Pittsfield Artist Wins Crane's Design Challenge

John Neiner, an illustrator with Pixel Graphic Design Studio in Pittsfield has been selected as the winner of the second Berkshire Creative Challenge. This year, the Challenge was hosted by Crane & Co. As a result of his submission, John will be creating a new holiday design collection for Crane's 2012 season.


Founded in 2005 by John’s brother, Pixel has been an outlet for their creative skills and imagination. Over the past few years John has transitioned from his background in traditional media into the realm of digital-art. John resides in the Berkshires with his wife Erin and their 3 energetic boys. In addition to art, John also enjoys rock climbing, ventriloquism and a slew of other eclectic pastimes.


Earlier this summer, I had the great pleasure of touring the 13 finalists around Crane's production facilities with Karla Cushman, Crane's Design Manager. Here's a link to photos from the tour.


Our regional NPR station - WAMC in Albany, N.Y., did a really nice piece on the Challenge. You can listen to it here.


“John stood out to everyone on the review committee.  His work was impressive, organized, and imaginative,” said Megan Kuntze, Crane’s Brand Director, “We are looking forward to working with John on future creative assignments.”


In addition to John, six other designers were identified as potential resources for future freelance projects. through the Berkshire Creative Challenge.

Filling in the Blanks for the Holidays

A few days ago(scroll down a bit) we discussed the growing trend toward fill-in invitations, especially for the holidays. I found a few more - two with elegant engraved details and one with a whimsical foil treatment. Imagine, engraved invitations at boxed stationery prices. They should be in market soon:

Christmas in June? Hot Holiday Picks

You probably didn't hear that horn beep just now. It was the UPS guy delivering the pages for my Crane holiday albums. Which is quite a coincidence, since I was just sitting down to write about some items that I think will be hot for the holidays. We covered quite a few of the engraved holiday cards during the run-up to the National Stationery Show last month, so we'll move to another category - parties.

Even though it's early days, you're likely starting to encounter news stories or conversations about having to make "adjustments" for the upcoming holiday season. It's certainly understandable, and I will undoubtedly be making my own set of "adjustments," but I refuse to go down without a fight. I'm going to squeeze in every last ounce of style I can.

So let's start with dinner on Christmas Eve. This is the biggest gig of the year for the Hopkins household. Cocktails, lots of appetizers, table for 13, big hunk of beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. There's a story about cocktails and the big hunk of beef, but I'll save that for another time......

Everybody knows that we're getting together on Christmas Eve, but this year, I'm sending out engraved invitations. Engraved fill-in invitations create the perfect atmosphere, and the cost? About $10.


Everybody pretty much knows what we're having for dinner. You don't want to mess with tradition too much, but this year I'm putting beveled and foil-gilded menu cards on each plate. Printed on my little inkjet. The cost? About $15.



We pretty much sit in the same places after all these years, but there's always a little jostling for position, so this year, I'm putting beveled and foil-gilded place cards at every setting. The cost? About $10.



So, let's recap.....For less than $2 per person (no, I'm not charging them) these three additions to our traditional holiday meal will create a huge and lasting impression that pales in comparison to the price. I can find ways to save that $35 between now and then.