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By the time you read this, we’ll be deep into au-
tumn. For many alpaca breeders this season is just as
busy as spring and summer, what with fall crias, fall
shows, and fall fiber projects.
Much as I love autumn, it always makes me feel
a bit nostalgic. Even with the glorious scarlets and
golds of fall foliage and the brilliant blue skies of
Indian summer, there’s a sense of that another year
of production is coming to an end. Well, as they say,
to every thing there is a season.
This fall marks the end of a season at
Alpacas
Magazine,
during which it grew from a journal for a
tiny group of specialty livestock owners to the interna-
tional publication that it is now. While there are many
we can credit, certainly a key factor in the develop-
ment of our favorite publication is the talented work
of graphic designer Annie Segal.
Former
AM
editor Dave Belt, who worked with
Annie for over a decade, had this to say:
“Annie was our shining star. First with her husband,
Steve, and later alone, she worked tirelessly to revamp
the magazine and bring it up to contemporary pub-
lishing standards. Drawing on years of experience in
corporate advertising and print-media design she gave
the entire journal a refreshing and highly professional
appearance, visually on par with major publications
having significantly larger staffs and higher budgets.
These design upgrades drew rave reviews from sub-
scribers around the world, as well as the international
magazine publishing industry. Accolades poured in,
including six “Crystal Communicator” gold awards, a
“Hermes Communications” trophy, and a host of other
national and regional magazine design awards.
Annie, you (and Steve) have permanently raised the
bar for livestock publications and you leave very large
shoes to fill. For your many years of faithful service
to the alpaca industry, and to me personally, I send
deepest appreciation.”
This is the final issue of
Alpacas Magazine
that will
see Annie’s creative touch. For the past few years,
she has been working hard to get certified for a new
career in the medical information field. Now the time
has come for her to spread her wings in that endeav-
or, and although we will miss her greatly, we wish her
all success.
Our next issue, the 2014 Herdsire issue, will intro-
duce the talents of a new designer. Meanwhile please
enjoy Annie’s work in this Autumn issue, including
stories on international alpaca fashion collaborations,
tips for selling alpaca products at craft shows, alpaca
fiber crafts patterns and instructions, alpaca training
tips, and a “how to” for pasture rotation on small
farms, not to mention the results of the 2013 AOBA
national show.
To all of you, may your autumn be filled with gold-
en alpaca moments and may you enjoy the season.
Deb Hill
|
Editor
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ALPACAS
MAGAZINE