Guest Author - Vivienne Oestergaard
For those of you who are hard core paper crafters probably know Somerset Studio Magazine. This is the one magazine I really drool over and miss horribly as it’s difficult for me to obtain in Europe. It has the most amazing photographs of the most amazing art and crafting I have ever seen. So much inspiration from one magazine! You can find their website at http://www.stampington.com. I was not compensated for doing this review nor did I receive a copy of this magazine from Stampington. My copy was purchased by me.
Somerset Studio is the original magazine published by Stampington and Company. Over the years, it has added many different publications to its line up including Digital Studio, Sew Somerset, Altered Couture, Artful Blogging, Belle Amoire Jewelry, Haute Handbags, and many others. All are related in a way to artful crafting! In each issue, you will find beautiful photographs, interesting articles, techniques and how-tos, inspiration, a set of art papers to use in your own works, reviews of artisans, samples of art, as well as samples using Stampington’s own line of stamps.
The tutorials are usually written by individual artists and are interesting and unique. Many are on the altered art form so popular these days. Other tuts are based on stamping or cardmaking. Some tuts are more challenging than others. The range of various art forms covered is amazing as I have an interest in most things paper. There is usually even a page or two covering the Lettering Arts (calligraphy) which is unusual in most papercrafting magazines not completely dedicated to calligraphy!
I love the section called “With One Stamp” where they feature one of the Stampington stamps and various artist renditions of that particular stamp in their artwork. So many different styles are presented in mouth watering photographs. It makes me want to run out and buy it so I can try out each method and technique. But this also shows what you can do with similar type things you can do in your own creations. In each issue, there is a column on “The Business of Art”. I enjoy reading tips and articles for transitioning artists. Several articles have been how-to’s in utilizing more business skills, others have been about your own personal life and how to manage your art.
On their website, you will also find a section with "Tempting Templates" for projects highlighted in the magazine. You can also find a section for their newsletter and a warehouse sale for purchasing their art products.
Overall, this is a keeper of a magazine. All of it timeless (I still have the first issue I purchased over 10 years ago!) and worth having in your library. And if you have a chance to subscribe to the bi-monthly magazine, go for it! I will be jealous in my part of the world!!!
