I just wrote a testimonial for Deanna at Apples and Orange and I wanted to share with you why I wrote it.

I met Deanna (in an online/long-distance kind of way) when I was working with Michelle last summer. We were on a couple of calls together, and clicked for many reasons - I believe we are fairly close in age, we both had some of the same fears and things to work on, and we both had all this crazy creativity in our heads that needed to get out into our hands.

Deanna is a graphic designer and screenprinter and recently launched her business' graphic services to the world. I was excited by the potential of screenprinted material for manusmade, and let her know that in the future I would be contacting her for some postcard-sized calling cards. I thought they would make a great addition to the packages I mail out to customers - they could have my business name and logo and contact information, and there would be plenty of space to hand write a note to show my appreciation to the lovely people who had purchased something.

Deanna reached out to me and said she would love to do the order for me pro bono! It would benefit me as I was just starting out in the customer and craft show world, and it would benefit her as she had just launched her services and it would showcase her work. I was blown away by her kindness and of course said yes.

I absolutely loved working with her - I'm not very computer design savvy, and she was able to ask me questions in a way that I understood and that gave her the information she needed. She was patient with me while I changed my mind about the layout about 300  times. And she culled all the information and gave me a final product that was better than I had imagined.

You should have seen how excited I was when they arrived! The cards were totally protected and well-packaged, and it was like unwrapping a gift! They were the perfect combination of professional, crafty, textile, and useful - which as you know makes me very happy. I did a little happy dance around the kitchen while holding them - yes, it's the little things that make me happy!

The timing was perfect as I was able to include one in a order the next day - a perfect way to write a nice thank you to that customer. On top of that, the craft show was that weekend, and I used them as price cards, branding, and calling cards. They were perfect for tucking into the products on the table, and they stood out for people who already had handfuls of little business cards.

If you have any screenprinting or graphic and website design needs, consider working with Deanna - she rocks!