fieldnotes 19
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Fieldnotes #19
Happy February!
Like half the country last week, we got hit with massive weather. Within about 24 hours we had over 13 inches of snow at our house! 😮 We were about half a state above the “ice line,” so we just had snow and freezing temperatures; I know some folks south of us had all kinds of issues with the tremendous amounts of ice and sleet!
For us, though, it was just beautiful, pristine, deep snow as far as the eye could see. The day after the snow stopped we started seeing some animal tracks - it’s been fun to identify the deer, bunnies, squirrels, and foxes by their tracks! We wouldn’t normally see them without the snow, so we’ve been enjoying that little delight.
And since “snowmageddon,” we’ve had deep freezing temperatures so the snow really hasn’t melted much at all; I think Bob told me he measured 9 inches still out there yesterday. The roads are clear (and so is our driveway, thanks to Bob putting on his snow gear and constantly snow blowing - bless his heart!), but all the snow that’s left has pretty much turned to hard icy stuff. This week we’re expecting temperatures to go back up into the 20’s and 30’s (F), so my guess is that by next week we’ll be in the snow-mud. SnowMUDgeddon! 🤣
But all in all it was a great storm for us - as storms go! We didn’t lose power, our heater kept working, none of our pipes froze, and we really didn’t have much to do but enjoy the scenery! Bob’s eye is much improved, and not being able to go anywhere gave me a lot of time to rest my own weary body.
Okay, let’ s get to it! Remember, as always, you’re free to just scroll down and snag this month’s freebie! You know I won’t judge! 😉
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Membership News:
The new membership is launching soon! Right now I’m busy stocking it and putting some fun finishing touches on it. Keep your eyes peeled for that email so you can get in on it as soon as those doors pop open!
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My 2026 Plan: Pruning for Profit (In My “Culling Era”)
For the last... well, forever... the standard Zazzle advice was to build for both quality and quantity. Most of us were “taught” to really lean into that quantity part. The goal was simple: Create a LOT of quality products.
I’ve taught this myself, and for good reason: It used to work.
But starting with the “optimization” rules a few years ago and the massive marketing/royalty shifts last year, we’re seeing a huge (and VITAL) shift in how we build profitable stores.
Quality is the New Quantity
Don't get me wrong: we still need a “body of work.” Zazzle’s algorithm needs enough data to get a “read” on what your store is about, and most sellers don’t see steady, predictable sales until they have a cohesive collection of quality listings that tell the algorithm exactly who your buyer is.
But in 2026, the “math” has changed. Zazzle isn’t just looking for keyword matches anymore; it’s looking for Reliability.
The Success Ratio: Signals vs. Noise
Every product in your shop is a signal.
🚦If you have 500 products and 50 of them sell regularly, you have a high Success Ratio.
🚦But if you have 5,000 products and only 50 sell? You’re giving the algorithm 4,950 “negative signals.”
Basically, you’re telling the bot that your store is 99% “noise,” so it’s going to stop wasting its marketing energy on you.
In short: a healthy Zazzle store in 2026 isn’t a junk drawer of 10,000 items; it’s a curated boutique of Intentional, Deeply Optimized products.
Welcome to your Culling Era (Cue Taylor Swift!)🌻
Think of your store like a garden. If you have 5,000 plants and only 50 are blooming, the garden looks messy and “unvetted” to the neighbors (the algorithm). But if you have 100 plants and 50 are blooming? You’re a Master Gardener.
I asked my trusty “AI research assistant” to dig into why this pruning actually helps us, and here is what it found:
🐎 Chinese New Year (Year of the Horse)
🏫Presidential Holidays (if you're in the USA education/school niche)
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The 2026 Preppy Pivot: Old Money vs. Peppy Preppy
I’m Gen X, so I most definitely went through my preppy phase! Double polos with popped collars? Had ‘em! Purple and pink plaid kilted skirt with an oversized safety pin? Rocked it! Headbands and oversized pearl earrings? Wore ‘em! Tortoise shell sunglasses and blown-out hair? Every dang day! Those jelly sandals that made your feet smell like death? 4 pairs, baby! I didn’t have a neon Swatch watch, but I did have a wrist full of neon jelly bracelets!
I wish I had more photos from that time of my life, but you had to use real cameras back then—you know, with film you had to go to the store to develop (and then go back later to pick up the prints). I didn’t own my own camera, so I relied on whoever was taking pictures at the time; consequently, the only proof I have is this hilarious image from the late 80s when I was in college.
Don’t judge - Big hair, don’t care! 🫣🤣
And unless you’ve gone out of your way not to notice, you’ve probably seen that the “Preppy” look is back—but it’s split into two very different worlds. It’s not just about bright pink and green polos anymore! 😅 It’s not quite the same as it was “back in my day,” but the core of it is still there and ripe for the picking when it comes to creating trendy designs.
The Two Vibes of 2026
Thanks to social media, the preppy trend has split into two distinct “personalities.” Understanding the difference is the key to targeting the right customer on Zazzle.
1. The “Old Money” Vibe (Quiet Luxury)
This is for the customer who wants stability and timelessness. It’s the “inherited beach house” aesthetic. Think less “neon” and more “heritage.”
⭐The Look: Hand-drawn botanicals, fine pinstripes, and delicate crests.
⭐The Palette: Navy, Cream, Burgundy, and Hunter Green (think Ralph Lauren and Ivy League).
⭐Design Tip: Use thin, elegant serif fonts and keep layouts clean and spacious.
2. The “New Preppy” Vibe (Dopamine Prep)
This is the TikTok-driven version that’s all about joy and rebellion. It’s perfect for the “Kidult” market (adults who want something playful).
😻The Look: Massive pink bows (the Coquette trend), jelly textures, and bold, chunky patterns.
😻The Palette: Electric Fuchsia and a zesty yellow-green called Island Citrus.
😻Design Tip: Don’t be afraid to be loud! Use hand-drawn doodles to give it that “human”touch consumers are craving in this AI-heavy world.
Your freebie this week is a fun set of “Peppy Preppy” Clipart, perfect for designing for today’s modern young preppy. It’s a bit of a grab bag theme-wise (sporty stuff, graduation elements, fun patterns, and more) all in that cute, hand-drawn doodle style that’s super popular right now.
Click here or on the image below to grab the full pack. Yes, I said the full pack! It’s my way of thanking you for hanging in there with me on the delayed membership thing!! 💗
.png)
The new membership is launching soon! Right now I’m busy stocking it and putting some fun finishing touches on it. Keep your eyes peeled for that email so you can get in on it as soon as those doors pop open!
My 2026 Plan: Pruning for Profit (In My “Culling Era”)
For the last... well, forever... the standard Zazzle advice was to build for both quality and quantity. Most of us were “taught” to really lean into that quantity part. The goal was simple: Create a LOT of quality products.
I’ve taught this myself, and for good reason: It used to work.
But starting with the “optimization” rules a few years ago and the massive marketing/royalty shifts last year, we’re seeing a huge (and VITAL) shift in how we build profitable stores.
Quality is the New Quantity
Don't get me wrong: we still need a “body of work.” Zazzle’s algorithm needs enough data to get a “read” on what your store is about, and most sellers don’t see steady, predictable sales until they have a cohesive collection of quality listings that tell the algorithm exactly who your buyer is.
But in 2026, the “math” has changed. Zazzle isn’t just looking for keyword matches anymore; it’s looking for Reliability.
The Success Ratio: Signals vs. Noise
Every product in your shop is a signal.
🚦If you have 500 products and 50 of them sell regularly, you have a high Success Ratio.
🚦But if you have 5,000 products and only 50 sell? You’re giving the algorithm 4,950 “negative signals.”
Basically, you’re telling the bot that your store is 99% “noise,” so it’s going to stop wasting its marketing energy on you.
In short: a healthy Zazzle store in 2026 isn’t a junk drawer of 10,000 items; it’s a curated boutique of Intentional, Deeply Optimized products.
Welcome to your Culling Era (Cue Taylor Swift!)🌻
Think of your store like a garden. If you have 5,000 plants and only 50 are blooming, the garden looks messy and “unvetted” to the neighbors (the algorithm). But if you have 100 plants and 50 are blooming? You’re a Master Gardener.
I asked my trusty “AI research assistant” to dig into why this pruning actually helps us, and here is what it found:
🌻Signals over Noise: Hiding stagnant products (0 views in a year) makes your store’s Success Ratio skyrocket. This tells the Zazzle bot you’re a “high-confidence” seller.
🌻AI Discovery: Search engines like Gemini and Google SGE prefer “Answer Capsules” - intentional, high-quality products - over generic data strings.
🌻Reduced “Data Debt”: Cleaning out “Zombie Listings” lets you focus your energy on the top 10% of your work that actually pays the bills.
It’s time for all of us - and I’ll go first! - to do some major culling. Not just the ones Zazzle says need optimization, either! If a product hasn’t got any views or sales in 6 months, it’s getting a good hard look from me to make sure it’s a product that I really want in my “garden.”
Will it be easy? Absolutely not. I am deeply in love with every product I’ve made (except that disgusting lime green and orange faux glitter business card a customer once requested), and I have terrible FOMO (“but what if I hide it and it might have sold 100 times tomorrow?”).
But the truth is, a “maybe” sale tomorrow is just a ghost haunting our shop’s potential today. It’s taking up space, diluting our Authority, and confusing the very algorithm we’re trying to charm. If we want Zazzle (and Google!) to treat us like the experts we are, we have to start acting like curators, not digital hoarders.
So, I’m taking a deep breath and hitting “hide” on the clutter (by changing them to "direct only"), because I’d rather have a lean, vibrant shop that the algorithm trusts than a massive one that feels like a digital junk drawer.
I’m choosing not to see it as losing my hard work; I’m just clearing the weeds so that my best designs finally have room to bloom.
🌻Who’s with me?
What should you be creating right now?
💐Spring and Summer Weddings
🐣Easter
👩🏻🍼Mothers Day
💡Want to get a head start: Start creating for America's 250th Birthday!
⭐As a reminder, Evergreen (year round) niches never go away. If you’ve always been a “seasonal” designer, take this as your cue to break into some new territory! The goal is to get sales all year round, not just in clumps at certain times of the year.
🌻AI Discovery: Search engines like Gemini and Google SGE prefer “Answer Capsules” - intentional, high-quality products - over generic data strings.
🌻Reduced “Data Debt”: Cleaning out “Zombie Listings” lets you focus your energy on the top 10% of your work that actually pays the bills.
It’s time for all of us - and I’ll go first! - to do some major culling. Not just the ones Zazzle says need optimization, either! If a product hasn’t got any views or sales in 6 months, it’s getting a good hard look from me to make sure it’s a product that I really want in my “garden.”
Will it be easy? Absolutely not. I am deeply in love with every product I’ve made (except that disgusting lime green and orange faux glitter business card a customer once requested), and I have terrible FOMO (“but what if I hide it and it might have sold 100 times tomorrow?”).
But the truth is, a “maybe” sale tomorrow is just a ghost haunting our shop’s potential today. It’s taking up space, diluting our Authority, and confusing the very algorithm we’re trying to charm. If we want Zazzle (and Google!) to treat us like the experts we are, we have to start acting like curators, not digital hoarders.
So, I’m taking a deep breath and hitting “hide” on the clutter (by changing them to "direct only"), because I’d rather have a lean, vibrant shop that the algorithm trusts than a massive one that feels like a digital junk drawer.
I’m choosing not to see it as losing my hard work; I’m just clearing the weeds so that my best designs finally have room to bloom.
🌻Who’s with me?
What should you be creating right now?
💐Spring and Summer Weddings
🐣Easter
👩🏻🍼Mothers Day
💡Want to get a head start: Start creating for America's 250th Birthday!
⭐As a reminder, Evergreen (year round) niches never go away. If you’ve always been a “seasonal” designer, take this as your cue to break into some new territory! The goal is to get sales all year round, not just in clumps at certain times of the year.
What should you be promoting right now? (Same as last month! Wow!)
💗 Valentine's Day (and Galentine's Day!)🐎 Chinese New Year (Year of the Horse)
🏫Presidential Holidays (if you're in the USA education/school niche)
The 2026 Preppy Pivot: Old Money vs. Peppy Preppy
I’m Gen X, so I most definitely went through my preppy phase! Double polos with popped collars? Had ‘em! Purple and pink plaid kilted skirt with an oversized safety pin? Rocked it! Headbands and oversized pearl earrings? Wore ‘em! Tortoise shell sunglasses and blown-out hair? Every dang day! Those jelly sandals that made your feet smell like death? 4 pairs, baby! I didn’t have a neon Swatch watch, but I did have a wrist full of neon jelly bracelets!
I wish I had more photos from that time of my life, but you had to use real cameras back then—you know, with film you had to go to the store to develop (and then go back later to pick up the prints). I didn’t own my own camera, so I relied on whoever was taking pictures at the time; consequently, the only proof I have is this hilarious image from the late 80s when I was in college.
Don’t judge - Big hair, don’t care! 🫣🤣
And unless you’ve gone out of your way not to notice, you’ve probably seen that the “Preppy” look is back—but it’s split into two very different worlds. It’s not just about bright pink and green polos anymore! 😅 It’s not quite the same as it was “back in my day,” but the core of it is still there and ripe for the picking when it comes to creating trendy designs.
The Two Vibes of 2026
Thanks to social media, the preppy trend has split into two distinct “personalities.” Understanding the difference is the key to targeting the right customer on Zazzle.
1. The “Old Money” Vibe (Quiet Luxury)
This is for the customer who wants stability and timelessness. It’s the “inherited beach house” aesthetic. Think less “neon” and more “heritage.”
⭐The Look: Hand-drawn botanicals, fine pinstripes, and delicate crests.
⭐The Palette: Navy, Cream, Burgundy, and Hunter Green (think Ralph Lauren and Ivy League).
⭐Design Tip: Use thin, elegant serif fonts and keep layouts clean and spacious.
2. The “New Preppy” Vibe (Dopamine Prep)
This is the TikTok-driven version that’s all about joy and rebellion. It’s perfect for the “Kidult” market (adults who want something playful).
😻The Look: Massive pink bows (the Coquette trend), jelly textures, and bold, chunky patterns.
😻The Palette: Electric Fuchsia and a zesty yellow-green called Island Citrus.
😻Design Tip: Don’t be afraid to be loud! Use hand-drawn doodles to give it that “human”touch consumers are craving in this AI-heavy world.
Your freebie this week is a fun set of “Peppy Preppy” Clipart, perfect for designing for today’s modern young preppy. It’s a bit of a grab bag theme-wise (sporty stuff, graduation elements, fun patterns, and more) all in that cute, hand-drawn doodle style that’s super popular right now.
Click here or on the image below to grab the full pack. Yes, I said the full pack! It’s my way of thanking you for hanging in there with me on the delayed membership thing!! 💗
♥ That’s it for February! ♥
No Field Tested Finds this month - nothing really struck my fancy, and I promised you I wouldn’t just post for the sake of it.
Thank you again for being awesome!
Be sure to reach out if you have questions or just want to say hi!
No Field Tested Finds this month - nothing really struck my fancy, and I promised you I wouldn’t just post for the sake of it.
Thank you again for being awesome!
Be sure to reach out if you have questions or just want to say hi!
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