Submit Your Work
Give Ideas, Get Ideas
Creative marketers, designers and printers from all over the world send us their brilliant real-world folded print designs and mail campaigns—and that’s what makes Foldfactory work. We don’t produce all of the formats we share. We curate a collection of print samples from around the world, selecting the best of what we see, and sharing those ideas through video and in blogs . . . which leads to more ideas.
Internally, we call it the “Fold of the Week Effect.” It’s very common for us to share an idea on the show, and then months later to get a sample from a viewer who used that idea as a springboard for an entirely new idea. We’ve seen brilliant modifications, new hybrid formats, and successful campaigns that were influenced by ideas shared in earlier FOW episodes. Many of our featured designers and printers have gotten business leads, inquiries, and new projects due to the exposure.
It can be instinctive to want to keep your ideas to yourself, but if you’ve ever benefitted from an idea you’ve seen on Fold of the Week, we hope you’ll consider sending us a great idea to share in return. You could “Fold it forward” so to speak 🙂
What to send, and where to send it
Please send one sample of each fold you’d like us to consider to the address below. If your design utilizes glue, tape, zip-strips, or other “one-shot” opening mechanisms or engagement devices, please send two samples so that we can have one pristine sample, and one to take apart.
We open and evaluate every sample that comes in, and we will contact you directly if we have questions or if we need more information. We cannot guarantee that your sample will be chosen for the show. Please see the FAQs below for some guidance regarding what we look for.
Please send your samples to:
Foldfactory.com
ATTN: Folding Samples
PO Box 498
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Be sure to include your contact information or a business card with your package. Background information and specs are always helpful, but we can reach out to you for that information if your sample is chosen. If you’re sending specs, any or all of the below is helpful, but not a requirement:
Printer credit:
Designer/agency credit:
Client:
Paper brand and weight:
Printing: Digital or offset? Press coatings? Print quantity?
Finishing: Die-cut? Score? Tape or glue? Machine or hand fold?
Use: It’s always helpful to know the purpose of the piece, and whether it was mailed or handed out. Were there any interesting challenges or outcomes? Not required, but interesting.
How can I get my work featured on Fold of the Week?
Thanks for asking! We’re always looking for fresh ideas to feature on the show. We love clever modifications to folding classics, low budget ideas, creative marketing and direct mail formats, event invitations, and specialty folds. We like pocket folders, folded magazine inserts, folded business cards, booklets with foldouts or folded covers, one-piece folded packaging, and dimensional formats, too.
Trish makes the final decision on what goes on the show. She prefers folds that have relevance and application to a wide audience. She doesn’t generally choose folds that are identical to something she’s featured before, and she also tends to pass on folds that are highly specialized in their application or overly complex. Trish also politely declines origami, mock-ups and concept work that has not been produced, and one-off projects.
Please note: We do not accept payment in exchange for a spot on the show. All placements are earned. Even our partners must go through the selection process, meet the requirements, and wait for timing that suits the show schedule and content flow.
Will you return my sample?
We do not return samples, so please send only what you can spare.
Will you provide feedback or notification when my sample(s) arrive?
Although we don’t provide feedback or notice of receipt, you will hear from us if we have any questions or need specs or additional information.
Can I send something that I didn’t design or produce?
Absolutely. Many viewers have sent us samples they received in a mailing or promotion, or that they had saved in an “ideas” folder in their office. We call these “found samples” and they are in the public domain. If we feature a found sample on the show, we give credit to the company that is featured in the piece, give our best guess on paper and production, and if we can find any credits on the sample, we share those as well. Sometimes when we post the video, someone in our viewing audience identifies the agency/printer in the comment section, which is awesome.
Where this gets sticky is if, for example, you want to send private client work that you were not on the mailing list for. In a case like that, we strongly recommend getting permission to send it.
Do I need client permission/release to be featured on your show?
We don’t require that you sign a release or prove that you have permission to share the sample, however we suggest that you run the idea past any client whose work you plan to submit. Twice in the 11-year history of the show we’ve been told to pull down the video due to a client not wanting the exposure, which is really problematic for us, and disappointing for our viewers.
To avoid extra legwork for samples that may or may not get chosen for the show, you can put a sticky note on your sample that says “Not yet released” and if we decide we want to feature it on the show, we’ll contact you so that you can get permission from your client.
How soon will I know if my sample has been chosen or not?
The curation of content for the show is a delicate dance. There are samples we’ve had in a queue for quite some time that are waiting for their “week to shine.” Since we never know what’s coming to us, some samples come in and are featured immediately, some samples we save for weeks where we’re looking for a certain type of format to add into the mix. And then some weeks, nothing is feeling right and we go into the deep archive to see if there’s something we’ve missed that’s maybe been in the collection for years.
Can I post or share the episode if I’m featured?
YES! We invite you to post your episode on your website, blog, or social media. Many of our featured designers and printers have gotten business leads, inquiries, and new projects due to the exposure. We hope you, too, can benefit from the “Fold of the Week” effect.
About the Founder
Trish Witkowski is a designer, a content creator, and a keynote speaker. She knows more about brochure folding than anyone else in the world.
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