Hot off the presses! The winning t-shirt design T’s are in!
It’s been a couple months since we crowned the champ of the 2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest, but I’m happy to report that the winning t-shirts are officially in my hands and available for sale.
These gorgeous T-’s are only $10, and all of the proceeds are being donated to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
Please give us a call if you want to scoop one up! (877) 496-0847
OBX T-Shirt Design: 2011 Winning T
During the 2011 summer, we started a new Seaside Vacations tradition and ran a contest to design an Outer Banks t-shirt. Such a great contest. Here we are in December, and we’re still talking about it!
We received a whole bunch of amazing designs, and after some heated voting on our Facebook page, we crowned the Mermaid design as champ – thanks to the fantastic talents of Ms. Patsy.
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: "Mermaid" - Winning Design
In my mind, all was said and done. We mailed off Patsy’s prize (a free OBX getaway), and we had some fabulous t-shirts designed and sent to the printer. I was looking forward to our sweet 2012 Outer Banks t-shirts, but my mind had moved on to other tasks.
And then the t-shirt contest gave us a nice surprise. Our team of Vacation Specialists loved the winning design, but they had a soft-spot for one of the other designs. They took it upon themselves to have t-shirts made for the “runner-up,” Ms. SuAnn, and each member of our reservations team. Taken alone, this is a great story…but it gets better.
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: SuAnn's Design
Outer Banks T-Shirt Contest: Awesome T-shirts!
We put up a blog post to recognize the unsung hero of the contest and show off the new t-shirts, and the greatness snowballed from there. The team of Vacation Specialists were touched by this awesome design – and amazing person – and luckily I was able to capture a tiny piece of this genuine happiness in the blog post.
As a result, Ms. Patsy – i.e. the amazing artist that designed the winning t-shirt – saw the post and offered to give her free OBX getaway to Ms. SuAnn. Actually, let me rephrase that; she demanded (in a very nice way, of course 
) that the prize must go to SuAnn. Patsy made it clear that her decision was made. She packaged up the vacation voucher and a card for SuAnn, and she sent it back to the Seaside Vacations office the next day.
We were amazed by the generosity; in fact, we’re still amazed.
We sent the voucher to SuAnn as a surprise, and we just got word today that the voucher arrived safe and sound…and it was quite a surprise. At this point, we’ll step back from our match-making role and let the “thank you’s” happen one on one. We’ve connected Patsy and SuAnn, and I think there’s a great friendship blooming.
However, before we close out the 2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest and focus on 2012, I’d like to wrap up with a few points…
2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest - Ms. Patsy's Greatness
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: SuAnn's Design
A few weeks ago we announced the winner of the 2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest, but lost in the excitement of crowning the champ was an exceptional design and an even better story of the unsung hero of the contest, Ms. SuAnn.
During the Summer of 2011, Seaside Vacations challenged our guests to show off their creativity, and their love of an Outer Banks vacation, with a T-Shirt Design Contest! Our artists represented a diverse cross-section of guests; children and adults, experienced and beginners.
One such artist is SuAnn! SuAnn is a 13 years old from Pottsville, PA. She enjoys spending time with her 4 cats, and loves to dance, twirl the baton, and draw (obviously!). For the past 3 years, SuAnn has suffered from a permanent movement disorder called PNKD (Paraoxysmal Nonkinesigenic Dyskinesia). Despite this challenge, she is a happy and bright young lady!
Although SuAnn was not technically the highest vote-getter in our contest, she won the hearts of our Vacation Specialists with her vision of the OBX. Her thoughtful rendering of sand castles, lighthouses, and the First Flight captured what our team of Vacation Specialists loves the most about living and working here – it’s uniqueness!
We feel like there is no place on Earth like the Outer Banks, and we thank SuAnn for sharing her vacation with us! (We also thank her Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joe for bringing SuAnn, and her brother, Kenny, along on vacation each year!)
SuAnn & Kenny
Picture: SuAnn with her 9 year old brother, Kenny, taken at Pamlico Jack’s.
Thanks for being awesome SuAnn! Hope you enjoy your t-shirt!
Outer Banks T-Shirt Contest: Awesome T-shirts!
The crowning moment has finally arrived!
After months of collecting fabulous Outer Banks t-shirt designs for our t-shirt design contest, we narrowed the field down to five amazing pieces of art, and Tuesday we opened the final stage of voting on our Facebook page.
It was a 24-hour period of heated voting with two awesome designs battling it out down to the last minute of voting at midnight. And in the end, the fabulous “Mermaid” design, created by Ms. Patsy Bachus Ridlon, was crowned the victor!
I asked Patsy if there was a story behind the design, and here’s what she had to say…
Yes! I’m southern, so I always have a good story:)
I was raised in Asheville, North Carolina, and now live in the Pacific Northwest, soon to move to the coast of Oregon. Still, the Outer Banks has a feeling and life all it’s own. There is no place like it.
The first time I visited the Outer Banks, I was a kid. That was 30 years ago. We went to a local restaurant and the waitress was so beautiful she looked like she belonged on the front of a ship!
She and her family had lived there for generations. She had the most exotic green eyes, so she made me think of the mermaid and the Pirate bandana she is wearing.
The horse, turtle, fish, crab, the dolphin hidden in the wave, the little seahorse…all the wildlife, to me, is one of the most amazing and important parts of the Outer Banks.
Horses! I love the wild horses.
She is part of the ocean and the OBX, and protecting it, as the people of the Outer Banks do.
The Surfboard, energy and fun!
Thank you for having the contest, it was great. I am sooo happy to be a tiny part of this. All the designs were amazing, and I am honored to have won. Please thank your awesome staff. I read about you all every day. You’re my link to my favorite place.
Thank you!
Patsy
Awesome description.
It is amazing how much the Outer Banks can effect people. There is so much “everyday magic” on the Outer Banks. So much so, that we can be changed by it and not even realize it’s happening. I can speak from experience (as I’m sure most of y’all can as well). I grew up in Boston, but after vacationing on the Outer Banks a couple times, I knew this is where I wanted to spend every available minute. Now, here I am with my entire life built around this amazing place.
Patsy lives on the opposite side of the country – 3k miles away? – yet she stays tuned into our daily updates everyday, took the time to enter our t-shirt design contest, and created the winning design based on inspiration from her first OBX visit 30 years ago! Amazing!
Great design, and great story. Thanks so much Patsy.
This was such a fun contest! We can’t wait to see the great design on the Seaside Vacations 2012 t-shirt, and we can’t wait to do it again next year! Get your creative thinking caps on.
T-shirts will be available soon. We’ll be sure to announce it as soon as they are ready. Stay tuned!
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: "Mermaid" - Winning Design
Drum-roll please….
After months of preparation, the time has finally arrived. We have been collecting some amazing t-shirt designs over the passed few months, the t-shirt design contest closed on September 30, and we have now narrowed the field of 26 down to the TOP 5 FINALISTS!
We want to thank everyone who took part in this awesome contest. We were hoping to get some fun designs, and y’all blew us away! The designs that we received are all AMAZING.
Below are the 5 finalists, and voting will begin at midnight on Tuesday (i.e. Tuesday morning) and run for 24 hours. The voting will take place on our Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/SeasideVacationsOBX), and after the 24 hour voting period, the design with the most votes will be crowned the King/Queen of the Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest!
And to the victor go the spoils. The winning design will be printed on the back of the 2012 Seaside Vacations t-shirt, and the winning designer will win an Outer Banks getaway courtesy of Seaside Vacations.
Please tune into our Facebook page and vote…the more the merrier.
Without further ado, here are the top 5 finalists…
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest - 5 Finalists
Please note, the above image is not the best quality and the numbers on the designs are no longer relevant. New images for each design will be uploaded to Facebook for the voting.
Let the voting begin on Tuesday!
Outer Banks: Seaside Vacations T-Shirt Design Contest
I love t-shirts. I have way too many, and most of the t-shirts that are in my regular rotation are relics from my high school days! Needless to say my wife thinks it’s time rid myself of these ancient artifacts, but they are like my security blanket. I throw one of my fav T’s on, and I’m instantly relaxed.
A great t-shirt is priceless. That soft cottony comfort that hugs your body and lets you know it’s time to unwind. Plus, the beauty of t-shirts is that they all have a story…a memory that is worth holding onto; a high school sports team, the local fishing tournament, your favorite band, and one of my favorites, the vacation T!
Since we are lovers of the T, we wanted to spread this love, and earlier this year we started a T-Shirt Design Contest. We asked all lovers of the Outer Banks “How would you paint, draw, or sketch the Outer Banks?“:…and we got some amazing entries!
The deadline for the contest has come and gone. The final day for entry was last Friday, September 30th, and when all was said and done, we collected 26 absolutely fabulous designs.
We are now faced with the daunting task of voting for a winner…and we NEED YOUR HELP!
We are conducting the first round of voting among the entire Seaside Vacations staff. The staff is going to narrow the field of 26 down to the top 5 finalists.
Once we have the top 5 finalists, we are opening the voting process to the public for one day to choose the winner. The voting will take place next Tuesday, October 11th, on our Facebook page. The voting will be open for 24 hours; from midnight to midnight.
The winning design will be printed on the 2012 Seaside Vacations t-shirt, and the winning designer will receive a free OBX getaway!
The designs are amazing, and I can’t wait to add a new t-shirt to my collection! Please mark your calendars and help us choose the 2012 T-shirt design!
Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Entries
Valentine’s Day usually focuses on “lovers” more so than “loved ones,” but the Hallmark holiday is really about the celebration of love in all its forms. And what better way to celebrate love than with some mother/daughter fun?!
Renee Landry, an amazing floral and event designer on the Outer Banks, is offering a super fun Mommy & Daughter Valentine’s class. Details below.
Renee was one of three finalists for Obama’s Chief White House Florist position, and I can also brag about Renee from personal experience….she was the florist for my wedding, and according to my wife (the true expert), the floral arrangements were out of this world.
As an added bonus, Renee will be a new addition to Club Seaside this year!…a complimentary design class offered to Seaside Vacations guests! Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
Renee Landry - Mother & Daughter Valentine's Day
Outer Banks local floral and event designer, Renee Landry of Renee Landry Style was chosen as one of three finalists for the role of Chief White House Florist.
Rene has brought her modern yet whimsical style to many Outer Banks weddings and events. In early summer, she discovered that the long held position of Chief White House Florist was going to be available. Landry submitted her portfolio and won a coveted personal interview at the White House. After successfully interviewing in the Map Room of the White House, Rene was one of the top three invited to proceed in the selection process.
On October 7, Rene joined two other competitors to prepare three different designs to show Michelle Obama. She was given four hours in a tarp covered China Room to prepare her work, and allowed to work the day prior in the White House Flower Shop with the current white house floral staff. Michelle Obama spent time with each participant reviewing their designs and discussing inspirations and event ideas for the White House.
Although she was ultimately not selected for this position, Rene continues to engage in local, national and international event design projects.
Renee Landry Style is available to design and style events as well as create unique floral statements for delivery. For more information, please see www.ReneeLandryStyle.com or call 252.207.7038.
