Housekeeping Annoucements

I have some big, exciting housekeeping announcements! Read on...

News Item #1:
Believe it or not, I was selected as a winner in Art.com's Pinterest Art Spree. A $500 gift certificate is mine. All mine! I sort of always assumed that nobody really wins these "Win a Shopping Spree" contests. Not that said belief has ever stopped me from compulsively entering them.Upon further reflection, I only assumed no one wins because I had never personally won a shopping spree contests. If it's not happening to you, it's not really happening. But it's real, I swear! And it happened to me!

So what now? Now I stay up past midnight combing their massive archives to identify artwork in four categories:
1. A big, bold black & white photograph for over Ryan's kitchen island. (Preferably, New Orleans related subject matter.)
2. A housewarming gift for my friend Rachel's new Gramercy digs.
3. A piece for my friend and pro bono design client Kate's East Village bedroom.
4. Maybe, just maybe, something for me? I'm contemplating a gallery wall. Just need a wall...

I hope to post a short list of favorite pieces within the next couple days. Just as soon as I dig out of all this post-Sandy work at the office. (Boo.)

News Item #2:
Speaking of my talented and lovely friend Rachel, we have a headboard re-upholstery project planned. Stay tuned for a stellar (I hope!) before/after.

News Item #3:
And speaking of sprees, Ryan and I went on one at West Elm's new Market in Dumbo. I have trouble restraining myself in West Elm stores. Usually Ryan is the voice of reason, but not so in the market place. He's the head chef in our relationship, so the two of us in there together without a chaperon was bad news bears. We came home with some awesome kitchenwares. Can't wait to take photos of our new stuff in action.

News Item #4:
Okay, listen up, because this one is exciting, but also serious. I am so flattered that One Kings Lane has invited MaDDI to join their affiliate program. It means a lot to me that a company I admire would even notice and, much less enjoy reading, our tiny little pet project.

So what this mean? Most visibly, it means that there will soon be a One Kings Lane banner in the right hand column of the blog. It also means that I've removed the disclaimer from my earlier posts that this blog is in no way affiliated with One Kings Lane. Because now it is quite literally affiliated with One Kings Lane.

It also means that my mom and I will be eligible to receive token commissions on any purchases resulting from traffic to our blog. Let's say I feature a nifty lamp with a link back to One Kings Lane. You read our post, like the lamp, click on the link from my blog to One Kings Lane and wind up purchasing said lamp. One Kings Lane would give us a small percentage of the sale (and given my propensity for budget-friendly items, we're talking really small-- like 85 cents to $3.)

What if you don't like us and don't want us to receive a commission? No problem. Easily avoided. Just open a new browser tab and search for the item you want to purchase on your own. No link from our blog to your purchase, no commission.

I say it's exciting and serious, because I think the way that affiliate programs are structured can raise integrity issues. But as with many things in life, it's all about how you handle yourself. For my part, I promise to feature only items that I genuinely like. As a litmus test, I'll ask myself whether I'd want to have it in my home or whether I'd buy it for a friend. (I include the latter because sometimes I gravitate to items that are totally awesome, but not exactly my jam. But it might be your jam!)

If you're interested in delving into the cost/benefit analysis, Anna of Door Sixteen and Daniel of Manhattan Nest have recently written some extremely thoughtful posts (here and here, respectively) on the trade-offs of making the leap to accepting advertisements on their blogs and joining affiliate programs.

Stay tuned. And as always, thanks for reading!