Meet Andrea Schmid, a clerk in previous years, a freelance designer selling her designs with Spreadshirt now. Check out this interview to find out how she got where she is right now and what it’s like to be a moderator on the Spreadshirt forum.
Andreas’ motto is, SIMSALAPIMP your world as you like it!” Her moniker expresses the fun she takes in magical designs and fun puns, cute animals and a penchant for holidays like Christmas and Easter. We’re impressed by how she’s taken fate into her own hands and just put her talent to work so she could eventually abandon her day job. A picture-perfect example of what creativity paired with self-confidence and stamina can achieve when you give the people what they want.
Name: Andrea Schmid
From: Heidelberg, Germany
Occupation: Freelance designer
Software: Gimp
Hardware: PC
Joined Spreadshirt: August 2017
SIMSALAPIMP – what’s with the name?
Years ago I designed a photo book for a birthday. The book was about a family of bees that went from being poor nurses to rich pimps. There was a chapter about how the bees turned from nurses to pimps by selling organic honey. I came up with the term SIMSALAPIMP to describe this transformation and took to the word.
When I registered with Spreadshirt and saw that I needed a designer name, I remembered SIMSALAPIMP and thought it a great match for Spreadshirt. You can pimp a product with a design and turn a regular T-shirt into a very special one.
Why Spreadshirt?
I wanted a saying printed on a T-shirt and found Spreadshirt through Google. After finding out that you can also sell your own designs at Spreadshirt, I thought I’d give it a go. I’d been designing stuff for family and friends for years – photo montages, postcards, invitations, photo books, posters, collages, retouching, comics – so I checked out the marketplace to see what kind of designs were out there. At some point I ended up seeing a bunch of unicorns that really got me hooked. So I designed my first unicorn! It took forever because it was my first, but I was happy that somebody bought it three weeks after I released on the Marketplace. So I started designing new ones.
These days I use other platforms as well. But I’m still at the beginning and Spreadshirt just beats them hands down. I obviously know it best since I started out as a designer here. Of all platforms, Spreadshirt definitely has the most professional partner area and the best selection of products. You can find cool tees and trandy products that you won’t find anywhere else.
Do you get customer requests?
I’ve only had three requests for design changes so far. It went really well! The customers contacted me by e-mail and told me what they wanted. I sold them, through the Spreadshop. Since I was able to resell the altered designs via Spreadshirt, I didn’t charge them for my service.
What’s the deal with leeks?
When I was completely new to Spreadshirt, I was surfing the Marketplace a lot. Leeks were somehow pretty popular at the time, but there wasn’t much to find in terms of leek on the Marketplace. I painted some leeks with laughing faces and came up with a pun that makes sense in German (Nikolauch). With Christmas around the corner, I put a Santa hat on the leek. It took a couple of days until the first order came in, and then it wouldn’t stop. I continued the theme with another Santa design and a Mardi Gras design. In the end, my favourite vegetable even got its own team logo!
I always had a lot of fun with this topic. The leek rush has quieted down now, but I’ve received two requests to customize leek designs so far!
How did you end up becoming a Spreadshirt forum moderator?
Sara, the former head of the forum asked me if I wanted to become a community moderator. I accepted, because I like to help wherever I can. I must says that the assistance I got in the beginning got me off the ground running, for which I was super grateful. And yes, I really enjoy moderating the forum!
What can you learn on the forum? Have you already taken something with you from there?
I think the Spreadshirt Forum is great. Spreadshirt’s moderators know the different sections of the Partner Area inside out. The forum helped me get a grip on all things Spreadshirt. When I signed up for it, I had a design problem that I couldn’t solve. Someone on the forum had the same problem which reassured me it wasn’t me. It quickly became clear that it was a technical issue that Spreadshirt got alerted to and solved immediately.
You can also exchange personal messages with other users to discuss very individual things. I can only highly recommend joining the forum, regardless of whether you are a Shop Owner or a Marketplace Designer.
How much time do you invest in your Showroom and in creating new designs?
I spend an average of six to seven hours a day on my PC. I use this time to create designs, publish products and do everything else that goes with them. In my showroom, I sometimes put new designs in categories or exchange the banner. Apart from that, I don’t really invest any time there. Everything runs automatically!
Marketplace or your own Spreadshop – which sales channel works better for you?
The Marketplace, hands down. I don’t have to worry about anything and can do what I like doing the most – creating new designs!
Do you have any idea how people come across your designs?
I only advertise my Spreadshop via social media. I created an Instagram account right at the beginning. I also pin all my designs on Pinterest. I sell most of my designs through the Spreadshirt Marketplace and the Design Tool. I think customers can end up on the Marketplace or in the create-your-own area via the Spreadshirt page, Google searches, Spreadshirt’s marketing efforts or via the newsletter.
How seriously do you utilize our promotions for SIMSALAPIMP?
Before I post a product or design on Instagram, I check to see if a promotion is running. If that’s the case, I’ll write the promotion code in my mail.
Last but not least: Do you have any tips for new Marketplace designers?
Do what you enjoy, because that’s what you do best! Create designs on topics you like yourself. Seize the occasions: Christmas, Easter, mardi gras, holiday seasons, festival seasons, vacations, weddings, bachelor parties and so on.
I also believe that a good product selection is very important, especially on the Marketplace. The product must radiate an appeal. Look through the eyes of a customer and offer the design in the right size, in the right place and align the design colour with the product colour.
Thank you for the interview, Andrea! We wish you the best of success with your designs at Spreadshirt and hope you will continue to serve the community as a moderator for a long time to come.
