Spoonflower announces its design challenge themes for July 2021
Read the press release
Announcing July’s Design Challenge Themes
Take a Hike | Entries due by June 22
Water bottle? Check. Map? Check. Sense of adventure? Double-check! Grab your backpack and your best pals to explore the great outdoors on an epic hike.
Summer is the perfect time to get out for some fresh air with your friends and family. What will you pack and what will you see? Highlight the terrain, creatures, plants and flowers native to your favorite local trek or from memories of your favorite vacation walkabout.
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close June 22 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins June 24. Winners will be announced July 1.
Gnomes | Entries due by June 29
Whether they are traveling the globe, watching over your garden, or guarding Middle-earth’s treasures, gnomes are popping up everywhere!
These legendary creatures popular in folklore, fantasy and fairy tales are said to bring good luck. If you have green thumb aspirations you’ll definitely want a gnome statue sending good vibes to your garden beds. Gnomes are traditionally depicted with a white beard and a pointed hat, but the traditional look is “gnot” required here! We can’t wait to see how they inspire new takes in your designs this week!
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close June 29 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 1. Winners will be announced July 8.
Stone Fruit w/ Loko Kitchen | Entries due by July 6
What do cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines all have in common? They’re stone fruits! Plus, these juicy fruits all happen to be exceptionally delicious in pies.
For this challenge, we’re partnering with our favorite pie designer + baker Lauren Ko of Lokokitchen to celebrate the humble stone fruit. The top 10 winners will all receive a signed copy of Lauren’s best-selling book, “Pieometry,” and as a cherry on top, Lauren will be selecting one grand-prize winner as the inspiration for a special-edition pie!
Learn more about Lauren and see the geometric design that inspired her project for Pi Day on March 14 on the blog!
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close July 6 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 8. Winners will be announced July 15.
Seek and Find Playmats | Entries due by July 13
Open-ended play is the name of the game with Seek and Find Playmats! This week, we’re looking for playmats that can provide family fun and empower imaginations as kids interact and look for specific objects in your work.
The possibilities are endless! Hide animals in the forest or different vehicles in a cityscape. Illustrate a wide variety of everyday objects to identify or provide a guessing game with items of different colors to encourage color recognition. Think of the games you made up as a kid and think about the age range you are designing for.
Identified as a trend in our Summer Trend Report, searches for playmats on Spoonflower are up +5021% over last year. These playful designs can be paired with our super soft and durable Performance Velvet for a one-of-a-kind gift for a little one’s birthday or baby shower.
You can set your design as a center repeat for this challenge, just make sure your entry is set to one yard (42” x 36”) and fills the entire space.
Entries will be previewed on a yard (42” X 36”). Submissions close July 13 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 15. Winners will be announced July 22.
Retro Bugs | Entries due by July 20
Take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the buzzing, fluttering and crawling bugs around your backyards. These crawling critters have countless unique characteristics and offer endless details to explore through a retro lens.
Get inspired by insect attributes such as jewel-like bodies, colorful exo-skeletons and interesting antennae along with scientific adaptation like the patterns on a butterfly’s wings. If you live in the eastern part of the United States, you might specifically be fascinated by the arrival of cicada Brood X this summer.
After you select your favorite invertebrate, add a retro spin! Inject some personality to your repeating pattern with a vintage color scheme or design style.
Pro Tip: Head over to the blog for some inspiration on how to give your drawings a retro feel!
Entries will be previewed on a 21″ x 18″ fat quarter. Submissions close July 20 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 22. Winners will be announced July 29.
Weekly Prizes
Grand Prize
One Grand Prize Winner each week will receive $200 in Spoondollars. The winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters and social media mentions.
Second Place
The 2nd place winner will receive $100 in Spoondollars.
Third Place
The 3rd place winner will receive $50 in Spoondollars.
The rest of the top 10
4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit. The top 10 winners of the Stone Fruit contest will also receive a signed copy of Lauren’s best-selling book, “Pieometry.”
All of the top 50
Each of the top 50 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.
Link: https://blog.spoonflower.com/2021/06/announcing-julys-design-challenge-themes-5/
