Sunday Spotlight

Welcome to the Sunday Spotlight for August 21. For those of you who don’t know it, our fabulous Tracy of Trixie Scraps Designs is one half of North Meets South Studios (NMSS). In conjunction with her other half, the equally fabulous Connie of Connie Prince Designs, NMSS brings you a wonderful template pack each month along with various other incredible kits like Posh Party, Scouting is For Boys/Girls, Siblings are Friends collection and Charlie‘s Arcade. I thought it might be fun to find out how this fabulous duo came to be!

How did the two of you ‘meet?’
Tracy: I got to know Connie when she came to sell her designs at one of the stores I used to sell my designs in. She was the person who suggested I join the team at Gotta Pixel and we’ve been close friends ever since!
Connie: Tracy & I met as designers in a store together.

It’s not uncommon for designers to come together to collaborate on a kit once. How/when did you decide to create an ongoing collaboration?
Tracy: After the first time we worked together, we knew two things… we loved working together AND we became fast friends. At that point, we knew we wanted to work together again and it wasn’t long before we decided it needed to be an ongoing partnership!
Connie: We decided to do a collab together in 2010! We had so much fun chatting and working together that our friendship developed as well as our professional relationship.

How did you come up with the NMSS name?
Tracy: Well… I’m from the North, Connie is from the South…
Connie: so North Meets South!
Tracy: and our regional differences are one of our favorite things to tease each other about. But, when it comes to designing, we are literally blending who we both are and “meeting” in the middle!

When it comes to designing, what skill/design trait does Tracy/Connie have that you envy?
Tracy: Connie is a MACHINE. I will forever be envious of the speed at which she is capable of working. I could design 80 hours a week and not accomplish as much as Connie can in half that time. I am always envious of her speed demon ninja skills!
Connie: I love Tracy’s patterned papers, she does great work with those!

Is there a certain element or paper you HAVE to put in every kit?
Tracy: Probably a plaid paper and flowers/ribbons have to be in just about every kit I make.
Connie: I can’t seem to design a kit without a flower and something leafy!

If you were going to take Tracy/Connie on a dream designing retreat, were would you go?
Tracy: CRUISE, baby! We’ve already talked about how much fun it would be to cruise together!
Connie: Definitely someplace coastal!

What is your favorite NMSS kit?
Tracy: My personal favorite is probably Charlie‘s Arcade – I love how it turned out!
Connie: I really love our Brothers and Sisters collection, those are great kits and very versatile too!

Any hints as to the next collaboration we might see?
Tracy: We have a few ideas on the drawing board but the next collection we’re likely to work on together will be a tip of the cap to a famous duo of singing siblings… and I’m not saying any more than that! Wink
Connie: Next up from us will definitely be August Templatetopia!

Thanks, ladies, for giving us some background on North Meets South Studios!! I’m definitely looking forward to more templates, and I hope my guess is right on that next collection!!!

Following are a few pages to inspire you featuring some NMSS designs:

By Mary Kate using Charlie’s Arcade: