right into the PTI DT, I think there are already enough people who have a similar CAS style on the team. PTI needs to add someone to the team with a more advanced card making style. Other than MP, and maybe Betsy they all have a very simple card making styles. I'd like to see super fabulous, many layered, and detailed cards.
The whole DT needs an overhaul. Every card from DM & HN looks the same. Personally, after following their blogs for a couple of years it seems like I've seen it all and each new card is just a rehash. Ideally, I'd like to see a DT that does not include the stamp designers. But I don't think Little Miss Sunshine McVey is going anywhere. Would be difficult leaving when your lips are firmly planted on Heady's heiny
Rick, i tried adding something to my cart in IE as you suggested and yes, the item remained when I went back to it, but I really would love the Firefox cart to retain my items. Is there a fix on the horizon for us Firefox users?
I use Firefox, and have almost never had my cart dump (a few times when the site was very new and it was dumping for everyone; and maybe a couple of times since then, at most). I'm not insinuating that you don't have cart dumping problems.... just that Firefox might not be the culprit. Or maybe it's some combination of Firefox and something else? (I run Firefox 12.0 under Windows 7.)
I thought the prerequisite for being on the PTI design team was that you had to be a Martha Stewart wannabe.
Have you ever seen so many people who purport to have these perfect lives? Am I living in a slum or something or does everyone do placecards for family dinners and make every single thing for all of their perfect children by hand, gorgeous gifts for teachers for every occasion, and only cook healthy food ...... Frankly it bothers me a bit that even as a now-and-then visitor to their blogs, I actually feel like I do know their personal lives a little bit. At least to know they are all in some way emulating their "boss." Heaven forbid a DT member should be overweight, live in a modest home, and actually forget to put a note in their child's lunchbox one day.
Sorry - these are just random examples but trying to paint a picture. I guess I'm an underachieving homemaker ;) . It seems sometimes like they are all trying to show that they have "perfectly executed" LIVES! It gets tiresome.
I also wish DT members would just stick to the work, the projects, the cards and not share a lot of personal stuff. If they want to have a personal blog, then have a personal blog.
I made fun of the hydrangea set but I just wanted to mention that Pine's card with it stamped in cream on kraft and the dark leaves is absolutely GORGEOUS. At first I thought it was patterned paper or something.
I don't blame the dt for trying to look perfect. I'm not a handslapper but there are people here that would be the first to smack any imperfections. That's a lot of pressure.
I'm thinking maybe I was too hard on them. It's just that if you look at the PTI DT's blogs, you start to wonder - gee, does everyone do that?! Or I think more - who does that?! LOL! I guess I'm just the anti-Martha ;)
I don't see the "perfect lives" at all. At least three of the DT have kids with various issues/needs. Dawn McV started DT full time because she was laid off.
I'm tired of the perfectly executed blog lives too, same with pinterest and facebook. I don't expect bloggers to post every mundane detail but I would like to see a little reality every now and then. Bloggers can certainly do what they want but as a reader (and potential customer) I eventually stop reading when the perfection gets to be too much.
Kelly Purkey wrote a great post about this yesterday.
Elizabeth Kartchner's blog is a good example of a blog I'm just sick of. Everything is just picture perfect, kids always coordinated to match whatever scrapbook supply she is trying to sell, etc. Endless pictures of her feet. Yuck.
I don't think the PTI dt necessarily does this, mostly they just stick to the projects which I prefer. Nichole's pottery barn catalog/cedar ridge blog kind of drives me crazy though. Wonder how that pool is coming along?
What do you wear when crafting? Really Dawn? I guess it's impossible to come up with mindless chatter week after week and keep it interesting. ------------------------- I think this is a great example of why I thought it was a diss to Lisa that Nichole was steering "goodbye talk" away from the forum. It would be a great time to talk about projects Lisa has done & revitalize interest in her stamp sets. But no .... what you are wearing while being so damn BORING is far more important.
I think Melissa Phillips is my fave by far. I tend to, as my sister says, have a lot of, "pomp and circumstance," on my cards. That would be read as layers upon layers. I made two CAS cards this week and she (as well as others) were disappointed.
Had not even thought about that when a DT member is leaving! What a great idea - celebrate their work and maybe even have a special sale of their sets or something. Especially someone who has been with them for so long.
I had said that I thought it was a nice farewell on her blog post but rethinking it now, it wasn't what it should have been.
Melissa Phillips is also my favorite. I used to love Dawn but her stuff all looks the same now. I used to love Mish until she turned into Miss Project Life 2012. I also love Betsy. Everyone else: meh.
I have no idea if anyone is ever leaving on good terms or not, but it if made it look like they left on good terms then that would be a positive image for PTI.
SOmeone said the other day, it's not a sorority. Along those lines, NIchole/PTI need to set aside personal differences and reasons why they leave and spin it to a positive for the company. At least look magnanimous whether they feel it or not!
I had to laugh this morning. I am the ass that speculated that Gina K's status update about change is good being about Lisa leaving PTI.
This morning Gina's status update said "I have a few very exciting announcements coming for our next release. Our release is planned for May 31st. Mark your calendar! You won't want to miss all of the fun news! ♥" and it made me wonder if Lisa was joining Gina K. Wouldn't that be a riot if I was right?
07:10 - there's no way to know unless you've seen the contract. Some stamp designers will get paid a flat rate for their designs. Others will get a royalty that could be limited for a certain number of years. They could even get royalties for a certain number of years and then the company still be allowed to sell them after that. Depends on the contract. It could be anything.
It's easy to trust some one is not an insider, lOL!
I would be really surprised if Lisa were signing on and she would lose a lot of credibility with me simply due to the fact that one reason she stated she had not posted for some time was her physical ailments. I'd be shocked if she turned around and signed with someone else.
Don't get tunnel vision. Just because PTI is high on your radar, it isn't the center of stampy world ;) .
Oh God, Trell. If Mona is put on the PTI DT her damn head may explode. It's already big enough as it is.... I guess that would make her the perfect candidate in NH's eyes, then, wouldn't it?
Shhhhhh.... NO mention of Mona being on this team! I can't stand her work anymore. She is getting all mixed media and that crap is driving me crazy. Which is a shame cause I used to be a big fan.
I like Mona's work with the exception of the mixed media stuff. I am not big into that.
There are other artists that I like but I am not a fan of some of their work - for example, the Pure Innocence stuff. To me, that all looks the same. I am also not a fan of the A la mode stamps. I do like some of the other MFT stuff though so I keep the designers on my google reader.
The MFT stamps are not my thing. I eventually had to remove all their team from my Google Reader because it seemed EVERY single day there was a release post of some kind. And I know they get credit for making the inside of the card, but it's all too much.
I also agree about Mona's blog set up. That shit needs to go!
So I have looked at Clear & Simple Stamps a couple of times, and I always think everything seems really expensive for what it is. Like the fence die - $24 for one die? The critters dies are $40 - is there reason they are so much? The stmaps too... how do they compare quality-wise to PTI as a point of reference?
Haven't been to Mona's blog in a while, so I went to check it out. I see that she uses a lot of MFT and Spellbinders product, plus she designs for Waltzingmouse and Flourishes. I'm not sure Nichole would want a dt member who uses so many products from her direct competitors.
Well, I am off put by the perfect life in block and thing, but I don't see too many of the DT do that
What I can't understand is all the money they put into ther release projects. I get these stamps for free, but went out and bought this canvas and paint to make so and so, or these pots to make cake in- I don't get it. It seems like it ends up costing them more than they get
8:18, thank you for the insight about stamp design fees/royalties. I guess now my question is, would anyone with the secret inside information about how PTI does it, care to share? I'm just curious because Lisa has/had such a nice portfolio of stamps with them. And now what? If her contract included royalties, it kinda sucks if she would not get them anymore for leaving. I don't know why this bugs me so much but I just want to know. I think I am taking it too personally because I have toyed with the idea of wanting to be a stamp designer too. (But seeing how bad business skills can make a company with good designs go down in flames has scared me away a bit!) And seeing that PTI still owns all of Lisa's work after she leaves, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. *sigh*
I don't use a reader, so I don't really know how they work. If you subscribe to a blog (which I have never done, haha) does that put it in a reader? If that doesn't give a blog hits why do so many bloggers promote it? Does # of subscribers give you an advantage that # of hits doesn't?
"block and" = "blogland" -- did your smartphone auto-correct that for you? Not so smart after all, huh. heehee
what you describe about getting all the supplies adn props to make an over-the-top project or the setting for the project seems like just another facet of the same thing to me. Trying to appear perfect in blogland.
I would think that being on a DT and being a stamp designer are two different things. For being on a DT, you get free product (yours and other designers'), and you make samples. For being a stamp designer, you get a percentage of sales for as long as the company sells your stamps. So to me, just because Lisa is no longer on the DT shouldn't mean the end of her royalties for her stamp sets.
But I'm not an insider, LOL--just a stamper speculating.
I don't think the PTI DT are trying to appear perfect in blogland. They are buying canvas and little pots so they can give us clever ideas of other projects we could do. If they just did the same ole things, smackers would say, Why is so-and-so on the DT--she doesn't have any new ideas. It seems there's no pleasing some of you--you look for the worst possible motive/interpretation in everything.
I like inspiration of how to make my life/creativity/home BETTER. I don't need to see examples of how to have piles of clutter on the counter, I've got that covered.
I don't know nothing 'bout blog hits. But I do know that I've often wondered if someone has to be wealthy/upper-middle-class to be on a DT (based on pictures of their houses/craft rooms). I appreciated that Betsy said life was crazy sauce for her right now - hence no new blog posts.
I know we've talked before about Dawn's voice on MIM videos. I've never watched one until a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked. I expected her voice to be an octave higher than it is.
Not all DT's compensate the same way. I've been on a DT that pays real money for samples as well as free product and discounts. Another gives only free product, and yet another that offers gift certs to their store to purchase anything I please plus discounts off purchases. Oh and another DT required product linking to their store for everything I used that they sold. Kind of like an affiliate, where I could only earn 'money' if people purchased stuff using my unique code. That was the worst and I left that DT ASAP!
^^^ what she said. All DT contracts are different as are Designer contracts. Some companies (like Unity) just pay upfront a certain sum for the designed image and it belongs to Unity (with designer credit). Others pay royalties, require full sets, etc.
Unless a PTI insider speaks up, we have no idea what Lisa got paid or if she continued/continues to get paid from sales.
RE: stamp designing agreements, contracts can be different from person to person, too. And who owns the art can be specified differently. How long royalties are paid, etc. It can vary from company to company, designer to designer. Nothing really can be speculated except there's a variety of scenarios.
And more than likely anyone who signs a contract has also signed a nondisclosure agreement. I don't think anyone would risk spilling the beans just to satisfy strangers' curiosity.
Okay. I enjoy seeing the "over the top" projects as the inspiration and clever ideas. I'm not really smacking the fact that dt members love to inspire us in that way. I AM smacking the idea that if their projects are not like that, they are not good enough. I am smacking the sense I get that some bloggers feel like they have to do extravagant things like that in order to present a certain up-scale kind of image in order to be competitive enough in the blog-eat-blog jungle. I am smacking the whole idea that spending more money on your projects makes you better than other bloggers. I am not accusing any particular blogger/dt member, with PTI or otherwise, of being this way. So don't take it personally. I don't have a problem with people having money and spending it if that's what they enjoy-- I just HATE the sense of uppity-ness I sense on some blogs that seem to focus on style over substance. As though you just can't be acceptable unless your lifestyle is "styled" and all perfect according to whoever is setting the style guidelines for what's hot and what's not.
And the constant "I'm throwing a ladies tea party" and "I put together gift ensembles for my bff's" is getting old. Why do they pretend that these things are happening for real? I seriously doubt these ladies would be doing these projects if they weren't getting paid. I do hate that aspect if the crafting world. I blame Martha, lol.
Nichole et al are not my friends nor do I want them to be. The sad part is there are a ton of ladies out there that buy into this idea.
I feel like PTI would have a hard time paying royalties to people based on sets sold - Not because it is difficult in theory but those types of things seem very difficult for them, KWIM? Just based on what I've seen of customer service responses from Julie/Nichole/PTI in general, they seem way too disorganized to operate that way. I think paying a flat fee to designers would work better for them, but I could be totally wrong - everything they do is half-assed, so who knows.
It's funny it was mentioned (I wasn't around the smackblog when it was talked about before, I guess) - I too thought Dawn's voice would be much higher and perkier. She sounds like a grump. Friends of mine who went to SAF last year also said she was pretty cranky in person. I didn't get that impression from her perkypants blog.
My last big order was January. Then I used my rewards in April.
I was ordering every other month or so after having ordered for years every month. I had been following the problems but never HAD problems with shipping or anything.
Then the delete-all-emails fiasco and anniversary sets and prizes taking so long, and the website disaster, and just the bad attitude - time and again all of the stories. All of that finally made me realize I shouldn't support this company.
They may be on the right track now, if they could just fix the stupid website. Haven't been to the forum in awhile, so now that there's been another release (and another tech mess of course on release night), I'm going to watch the forum and I guess get a login for the zendesk forum and see how things are going.
A basic computer program could track their royalties. But you're right. That's how a regular company would do it. Would probably be too much for PTI. And actually - if I were getting paid on royalties by them, I'd have something in my contract that allowed me to examine their bookkeeping periodically (which is reasonable in legal land) because I would not trust them - not that they'd cheat, but that they'd screw it up.
I dIdibt think she was cranky-age just seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention. Once you sat at her table and chatted a bit she definitely opened up . Betsy also seemed a bit shy. Honestly the one who looked most don't approach me was Mish...
Fourteen months is longer than most. Was there a single event for you that was the straw that broke the camel's back? --------------------- Yes, I was clued in by a friend that these particular owners didn't deserve my business. I was told specifically why. I was verrrry skeptical, but watching and waiting has proved her right every month since then. I see it clearly in their forum responses, their greed-based decisions, and their collective word being worthless.
The "I'll miss Lisa" thread on the forum kind of makes me wonder. I know people postpone purchases for lots of reasons but this woman LOVED the Love Songs set, it suited an immediate purpose, and that was 2008 and she still didn't get it. That sort of post must drive PTI nuts. Yup - use our ideas, our recipes, blah blah.. and we didn't make a penny from you on that one. Yet anyway. I just thought it was odd.
If you make a wish list, how many years will you wait and then still buy it? My wish lists are deleted if I don't purchase within a couple of months. By that time, I know I've moved past it.
I hadn't ordered for 13 months and prior to that I'd only ordered 4 or 5 times - I caught on quick to Nichole's attitude if nothing else. But I ordered in April. I started to think the PTI Titanic really is going to bust up and sink and there have been a few things I've wanted for a long time (TANL, Gracious Vases, Mehndi Medallion). So I broke down and ordered before I couldn't anymore.
last I ordered cleared my rewards in March and, in fact, I paid shipping only. I decided to order a few things this month because I had a gift certificate. I used paypal and for the $2.50 overage and wouldn't you know, my gift certificate dumped at the final checkout. They DON'T have things fixed. I submitted a Zen CS ticket and got the usual canned message. Wonder if I will ever see my $50. Guess I'll wait to see what happens in the next few days, but if isn't cleared up, I'll log a Paypal claim. I've had it with PTI. I feel like asking the person who purchased the GC to request money back from their credit card company.
The only thing that has changed with PTI is that the problems don't appear on their website. Guess we'll have to post our problems on a couple of other larger forums.
This thing about the gift certificate dumping at the last second when you order. WHY have they not dropped everything else they are doing to fix things like that? These are the kinds of problems that are the deal breakers for customers on the fence and they are losing business from it hand over fist. It seriously boggles my mind that they aren't giving it higher priority.
Why do some of you feel like Mona has a big head? I'm curious.
Also, last years SAF. Was the entire team there or just those that have been mentioned?
I think I'd like to meet Jess Witty. Her writing style is kind of, for lack of a better word, odd. But I do like her. I think she'd be kinda fun. She's never in the forum though.
Trell, if I am remembering correctly heather was there as well (if I think of make-n-take tables it was Lisa, Heather, Mish, Dawn, then Betsy).
During the day everyone but Dawn was super friendly. Lisa was cranky at the fake dessert reception. I say fake because only half the folks had seats and a little more then half actually got dessert. And if you weren't a part of the cool kids clique, you didn't really see much at the reception anyway.
Hmm. So this is probably the real reason they did SAF online this year? It doesn't sound like it was a great experience for anyone. How many people were there (customers)?
first!
ReplyDeleteI just received a newsletter from Ellen Hutson and see that the CLASSroom has Maile Belles as guest designer today. Here's a link http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/the_classroom_new/
ReplyDeleteIt's another release night. This one is different, though, because there's an actual message about website difficulties and no orders being accepted.
ReplyDeleteIs this any way to run a business?
You've got to read Nichole's blog. Problems with website, cannot fix until tomorrow, blah, blah, blah.
ReplyDeleteThe best part is she mentions their loss of potential revenue. What a crass comment to make!
Bwahahahahah!
ReplyDeleteFrom PTI's front page:
"We are experiencing website difficulties tonight and orders cannot be placed at this time. We are so sorry for the inconvenience and we are working hard to get the issue resolved as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your patience during this outage."
----------------
Circling the drain, people. Circling the drain...
22:19- agreed!
ReplyDeleteReally?: "Please understand that we are just as frustrated as all of you, we are losing lots of potential revenue this evening after all of the hard work put into the last week."
The goodbye to Lisa on Nichole's blog was pretty short.
On the release party board there are only 61 posts on the party chatter thread but 132 posts on the tech help thread! Wow.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad Lisa has left PTI.
ReplyDeleteI believe the "insider" who wrote about Mish and Lisa leaving PTI because of this blog.
I mean, I believe PTI is aware of this smack blog and read the comments here. If I were the DT and read all the negative comments, I would be really hurt and not be inspired to do anything creative either. That's just so sad...
People need to quit with the dramatic posts about hurt feelings and mean people.
ReplyDeleteSafely 95% of the posts on this blog smack PTI's awful business practices and the rude queens who run the place.
I have seen very few personal attacks against DT members. When I have seen those attacks, I have also seen MANY posts calling the person on their behavior; there are a lot more posts praising DT members here than trashing them.
Saying "That card so and so made was ugly" is different than saying "So and so is ugly." Having a public presence means that you have to be able to take the good with the bad. Not everyone will think you're the greatest thing ever, and they're entitled to their opinion.
Grown ups tend not to curl into little balls and cry when their little feelings get hurt.
And, for the record, I think Lisa left more due to her personal integrity than meanies. I will miss her - she's always been one of my favorite PTI designers. It's hard to think of PTI without her on the DT.
all good things must come to an end. maybe now with Lisa gone Beth can become an official DT member. I'm sure she is a valued member of the PTI family and her creative contributions would be welcome. (tic)
ReplyDeletemaybe pti should consider moving their releases to regular business hours so they have someone to contact. also, the two week long over-hyped releases seriously need to end.
ReplyDeletetime to start scaling back people!
Oh and I agree about the potential revenue comment. NH - we get that, no need to say it out loud. Are you expecting sympathy from us?
ReplyDeleteAnd whoever said they liked the farm set better during the sneak peeks, I totally agree!
The house of cards is falling down.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in an earlier comment, Lisa Johnson is leaving PTI.
People need to quit with the dramatic posts about hurt feelings and mean people.
ReplyDelete-----------------------
But it's true. People do get hurt.
If you see your name or if you see a company you work for gets bashed you'll still feel something right? You do represent the company in some way.
Maybe what I should have said was there were a lot of posts suggesting that "if the DT were smart they should jump before the ship sinks and so on..." that must have had an influence.
I'm not defending PTI or any of the DT - I just said it's sad it's come to this and that I agree with the poster, this blog has had influence too in some way.
Grown ups tend not to curl into little balls and cry when their little feelings get hurt.
------------------------------
They may not curl into little balls but they still get hurt.
Well we can clearly see Nichole's priorities... The order on her blog:
ReplyDelete1. Post about how no one can order and she is losing money - wag!
2. Bump up the post about the blog hop because even though no one will have goodies on time that was more important than saying good-bye to Lisa.
3. Toss in a piss poor good-bye message for someone who stuck up for you through a lot of this early on as well as someone who designed some pretty kickbutt sets and was supposedly a really close friend
It is really showing Nichole's true colors. The blog hop info was there at release time, Lisa's good bye was not. She moved it down to downplay it all and that pisses me off. Not sure whyi'm surprised though
Yeah- number 1 up there should say WAH not wag.... Damn autocorrect
ReplyDeleteWe never know what went on behind the scenes with Nichole and Lisa. It sounds like there are some hard feelings but i wouldn't be so quick to just blame Nichole 3:29.
ReplyDeleteSo where do we think Lisa will go? From her blog post I didn't really expect her to go one way or the other, but since Nichole wishes her the best in her future endeavors in the industry it would seem that she already has something in the works
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be attacked personally to have this blog hurt you. When people so openly bash the company that you work for and say that you are stupid or lack integrity if you stay, that can't feel good.
ReplyDelete~nothing to do with release but ~
ReplyDeleteI have a test this week on internal auditing and quality controls and this question came up and for some odd reason PTI came to mind.
The example of an internal nonfinancial benchmark is The % of customer orders delivered on time at the company's most efficient plant.
Then when I saw the website down on release night. That covered the prevention quality cost I am also going over.
Back to the regular schedule program.
^^^ Pardon my typing errors ^^^
ReplyDeleteIts not necessary to bash DT members to express the truth of the situation. Any good designer needs to keep up with what is cool. Fact is, PTI has lost its cool. I applaud Lisa for moving on. She is joining the many other smart women who know when it's time to walk away from PTI.
ReplyDeleteIf Lisa already has something else lined up, I predict it's Gina K. Gina K's status update said "change is good" and she was referring to Lisa.
ReplyDeleteThere. I'm an insider.
PTI has thrown all their eggs in the release basket. Over two weeks a month they spend hyping people to open their wallets on the 15.
ReplyDeleteNow, all the repeated difficulties have finally culminated in the ultimate failure. I don't see them recovering from this. People (including myself) used to plan schedules around this night, budget for it. These are big confidence killers, who wants to take a chance to stay up anymore when they can't even deliver on the most basic services.
I have heard they won't recover from this before. They will continue to limp along as long as the magazines keep featuring pti stamps and new fans keep discovering them.
ReplyDelete5:15 Or maybe Gina just cares, genuinely, about the well-being of her friends no matter where they go.
ReplyDeleteI completely believe that if Gina K said "change is good" re: Lisa, that it had nothing to do with her working for her. It had to do with Gina K understanding why someone would want to leave the PTI situation.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wouldn't assume Lisa has something in the industry because of that comment either. It was a way for Nichole to depersonalize wishing her luck. They are now former business associates and she is not feigning any personal concern.
Maybe they'll limp along. But for me and many others, the bloom is off the rose for PTI and I don't think they can recapture it. They used to be my go-to stamp site but now it's an afterthought. I wanted to order the Pretty Peonies dies, and I totally forgot that it was release night last night. That wouldn't have happened to me last year.
ReplyDeleteI was actually being a smart ass when I made the comment about Gina K's status update. I have absolutely no knowledge of any inside information. I was making a point about how easy it is to say something ridiculous on a smack blog and have people believe it.
ReplyDeleteTrust me.
I don't know why anyone tries to order on release night anyway! What's the big deal about getting it the minute it's released? I don't think they've been running out of things on release night for awhile have they? That used to be the only reason to order then. So order randomly a week or two after release night.
ReplyDelete5:31, you're just an ass then. In my reply to you, I did say "if." You really don't have to waste your time posting bullshit just to see what happens. I promise you at least 99% of the people here know that you can't believe everything you read here or anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI seriously cannot believe how cold and vague Nichole post was about Lisa . Reminds me of her bitchy goodbye when Lauren left.
ReplyDelete5:35 ITA. Bonus - it's amazing how much of that stuff loses it's appeal after the hype. Release night is all about the hunt, not the take. Or it used to be anyway. Now, even the hunt is a frustrating waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI was making a point about how easy it is to say something ridiculous on a smack blog and have people believe it.
ReplyDelete^ ^ ^
Just because you said it doesn't mean everyone believed it. Go back and notice how many said "*IF* that's true then..." or "*MAYBE* Gina meant..."
If you want to throw shit into the discussion it doesn't prove anything but that you are an ass.
5:38 I see you defended yourself just fine before I jumped in without reading first. Lol.
ReplyDeleteWith all of the major goofs by PTI, the writing is still what gets me.
ReplyDeleteUnder the photo for the "challenge:" "unique color scheme that has been popping up everywhere "
So "unique" now means ubiquitous? She trips over her own hyperbole time and time again.
I have to disagree about the post about Lisa leaving. Was it changed or something? Because to me it reads as very gracious, complimentary and appreciative. I expected it to be much colder from the comments made here.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking PTI needs to bring Amber on board: http://damasklove.blogspot.com/2012/05/partial-die-cuts-revisited.html
ReplyDeleteI seriously cannot believe how cold and vague Nichole post was about Lisa . Reminds me of her bitchy goodbye when Lauren left.
ReplyDelete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES! ^ THIS! ^ I thought the same thing. Here is how my brain processed it: (my paraphrasing) NH: "It is with sad, heartfelt regret that my payment processor is down. Oh we've had some good times. I will mourn the loss of revenue, but assure you I will soon be making tons more. So, don't cry for my finances dear worshippers. Oh, and PS - Lisa left."
LOL
6:01 Really? Then it must have changed since I read it. I was the opposite - I read here first and thought the accounts were exaggerated. It was worse in reality.
ReplyDeleteSo, moving on, how soon should we expect fresh meat on the DT? Any guesses on who it might be?
ReplyDeleteI'm 6:01, and I forgot to say that it was the whole post that impressed me, so if you click on the link, take a look at the rest of the post, not just the card.
ReplyDeleteHer photos are really good, and I appreciate the way she shows and explains what she's doing.
I guess I'm just cold-hearted then?! LOL!! Tell me why it wasn't nice? Did your read both paragraphs? The one before and after the photos?
ReplyDeleteThis was the 2nd para:
"I know that many of you were continuously inspired by her unique style and her amazing eye for design. Some of her stamp designs, such as On My Couch and Life, are some of our best-selling sets to date and enjoyed worldwide. She will certainly be missed on several different levels. I hope you will join me in wishing her a fond farewell."
From the first post about Ellen and Maile - that is a great match. I would love to see Maile do more with a good company. I love her!
ReplyDeleteDon't know why, but I'm not a fan of Amber. Some of her cards are good, but I hate her website and the fact that she's with Denami. H-a-a-a-a-t-e Denami stamps and her blog reads like a Denami sales pitch way too often.
ReplyDeletei didn't think NH's post was mean but it didn't do much for me either way. She always comes across as very uptight and forced in her blog posts. Wouldn't kill her to expand her adjective pool a little, she's been touting "amazing" releases since day 1.
ReplyDelete6:07 Maybe I am reading through jaded lenses because I have cringed for so long at everything Nh says but here is my analysis of that:
ReplyDelete(1) "...many of you were inspired..." = I (NH) was never inspired by it
(2) "...her unique style..." = avoiding using a complimentary adjective sounds like NH doesn't like her style personally. Like "unique" just means unusual or odd.
(3) NH talking about her best-sellers = Again showing where NH's priorities are.
(4) "...missed on several different levels..." = oddly worded indicating deeper meaning such as the $$ will be missed by NH.
Thanks for the link to Amber's work. I like her style & will bookmark her blog.
ReplyDelete6:07 (the first) I just felt like Nichole used as many words as possible without actually saying she, personally, liked Lisa's work and will miss her as a friend. Reminded me of school essays where kids just try to meet the quota of words required.
ReplyDeleteIf the blog hop isn't until 5/25 then why not post the goodbye to Lisa above it?? Lisa has given 5 years, and made a paper trey a lot of money. So, the early post of the same-old-monthly blog hop takes precedence??
ReplyDeleteIt's the little things that make the biggest statements.
The store was down all night? There goes Nichole's new swimming pool.
ReplyDeleteI think they should sell the business to someone who can run a business. This is beyond ridiculous. It has become expected that dealing with PTI is like playing the lottery and you will rarely come out ahead. It just goes to show that even amazing, high quality, and creative product is not close to being enough to succeed.
ReplyDeleteIs there a badge for ex-DT? Maybe a hatchet symbol? I'm surprised nichole didn't try to tie Lisa's departure into a sale. i.e.: "Speaking of packing bags, we still have plenty of canvas totes available..." LMAO
ReplyDeleteI am more anti-NH than most of you and I think you're reading way too much into her writing. Remember, she's not a great writer anyway. I love Lisa, think she's great, but all she had to say was: "I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with them and watch them grow over the past 5+ years!" Granted other former DTs have said it was pretty miserable working for them but she did stick around for a long time so maybe it wasn't quite so awful for her, and she made her name there, AND was able to design sets without having to market or sell them herself. Yes she acknowledged it was an "opportunity" but it looks to me like a pretty big one.
ReplyDeleteJust in the interest of fairness kwim? I completely see NH/PTI as the "bad guy" and Lisa as the "good guy" in the big picture. I just think - and I've never been one to say this before - that you are trying to read too much between the lines with NH's post.
In "NH speak" the word unique is highly complimentary. She uses it constantly for their products and her own work.
ReplyDelete"Best sellers" means loved by many. It is a business you know. I'm sure Lisa is pretty happy they are big sellers too. Nobody invests in creating stamp sets just for fun - if there's no profit, it's just plain painful.
I do see bad blood between them though. Look at how gushy Nichole was when Jennifer E left. We certainly don't see any gushing from either Lisa or Nichole here.
ReplyDeleteI imagine Nichole is so depressed that she has no gush left.
ReplyDelete7:02 fair enough, I agree.
ReplyDeleteJust for my own curiosity, does anyone here ever remember reading a +positive+ comment or mention of the papertrey owners by anyone personally involved with them in the past (ex-DT, other industry affiliates, etc). What I mean is, it seems that those that have had actually dealings with papertrey all end up strangely silent about them afterward. Like they are silent in a "if you can't say something nice" sort of way. I want to be fair, but can anyone think of a single example where they (the owners, not the products) are mentioned fondly in a blog post or reference? Also, I don't mean the little blurbs immediately after the parting - such as a DT member briefly saying goodbye. KWIM? Are there bridges that were left unburned?
To be honest, I don't see any x-dt members from any company blogging about their fond memories. They move on.
ReplyDeleteGinaK and Whats-her-name-aBella didn't have much to say after the big cruise a few years ago. There were rumors that they were pretty turned off by Nichole. They didn't speak about it that I know of. Gina especially seems like the type to share a positive experience and share the love about inspiring people.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard a peep from Jennifer Ellefson since she left PTI? Her blog has not been updated since last October. Is she locked away in a padded room trying to recover from the trauma of being the world's most beloved customer service rep ever for the world's most beloved stamp company ever?
ReplyDeleteIt's no longer a secret how Becky, Lauren, Geny, and Nikki feel.
ReplyDeleteJennifer E has never been heard from again. She certainly is not reviving her dead blog with stories of the good old days at pti. Lol.
ReplyDeleteRemember Kelsie? She was the first guest stamp designer and worked with nichole on that set with the cross in it. She left the forum completely not too long after that. People do have lives though.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't see any x-dt members from any company blogging about their fond memories. They move on.
ReplyDelete--------------------
True, but you get a sense that they still have the respect, friendship, whatever that brought them together to begin with.
@7:02
ReplyDeleteI am 3:29 from above.
I am no lover of Lisa either. I do like her stamp designs, but she was a flaming bitch at SAF to me personally and that left a bad taste in my mouth. (I had asked her if PTI was going to ask for feedback on the event for what we liked and what we hoped they might tweak for the next year - her respnse? "Well, I don't know why we would ask for that, people always ask for really unreasonable things that we cannot accommodate." yes, she used the word unreasonable. sigh)
Anywho - I STILL think Nichole was the child in this particular exchange. Why put Lisa's deaprture below the blog hop? It wasn't before, she flipped it. I think that, on top of whining about her loss of revenue was extremely tacky.
To be honest, I don't see any x-dt members from any company blogging about their fond memories. They move on.
ReplyDelete------------------------
PTI seems like a different category though. It was hugely popular then got a really, really bad reputation. If none of that reputation was/is deserved then why aren't their "friends" saying anything to defend them? I know the pros don't want to get involved in the dirt ... but if I had a truly awesome friend who was struggling I wouldn't hesitate to help.
When pressed on the forum about the company's integrity (the Missy C, serious question thread), Jenn E did say that the pti owners were good people. Ironically, that was shortly followed by her quitting and disappearing.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for the people or person who keeps harping on how 'hurtful' this blog supposedly is:
ReplyDeleteWhy are you here, then? Or are you of the mindset that you are the only positive person here? I guess you'd still rather ignore all the positive comments about the DT so that you can continue with your childish hand slaps.
And how, exactly, is it hurtful when people say things like 'PTI's website is poorly designed,' or 'PTI's customer service is condescending and unhelpful?' these are statements of fact. If you feel 'hurt' by these statements, you are either oblivious to he shoddy way PTI treats customers, or you are longin for the days when the wheels handed you their money and thanked you for treating them like shit.
I worked for an awful company. No one there ever felt personally hurt or attacked when people pointed out that our company sucked. We all secretly agreed, lol!
But of course, I worked with adults. There is no crying in real business.
Anyway, curious why you want to be part of something that is supposedly so cruel?
Maybe now that the norm is huge screw ups on a regular schedule, people will soon be happy with any tiny improvement and sing with the choir for even barely decent service. Maybe PTI is using some reverse psychology. In the beginning they set the bar too high. So they lowered it really low, so that when it comes back to barely tolerable people will be thrilled.
ReplyDeleteJenn E is buried in Nichole's backyard. That is why there will be no pool that stamps built. She can't afford to have anyone discover the body.
ReplyDeleteYou can trust me on this.
/sarcasmfont
Notice on the forum that NH keeps directing everyone to her blog to say good bye to Lisa. Can't have that clogging up the forum, you know.
ReplyDeleteHey Rick...cat got your tongue? You owe someone $1,000!
ReplyDeleteI love that karma bitch slapped the Thre Stooges last might!
8:09- BAHAHAHAHA!
ReplyDeleteSeriously. If PTI would put half as much energy into fixing their stupid e-commerce website as they do hyping each new release every month, they would not be having nearly as much trouble as they are now.
ReplyDeleteSo true, 8:13. I'm tempted to open a zendesk ticket to say my goodbyes.
ReplyDeleteI agree, 8:39. They spend so much more time trying to fix stuff than trying to prevent it. What amazing things that effort could otherwise do!
@8:13 maybe the reason NH is directing people to her blog is because Lisa no longer has access to the forum. BTW, what happened to the post about the store not working? Looks like that disappeared quickly.
ReplyDeleteRick, i tried adding something to my cart in IE as you suggested and yes, the item remained when I went back to it, but I really would love the Firefox cart to retain my items. Is there a fix on the horizon for us Firefox users?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I'm late to the PTI bandwagon so I don't have loads of their product in my possession. There are probably 5 or 6 sets from their older collections that I consider 'must haves' so it pleases me that each of the past 3 releases have not motivated me to purchase anything new. I feel like I can buy the few older items I've been eyeing and be done with them for good, even forgetting when the 15th rolls around - like the other smacker posted.
ReplyDeleteThanks, PTI, for saving me dollahs with your mediocre new products.
I agree about Amber. I love love her work and she can work miracles with those horrible little denami stamps.
ReplyDeleteI think she'd be foolish to jump into the fray with PTI, whose reputation is so severely marred.
Amber could have a brighter future with practically any other company.
All this PTI drama makes me wonder why ACN jumped on board. What is she getting out of it?
This forum thread is great! Way to go Joyce. You have balls.
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.papertreyink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35727
*******************
Past designers...
New postby Ashjoy » Wed May 16, 2012 7:31 am
So I really never book marked blogs of past designers because I just always go to Nicholes blog and go from there, now I'm realizing that once they are no longer designers they are just gone from the blog sidebar. Besides Lisa who are past designers or dt members that I may miss visiting.
Mish and Lisa are leaving, left, diminishing their work because of this blog.
ReplyDelete--------------------
Not true.
9:05. I use Firefox and my cart doesn't dump.
ReplyDelete--------
prediction: Damask design's chick will be the next DT member replacement. last few posts have all included PTI. Her work is awesome.
9:21 - what makes that post courageous?? I just see - too damn lazy to find it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteRick I don't think for a minute that anyone would leave the dt because of this blog - I think some people here think they wield far more power than they do.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the statements made by the "insider" the other day...
ReplyDeleteI don't get people bringing up Jenn E. She was stuck in the middle in an awful work situation, wasn't good at the job, and made a wise decision to leave - IMHO. What do you expect from her? You expect her to be posting all over the place complaining about PTI? Praising PTI? She doesn't work for them anymore and if she wants to be involved in this business in the future, it would be crazy foolish to speak ill of a previous employer publicly. I have seen her comment on the posts of various mutual friends on FB - you know, like most of us, she has a life.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand rehashing anything about someone who has moved on.
Oh, I know, Rick. I was just agreeing and wanted to say that not all of us are thinking that. Just didn't phrase it very well :/.
ReplyDeleteSo first you complain that the post about Lisa isn't at the top on Nichole's blog. Then you complain that she actively goes to the forum and points it out to people who want to bid Lisa farewell.
ReplyDeleteNo pleasing some smackers.
I've been happy to smack alongside you guys for a long time now but I'm beginning to see the point of some trolls/unis jumping in to say some of you are making lots of somethings from nothings.
There are plenty of things to jump all over PTI's case about - you really don't have to try to twist every little thing around.
10:00
ReplyDeleteYou said, "So first you complain that the post about Lisa isn't at the top on Nichole's blog. Then you complain that she actively goes to the forum and points it out to people who want to bid Lisa farewell."
I think that these two points are both trying to do the same thing - minimize Lisa's departure. By not having it on the top of the blog and by having the topic drop of the first page of the forum NH doesn't want it to be seen.
10:00, I agree with you. I can't believe how much twisting goes on around here. And it's ridiculous to say that Nichole is trying to minimize Lisa's departure--as if we wouldn't all notice she's gone if there's not a forum thread?
ReplyDelete"And it's ridiculous to say that Nichole is trying to minimize Lisa's departure--as if we wouldn't all notice she's gone if there's not a forum thread?"
ReplyDeleteSo then what's the reason for NH not putting this on the top of her blog and for discouraging people from posting on the board about it?
Also, why did NH not post about it before Lisa did on her blog?
PTI is a business - at some point emotions and friendships have to be separated to be successful. Unless you were privy to anything we dont know what transpired. It could have been emotional and Lisa didnt want anything posted.
ReplyDeleteSince this is all smack, people can say what they want. But lets keep in mind this is a business and not a sorority.
I'd agree about Lisa not wanting anything posted if PTI hadn't posted anything, but they did. And NH addressed the issue by saying that she wanted the release festivities to die down before mentioning it. Like our emotions can't handle it all al once.
ReplyDeleteSorority it is not, business, is up for debate.
The blog hop post is probably a "sticky" post that stays at the top, and that is why it is above the Lisa announcement. And I don't read it as Nichole "discouraging" people from posting on the forum, but rather directing them to her statement about Lisa and one logical, central place to leave Lisa good wishes. Plus there is a link to Lisa's blog in N's post, so people can easily click to Lisa's blog to wish her well there.
ReplyDeleteIf Nichole's blog post about the blog hop is a sticky then why does it get bumped down as soon as the next MIM comes along? Maybe it is only a sticky for 24hrs? It doesn't stay up there for long.
ReplyDeleteI believe the "insider" and I believe the insider is one of the current design team. Someone who is able to lay low enough at PTI not to arouse suspicion, but who reads here and who is not under a magic spell. I wish they would come back and tell us more. Anyone care to speculate who on the current DT it could be?
ReplyDeleteI was one who posted on the "Lisa" thread in question and I DID take NH post as trying to put down any more comments on the forum about Lisa. She may not have meant it in a bad way, but again, her passive aggressive demeanor (in her writing) just doesn't make it seem quite right. Does anyone else get "controlling b****y comment" when they read her posts. Many of her posts seem tilted in the Off position IYKWIM.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Nichole's mention of the blog post to say farewell to Lisa was to keep it out of the forum - it was an invitation. And maybe Lisa jumped the gun. Maybe she mixed up when the announcement was going to be on PTI -- maybe together they said, we'll announce it at the release and Lisa took that to mean sooner than what Nichole did. You just don't know.
ReplyDeleteFor once I agree with hand slapper 10:00.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much energy being put into reading between the lines. Can't something NH writes be taken at face value?
Even if everything went perfectly at PTI but NH posted a MIM or an announcement 5 minutes later than normal, I think there would be people over here bitching about it. To me that stuff is not even a big deal.
Nichole's posts don't ever really bother me. You can be a brilliant stamp designer / card maker and not be a good writer. It's okay. That's why she's designing stamps and not writing books.
I also think part of the problem is Nichole's writing. Not just the grammar, spelling, hyperbole, etc. But I think she actually tries to sound very professional and formal and it just comes off as cold.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lisa leaving, am I the only one that thinks there SHOULD be a natural attrition from design teams? It seems like many of the PTI DT have been around for many many years - that's not the norm is it? What's a typical DT contract time period?
I think it would be a good idea for there to be more turnaround on the PTI team. Forget who's happy, who's not -- just freshen things up! Part of the problem with them staying so long is also that the customers almost get to know them too well and become too familiar. They get attached to the DT members and it only adds to the drama and speculation when it's time for someone to move on.
Good point, 13:31 -- "As for Lisa leaving, am I the only one that thinks there SHOULD be a natural attrition from design teams? It seems like many of the PTI DT have been around for many many years - that's not the norm is it? What's a typical DT contract time period? "
ReplyDeleteFresh faces, fresh styles - both can be, and usually are, good for a design company. I can't speak for paper companies but I know for many digital companies the contract is anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Once your term is up, you have to reapply if you want to continue.
I'm the person who posted last week that Lisa would be leaving.
ReplyDeleteI do not know Lisa, never communicated with Lisa and I did not know when Lisa would leave. And I do not know specifically why she left. How did I know?
it was obvious. and There are rumours flying among the crafty insiders (not PTI insiders) about a lot of PTI stuff. a lot of folks are not unpleased with the recent developments.
"not unpleased"
ReplyDelete^ Does that mean good things for those of us who want PTI to get back on track?
My Amuse and Fresh Ink (from Impress) Comparisoins (thanks Nancy and Fritz):
ReplyDeleteHere are the comparisons and I will also post them on the smacker board and my blog:
Amuse Sky and Fresh Ink Island are close with Island being a teensy bit more green.
Amuse Bermuda is about halfway between FI Island and FI Pool.
Amuse Eucalyptus is almost identical to FI Steel.
Amuse Ocean is a bit darker and a bit more turquoise than FI Sky.
Amuse Blueberry is about halfway between FI Capri ( little more gray) and FI Freesia (a tiny bit of lavender to Freesia)
Amuse Navy is close to FI Gypsy with the Navy being a bit richer in color.
I dont own any FI that are close to Amuse Pebble or Amuse Seattle or Amuse Rialto or Amuse Lichen. or Amuse Grape or Amuse Blackberry or Amuse Orange. or Amuse Watermelon or Amuse Titian.
Amuse Slate is a tiny bit darker than FI Slate.
Amuse Fern is a tiny bit lighter than FI Tusan Olive and Fern is a tiny bit more yellow.
Amuse Sage is close to FI Pear with Amuse Sage being a tiny bit more yellow.
Amuse Grass is very close to FI Basic with the Basil being a tiny bit more yellow.
Amuse Evergreen is close to FI Mojito with the Evergreen being a bit more of a true emerald green.
Amuse Heather Is close to FI Silver Lilac with the Heather being a tiny bit richer.
Amuse Lemon Whip is lighter and a more vanilla color than FI Chamomile
Amuse Buttercup is very close to FI Chamomile
Amuse Lido is lighter and a little more yellow than FI Harvest (which is more gold).
Amuse Papaya is close to FI Mango, but a bit lighter.
Amuse Apricot is much lighter than FI Ginger.
Amuse Bellini is darker and oranger than FI Mango.
Amuse Burano is a bit more orange than FI Strawberry (which is closer to being a red).
Amuse Cherry is close to FI Strawberry but a bit darker.
Amuse Currant is a bit lighter than FI Merlot, but pretty close.
Amuse Shell is a little lighter and a little less pink than FI Sugar
Amuse Grapefruti is darker than Lemonade and a teensy bit oranger.
Amuse Bubblegum is much more neon than FI Fuchsia (which is a deeper truer Fuschia)
Amuse Squash is darker and slightly browner, but pretty close to FI Harvest.
Amuse Nutmeg is slightly redder than FI Cocoa.
Amuse French Roast is a deeper brown than FI Cocoa.
Amuse Onyx is almost identical to FI Black Tea.
Additionally, I have these FI colors that I don't have a match for in Amuse Ink samples:
Melon (an orangey pink)
Sicilian (a light blue slightly grayed blue)
Blue Sage (a gray that is slightly blue)
French Lacender ( a true lavender)
Honey which is a pumpkin color but a teeny bit brownish)
Peach (which is a true peach and darker than Amuse Apricot by quite a lot and oranger.
I am going to try to post pictures later on my blog at rubystamper.blogspot. com if I can get true colors on the pictures.
As far as what Nichole writes is concerned, I handed the iPad to my husband (who owns a successful business) and asked him to read the "store is broken" post. He read it, looked at me and said "geez that is crass - is she ALWAYS like that?". He didn't read anything into it, he recognized that she is a failure as a businesswoman.
ReplyDeletePosted to the blog and the colors are very, very true. If you click the photos (which are below the notes) you can see the labels Nancy and I have supplied.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the large roses are FI colors and the small flowers are the Amuse colors.
ReplyDeleteForgot Amuse Wasabi and I have nothing close to that, and Amuse Pistachio which is a truer mint color than FI Pear which is a bit more yellow.
ReplyDeleteOne more note: Amuse Pebble is close to FI Provincial but a bit less gray.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the info, Donna!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna! I was looking forward to your inks post. hehe
ReplyDeleteI just bought 7 of the Amuse through Nancy (consultant number 1137) and reinkers for them. That should nearly complete the colors I want. Seems like many of the Amuse are just between 2 Fresh Ink shades and just what I was hoping for.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder why it takes 2-3 days to begin shipping release orders. Do they take a few days off? The minute people get ship notices they post a thread on the board and I have noticed that it is not the day after?
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI'm the person who posted last week that Lisa would be leaving.
I do not know Lisa, never communicated with Lisa and I did not know when Lisa would leave. And I do not know specifically why she left. How did I know?
it was obvious. and There are rumours flying among the crafty insiders (not PTI insiders) about a lot of PTI stuff. a lot of folks are not unpleased with the recent developments.
16 May 2012 14:40"
I'm wondering if I'm reading this correctly. Industry insiders are pleased (not unpleased) with "recent developments" given here in the context of Lisa's leaving.
So you're saying other people in the industry are glad that PTI is having problems? Because that's the exact opposite I've heard. What I hear is that other people in the business recognize Nichole as being very talented, and cannot fathom why there are so many problems with their business and that they are letting customer service be a problem. They don't understand how it's gotten to this point and why it hasn't been fixed. And they honestly wish the best for the company and hope they can pull themselves out of the quicksand.
Maybe, if I read your comment right, you know the competitive cut-throats, and I know the kind and generous competitors.
I don't understand why the owners of PTI don't just sell their products through someone else. If what they do well is the creative part, then leave the business part to someone else.
Thank you, Donna!
ReplyDelete16:13 by reading one posting your husband came to the conclusion that she is a failure as a business woman? YOu said nothing to lead him to thinks this.
ReplyDelete19:27 - that was my paraphrasing actually. He said "she should really stick to what she does well and let someone who knows what they're doing run the company and handle PR". I didn't say anything to him before he read the post but my point was that even reading that single post shows so many things wrong with the way PTI handles buisness.
ReplyDelete^^^ ...and that is why I think that even if Nichole split from the other two and tried to run PTI or some kind of PTI 2.0 as her own business, it would still struggle. Your dh is right-- she needs to stick to the creative and have someone else handle the rest. Someone with tact and business sense.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I am at it I think someone should write all of her blog posts for her too. I about gagged when I saw her describe the farm stamp set she designed as "perfectly executed". Geez, woman, a little humility would not hurt you. Even if it's the best stamp set in the world and everyone else thinks so, you sound like such an arrogant prick when you call your own work "perfectly executed" like that!
Not that I know much about the inner working of DT selection, but I think Mona Pendleton would be AWESOME. But she is on Waltzingmouse right now.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I could totally see Amber being on the team. She has a lot of the product, and I think that is a prerequisite for being on PTI.
Although I agree that Amber would fit right into the PTI DT, I think there are already enough people who have a similar CAS style on the team. PTI needs to add someone to the team with a more advanced card making style. Other than MP, and maybe Betsy they all have a very simple card making styles. I'd like to see super fabulous, many layered, and detailed cards.
ReplyDeleteThe whole DT needs an overhaul. Every card from DM & HN looks the same. Personally, after following their blogs for a couple of years it seems like I've seen it all and each new card is just a rehash. Ideally, I'd like to see a DT that does not include the stamp designers. But I don't think Little Miss Sunshine McVey is going anywhere. Would be difficult leaving when your lips are firmly planted on Heady's heiny
ReplyDeleteBTW, what happened to the post about the store not working? Looks like that disappeared quickly.
ReplyDelete-------------------------------
It was removed when the store was fixed, early Wednesday morning. Why the hell would it be left up after that??
Rick, i tried adding something to my cart in IE as you suggested and yes, the item remained when I went back to it, but I really would love the Firefox cart to retain my items. Is there a fix on the horizon for us Firefox users?
ReplyDeleteI use Firefox, and have almost never had my cart dump (a few times when the site was very new and it was dumping for everyone; and maybe a couple of times since then, at most). I'm not insinuating that you don't have cart dumping problems.... just that Firefox might not be the culprit. Or maybe it's some combination of Firefox and something else? (I run Firefox 12.0 under Windows 7.)
One of my favorite card makers is Lynn Put. She uses a lot of PTI.
ReplyDeletehttp://thequeensscene.blogspot.com/
And, no, I'm not her.
I thought the prerequisite for being on the PTI design team was that you had to be a Martha Stewart wannabe.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen so many people who purport to have these perfect lives? Am I living in a slum or something or does everyone do placecards for family dinners and make every single thing for all of their perfect children by hand, gorgeous gifts for teachers for every occasion, and only cook healthy food ...... Frankly it bothers me a bit that even as a now-and-then visitor to their blogs, I actually feel like I do know their personal lives a little bit. At least to know they are all in some way emulating their "boss." Heaven forbid a DT member should be overweight, live in a modest home, and actually forget to put a note in their child's lunchbox one day.
Sorry - these are just random examples but trying to paint a picture. I guess I'm an underachieving homemaker ;) . It seems sometimes like they are all trying to show that they have "perfectly executed" LIVES! It gets tiresome.
I also wish DT members would just stick to the work, the projects, the cards and not share a lot of personal stuff. If they want to have a personal blog, then have a personal blog.
ReplyDeleteI made fun of the hydrangea set but I just wanted to mention that Pine's card with it stamped in cream on kraft and the dark leaves is absolutely GORGEOUS. At first I thought it was patterned paper or something.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame the dt for trying to look perfect. I'm not a handslapper but there are people here that would be the first to smack any imperfections. That's a lot of pressure.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking maybe I was too hard on them. It's just that if you look at the PTI DT's blogs, you start to wonder - gee, does everyone do that?! Or I think more - who does that?! LOL! I guess I'm just the anti-Martha ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't see the "perfect lives" at all. At least three of the DT have kids with various issues/needs. Dawn McV started DT full time because she was laid off.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of the perfectly executed blog lives too, same with pinterest and facebook. I don't expect bloggers to post every mundane detail but I would like to see a little reality every now and then. Bloggers can certainly do what they want but as a reader (and potential customer) I eventually stop reading when the perfection gets to be too much.
ReplyDeleteKelly Purkey wrote a great post about this yesterday.
Elizabeth Kartchner's blog is a good example of a blog I'm just sick of. Everything is just picture perfect, kids always coordinated to match whatever scrapbook supply she is trying to sell, etc. Endless pictures of her feet. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the PTI dt necessarily does this, mostly they just stick to the projects which I prefer. Nichole's pottery barn catalog/cedar ridge blog kind of drives me crazy though. Wonder how that pool is coming along?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you wear when crafting? Really Dawn? I guess it's impossible to come up with mindless chatter week after week and keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you wear when crafting? Really Dawn? I guess it's impossible to come up with mindless chatter week after week and keep it interesting.
ReplyDelete-------------------------
I think this is a great example of why I thought it was a diss to Lisa that Nichole was steering "goodbye talk" away from the forum. It would be a great time to talk about projects Lisa has done & revitalize interest in her stamp sets. But no .... what you are wearing while being so damn BORING is far more important.
I think Melissa Phillips is my fave by far. I tend to, as my sister says, have a lot of, "pomp and circumstance," on my cards. That would be read as layers upon layers. I made two CAS cards this week and she (as well as others) were disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI wear... whatever I happened to be wearing already before I started stamping. Gee, who'da thunk it.
ReplyDeleteHad not even thought about that when a DT member is leaving! What a great idea - celebrate their work and maybe even have a special sale of their sets or something. Especially someone who has been with them for so long.
ReplyDeleteI had said that I thought it was a nice farewell on her blog post but rethinking it now, it wasn't what it should have been.
Melissa Phillips is also my favorite. I used to love Dawn but her stuff all looks the same now. I used to love Mish until she turned into Miss Project Life 2012. I also love Betsy. Everyone else: meh.
ReplyDelete6:44... that would require that the DT member is leaving on good terms, I think. How many of them really are?
ReplyDelete^^From Nichole's perspective, at least.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if anyone is ever leaving on good terms or not, but it if made it look like they left on good terms then that would be a positive image for PTI.
ReplyDeleteSOmeone said the other day, it's not a sorority. Along those lines, NIchole/PTI need to set aside personal differences and reasons why they leave and spin it to a positive for the company. At least look magnanimous whether they feel it or not!
ReplyDelete^^ITA with both of you.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, do the stamp designers receive a royalty on each sale of their stamp sets? And do they then forfeit any said royalty when they leave?
I had to laugh this morning. I am the ass that speculated that Gina K's status update about change is good being about Lisa leaving PTI.
ReplyDeleteThis morning Gina's status update said "I have a few very exciting announcements coming for our next release. Our release is planned for May 31st. Mark your calendar! You won't want to miss all of the fun news! ♥" and it made me wonder if Lisa was joining Gina K. Wouldn't that be a riot if I was right?
I'm still no insider. Trust me.
07:10 - there's no way to know unless you've seen the contract. Some stamp designers will get paid a flat rate for their designs. Others will get a royalty that could be limited for a certain number of years. They could even get royalties for a certain number of years and then the company still be allowed to sell them after that. Depends on the contract. It could be anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to trust some one is not an insider, lOL!
ReplyDeleteI would be really surprised if Lisa were signing on and she would lose a lot of credibility with me simply due to the fact that one reason she stated she had not posted for some time was her physical ailments. I'd be shocked if she turned around and signed with someone else.
Don't get tunnel vision. Just because PTI is high on your radar, it isn't the center of stampy world ;) .
Oh God, Trell. If Mona is put on the PTI DT her damn head may explode. It's already big enough as it is.... I guess that would make her the perfect candidate in NH's eyes, then, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteShhhhhh.... NO mention of Mona being on this team! I can't stand her work anymore. She is getting all mixed media and that crap is driving me crazy. Which is a shame cause I used to be a big fan.
ReplyDeleteI like Mona's work with the exception of the mixed media stuff. I am not big into that.
ReplyDeleteThere are other artists that I like but I am not a fan of some of their work - for example, the Pure Innocence stuff. To me, that all looks the same. I am also not a fan of the A la mode stamps. I do like some of the other MFT stuff though so I keep the designers on my google reader.
I don't like Mona for another reason - her stupid blog with "read more" and the stupid scrolling "read more" banner.
ReplyDelete^^THIS!!!
ReplyDeleteThe MFT stamps are not my thing. I eventually had to remove all their team from my Google Reader because it seemed EVERY single day there was a release post of some kind.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know they get credit for making the inside of the card, but it's all too much.
I also agree about Mona's blog set up. That shit needs to go!
So I have looked at Clear & Simple Stamps a couple of times, and I always think everything seems really expensive for what it is. Like the fence die - $24 for one die? The critters dies are $40 - is there reason they are so much? The stmaps too... how do they compare quality-wise to PTI as a point of reference?
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to Mona's blog in a while, so I went to check it out. I see that she uses a lot of MFT and Spellbinders product, plus she designs for Waltzingmouse and Flourishes. I'm not sure Nichole would want a dt member who uses so many products from her direct competitors.
ReplyDeleteBut: "her damn head may explode" made me LOL!
I heard that bloggers use that "click for more" posting format to artificially drive up their hit counters or something.
ReplyDeleteI never visit blogs unless I want to pin something because I get everything through google reader.
ReplyDeleteHow does google reader affect blog hits? They just don't count as a hit at all, right?
Well, I am off put by the perfect life in block and thing, but I don't see too many of the DT do that
ReplyDeleteWhat I can't understand is all the money they put into ther release projects. I get these stamps for free, but went out and bought this canvas and paint to make so and so, or these pots to make cake in- I don't get it. It seems like it ends up costing them more than they get
^^ in blogland
ReplyDelete8:18, thank you for the insight about stamp design fees/royalties. I guess now my question is, would anyone with the secret inside information about how PTI does it, care to share? I'm just curious because Lisa has/had such a nice portfolio of stamps with them. And now what? If her contract included royalties, it kinda sucks if she would not get them anymore for leaving. I don't know why this bugs me so much but I just want to know. I think I am taking it too personally because I have toyed with the idea of wanting to be a stamp designer too. (But seeing how bad business skills can make a company with good designs go down in flames has scared me away a bit!) And seeing that PTI still owns all of Lisa's work after she leaves, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI don't use a reader, so I don't really know how they work. If you subscribe to a blog (which I have never done, haha) does that put it in a reader? If that doesn't give a blog hits why do so many bloggers promote it? Does # of subscribers give you an advantage that # of hits doesn't?
ReplyDelete"block and" = "blogland" -- did your smartphone auto-correct that for you? Not so smart after all, huh. heehee
ReplyDeletewhat you describe about getting all the supplies adn props to make an over-the-top project or the setting for the project seems like just another facet of the same thing to me. Trying to appear perfect in blogland.
I would think that being on a DT and being a stamp designer are two different things. For being on a DT, you get free product (yours and other designers'), and you make samples. For being a stamp designer, you get a percentage of sales for as long as the company sells your stamps. So to me, just because Lisa is no longer on the DT shouldn't mean the end of her royalties for her stamp sets.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not an insider, LOL--just a stamper speculating.
I don't think the PTI DT are trying to appear perfect in blogland. They are buying canvas and little pots so they can give us clever ideas of other projects we could do. If they just did the same ole things, smackers would say, Why is so-and-so on the DT--she doesn't have any new ideas. It seems there's no pleasing some of you--you look for the worst possible motive/interpretation in everything.
ReplyDeleteI like inspiration of how to make my life/creativity/home BETTER. I don't need to see examples of how to have piles of clutter on the counter, I've got that covered.
ReplyDeleteI don't know nothing 'bout blog hits. But I do know that I've often wondered if someone has to be wealthy/upper-middle-class to be on a DT (based on pictures of their houses/craft rooms). I appreciated that Betsy said life was crazy sauce for her right now - hence no new blog posts.
ReplyDeleteI know we've talked before about Dawn's voice on MIM videos. I've never watched one until a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked. I expected her voice to be an octave higher than it is.
PTI has a large enough DT as it is. They don't need to replace Lisa.
ReplyDeleteNot all DT's compensate the same way. I've been on a DT that pays real money for samples as well as free product and discounts. Another gives only free product, and yet another that offers gift certs to their store to purchase anything I please plus discounts off purchases. Oh and another DT required product linking to their store for everything I used that they sold. Kind of like an affiliate, where I could only earn 'money' if people purchased stuff using my unique code. That was the worst and I left that DT ASAP!
ReplyDelete^^^ what she said. All DT contracts are different as are Designer contracts. Some companies (like Unity) just pay upfront a certain sum for the designed image and it belongs to Unity (with designer credit). Others pay royalties, require full sets, etc.
ReplyDeleteUnless a PTI insider speaks up, we have no idea what Lisa got paid or if she continued/continues to get paid from sales.
RE: stamp designing agreements, contracts can be different from person to person, too. And who owns the art can be specified differently. How long royalties are paid, etc. It can vary from company to company, designer to designer. Nothing really can be speculated except there's a variety of scenarios.
ReplyDeleteAnd more than likely anyone who signs a contract has also signed a nondisclosure agreement. I don't think anyone would risk spilling the beans just to satisfy strangers' curiosity.
Okay. I enjoy seeing the "over the top" projects as the inspiration and clever ideas. I'm not really smacking the fact that dt members love to inspire us in that way. I AM smacking the idea that if their projects are not like that, they are not good enough. I am smacking the sense I get that some bloggers feel like they have to do extravagant things like that in order to present a certain up-scale kind of image in order to be competitive enough in the blog-eat-blog jungle. I am smacking the whole idea that spending more money on your projects makes you better than other bloggers. I am not accusing any particular blogger/dt member, with PTI or otherwise, of being this way. So don't take it personally. I don't have a problem with people having money and spending it if that's what they enjoy-- I just HATE the sense of uppity-ness I sense on some blogs that seem to focus on style over substance. As though you just can't be acceptable unless your lifestyle is "styled" and all perfect according to whoever is setting the style guidelines for what's hot and what's not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 1136.
ReplyDeleteAnd the constant "I'm throwing a ladies tea party" and "I put together gift ensembles for my bff's" is getting old. Why do they pretend that these things are happening for real? I seriously doubt these ladies would be doing these projects if they weren't getting paid. I do hate that aspect if the crafting world. I blame Martha, lol.
Nichole et al are not my friends nor do I want them to be. The sad part is there are a ton of ladies out there that buy into this idea.
Question, Who here has purchased from PTI in the past 4-6 months using real money (not gift certs or reward points)?
ReplyDeleteI have not spent any real money at Papertrey since last October.
ReplyDeleteI haven't spent real money since last November.
ReplyDeleteI haven't spent a dime, real or fake, at paper trey for 14 months. Before that I bought every set and color they had.
ReplyDeleteFourteen months is longer than most. Was there a single event for you that was the straw that broke the camel's back?
ReplyDeleteI have continued purchasing once or twice a month.
ReplyDeleteI didn't order this month or in December but other than that I have ordered every month for the last 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI feel like PTI would have a hard time paying royalties to people based on sets sold - Not because it is difficult in theory but those types of things seem very difficult for them, KWIM? Just based on what I've seen of customer service responses from Julie/Nichole/PTI in general, they seem way too disorganized to operate that way. I think paying a flat fee to designers would work better for them, but I could be totally wrong - everything they do is half-assed, so who knows.
ReplyDeleteMy last order with real money was in February. Cashed out my rewards in March.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny it was mentioned (I wasn't around the smackblog when it was talked about before, I guess) - I too thought Dawn's voice would be much higher and perkier. She sounds like a grump. Friends of mine who went to SAF last year also said she was pretty cranky in person. I didn't get that impression from her perkypants blog.
ReplyDeleteMy last big order was January. Then I used my rewards in April.
ReplyDeleteI was ordering every other month or so after having ordered for years every month. I had been following the problems but never HAD problems with shipping or anything.
Then the delete-all-emails fiasco and anniversary sets and prizes taking so long, and the website disaster, and just the bad attitude - time and again all of the stories. All of that finally made me realize I shouldn't support this company.
They may be on the right track now, if they could just fix the stupid website. Haven't been to the forum in awhile, so now that there's been another release (and another tech mess of course on release night), I'm going to watch the forum and I guess get a login for the zendesk forum and see how things are going.
A basic computer program could track their royalties. But you're right. That's how a regular company would do it. Would probably be too much for PTI. And actually - if I were getting paid on royalties by them, I'd have something in my contract that allowed me to examine their bookkeeping periodically (which is reasonable in legal land) because I would not trust them - not that they'd cheat, but that they'd screw it up.
ReplyDeleteI dIdibt think she was cranky-age just seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention. Once you sat at her table and chatted a bit she definitely opened up .
ReplyDeleteBetsy also seemed a bit shy. Honestly the one who looked most don't approach me was Mish...
Fourteen months is longer than most. Was there a single event for you that was the straw that broke the camel's back?
ReplyDelete---------------------
Yes, I was clued in by a friend that these particular owners didn't deserve my business. I was told specifically why. I was verrrry skeptical, but watching and waiting has proved her right every month since then. I see it clearly in their forum responses, their greed-based decisions, and their collective word being worthless.
"I feel like PTI would have a hard time paying royalties to people based on sets sold..."
ReplyDelete-------------------
Anniversary Sets anyone? Lol.
^^^why doesn't that surprise me about mish
ReplyDeleteThe "I'll miss Lisa" thread on the forum kind of makes me wonder. I know people postpone purchases for lots of reasons but this woman LOVED the Love Songs set, it suited an immediate purpose, and that was 2008 and she still didn't get it. That sort of post must drive PTI nuts. Yup - use our ideas, our recipes, blah blah.. and we didn't make a penny from you on that one. Yet anyway. I just thought it was odd.
ReplyDeleteIf you make a wish list, how many years will you wait and then still buy it? My wish lists are deleted if I don't purchase within a couple of months. By that time, I know I've moved past it.
I'm tempted to make a basic grammar reference and send it to Nichole.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't ordered for 13 months and prior to that I'd only ordered 4 or 5 times - I caught on quick to Nichole's attitude if nothing else. But I ordered in April. I started to think the PTI Titanic really is going to bust up and sink and there have been a few things I've wanted for a long time (TANL, Gracious Vases, Mehndi Medallion). So I broke down and ordered before I couldn't anymore.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ordered since September. One thing I can say is that I have really enjoyed pulling out old stamps and using them.
ReplyDeleteDawn was a snob @ SAF, stopped following her blog after that. Lisa, Betsy and Mish were very nice
ReplyDeletelast I ordered cleared my rewards in March and, in fact, I paid shipping only. I decided to order a few things this month because I had a gift certificate. I used paypal and for the $2.50 overage and wouldn't you know, my gift certificate dumped at the final checkout. They DON'T have things fixed. I submitted a Zen CS ticket and got the usual canned message. Wonder if I will ever see my $50. Guess I'll wait to see what happens in the next few days, but if isn't cleared up, I'll log a Paypal claim. I've had it with PTI. I feel like asking the person who purchased the GC to request money back from their credit card company.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that has changed with PTI is that the problems don't appear on their website. Guess we'll have to post our problems on a couple of other larger forums.
ReplyDeleteThis thing about the gift certificate dumping at the last second when you order. WHY have they not dropped everything else they are doing to fix things like that? These are the kinds of problems that are the deal breakers for customers on the fence and they are losing business from it hand over fist. It seriously boggles my mind that they aren't giving it higher priority.
ReplyDeleteWhy do some of you feel like Mona has a big head? I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteAlso, last years SAF. Was the entire team there or just those that have been mentioned?
I think I'd like to meet Jess Witty. Her writing style is kind of, for lack of a better word, odd. But I do like her. I think she'd be kinda fun. She's never in the forum though.
Heather Nichols comes off really nice as well.
Trell, if I am remembering correctly heather was there as well (if I think of make-n-take tables it was Lisa, Heather, Mish, Dawn, then Betsy).
ReplyDeleteDuring the day everyone but Dawn was super friendly. Lisa was cranky at the fake dessert reception. I say fake because only half the folks had seats and a little more then half actually got dessert. And if you weren't a part of the cool kids clique, you didn't really see much at the reception anyway.
Hmm. So this is probably the real reason they did SAF online this year? It doesn't sound like it was a great experience for anyone. How many people were there (customers)?
ReplyDelete