We are SO happy to announce Kelly Eident of I’m Your Present is the 2008 favorite NEXT BIG THING designer and $1000 winner as voted by YOU!

Can I say a few words before passing the mic to our winner? The first is that I think Kelly’s amazing. We love her polkadot playsuit and are planning a very special I’m Your Present trunk show at FF soon so pls stay tuned for that. And, if you haven’t already, you must check out Kelly’s rad Etsy shop.

Also wanted to add that I’ve been completely on the edge of my seat during this year’s voting cuz it was a tight race!! Click here for the 2008 results. I really enjoyed working on this year’s NBT and hope you enjoyed getting to know these AWESOME designers as much as I have.

Congratulations, Kelly!! How’s it feel to be a winner? Anything you’d like to say to your fans who voted for you? Speech! Speech!
Aww… shucks! I would just like to say thanks to everyone. It feels like I have a million best friends!

Do you know what you’re gonna do with the $1000?
I told my friends if they voted for me and I won I would buy a pony and give everyone free pony rides. (I’m pretty sure thats why I won). I didn’t really research the cost or logistics… And it turns out you can’t just feed them cereal or keep them in your bedroom. I will still try but it might have to be a really, really small pony (pocketsize). Sorry guys!

Your fans are SUPER enthusiastic about the clothes you make for them. Can you share some outstanding email, letter, photo, gift, etc that made an impression on you?
Actually this Valentine’s Day I put a teddy bear purse up on Etsy and it sold right away… to a boy. He said he needed it in time for Valentine’s so I ran out and shipped it right away. A few days later I got the most wonderful email from a girl, who said she saw the teddy bear purse and added it to her favorites & then almost cried because it sold right after. Then on Valentine’s Day she came into her room and it was waiting for her on her bed! (Her boyfriend snuck into the other room & bought it while she was looking at it!)

When we posted your original NBT interview it was your birthday. Did you have a good one? Any fun plans/dreams for the year ahead?
It was a great one! First of all I left right before it and the day before I left I got two amazing presents in the mail from two of my best customers! My actual birthday was spent on a cruise in the Baltic sea with my Mom and my sister, decked out in Viking hats, of course. My life is pretty sweet right now, so I think I’ll just keep going with it for the next year.

One time you emailed me from a different address and your email had “blondeambitiontour” somewhere in it… Are you a big Madonna fan?
The secrets out! I do love Madonna, especially her style in the 80’s. Female icons like her, Debbie Harry, Betsey Johnson and Brigitte Bardot are very inspirational to me.

What is it that you hope your designs bring to people?
I hope that they help them to dress the fun/awesome/original way they wanted to dress in the first place!

We have to ask… What are some of your favorite items from this year’s NEXT BIG THING?
I’m so proud that I was part of such an amazing group of designers! My favorite items are the googly-eyed donut magnets, the cupcake stand, the sawsome pouch and of course the keyboard zipper pouches… I’ve been a huge fan of Michelle and her line I Like It Too Too for awhile!

The entire purpose of NEXT BIG THING is to support up-and-coming talent. What advice can you give to younger people who want to share their designs with the world?
I would say just hang in there… it takes so long to be seen and actually start selling. Be consistent with your brand so that it all makes sense together and is really ‘you’. Push yourself further every day to improve & develop new ideas. And most importantly, give your customers something exciting they can’t find anywhere else.

Okay, one last thing… SPEEDROUND!
FAVE TUNES: The Stars, Mates of State, Duffy
FAVE DESIGNERS: my BFFs Kitiya (Heartbreaker) & Carla (Carrotcake)
FAVE WEEKEND PLAN: Dressing up, thrift shopping, going to my BF’s shows
FAVE MOVIE: Wet Hot American Summer
FAVE CANDY: Sour Patch Kids forever!