Every year, we start designing Christmas cards for the coming year right about now. And every year, we scrounge for inspiration. And every year, we email our family and friends asking for their favorite photos from that year to use for our samples. Well, this year, we\'re going to shake things up a bit.

The best part about the debut of our digital photo cards this year has been getting to see all your DARLING children, your funny moments, your handsome families, your summer vacations. Thank you for sharing those with us. Daily, someone hollers across the production room, \"Look that that cute kid!\" or \"That family is precious!\" or \"Doesn\'t she make a gorgeous bride?\" Really, you have know idea how adorable you are.

So, I\'m going to ask you to get involved. Do you have a photo that you don\'t mind sharing with us to be used on a sample card next year? If so, here\'s the deal. Submit that photo to contest@whitneyenglish.com, with the subject line of \"Photo Contest\". Please include your name and contact info in the body of the email. If we use that photo on one of our sample photo card designs, we will send you a gift certificate for 50 Free Photo Cards. You can submit as many photos as you want, and for every photo we use, we\'ll send you another gift certificate. And don\'t forget the fine print: by submitting a photo, you are authorizing that you the copyright holder, and are granting Whitney English, LLC reproduction rights. Photos must be 300 dpi. No scanned photos, please. You will be notified by email by January 1, 2009 if we will be using one of your photos.

If nothing else, thank you for the smiles and laughter you have brought our way so far this season. Thank you for sharing your moments with us--we\'ll take good care of them. We promise.

Our new digital holiday photo cards are hotter than Santa's boots coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve! Check them out here, and then see your favorite retailer about placing an order. Now through November 7th, we are offering our digital photo cards at an outstanding 50% OFF!!

When I wrote to ask Joni over at Cote de Texas, I loved her response.

I have to be honest - I have an office, which is a total mess, but I' don't really use it like that - I write my blog outside on my  patio 24/7.  If you are wanting someone with a serious type of set up with all the office accessories - I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

Who wants office accessories when you store everything in charming wicker baskets? We think disappointed is the furthest thing we could possibly be about discovering your REAL workspace. Joni, we admit we are a little jealous to find out that you escape the confines of your darling office to blog on the veranda, at a bistro table. La dolce vita, indeed!

We loved Dose of Design's transparent twist on desk. 'Dose' is an interior designer, graphic designer and magaziner editor, and from this image, you can immediately pick up on the breakneck pace her career keeps her on. In her words:

Here is a pic of my office/desk exactly as it is, I did not change it, prop it, or clean it up for the sake of a "prettier" pic. It is an honest view of my desk and sadly how I work!

Not sad, just realistic! Design is found in the crevices of everyday life. You will quickly determine where chic exists: the yellow roses (print or painting?) on the top left corner of the bulletin board; chippendale chairs on the inspiration board; warm yellow upholstery on darling French chair; lucite lamp and sunburst mirror.

Chair: Bungee chair, so comfy
Paper: Hammermill printer paper at Staples
Calendar: use a day planner showing full month at a glance
Clock: i look at the time on my computer
Charging: too many devices, always worried about starting an electrical fire
Inspiration: everywhere you look
'thank you': Cards, always have them in the house.
Flat note or folded: Folded
Organization: look at my desk, not familiar with that word (wink)
Handwritten or emailed: both
Book: don't read, just bought "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle on CD.
Color: Yellow
Magazine: Domino magazine, closest thing to a bible.
Stationery: SocialByKennyGee.com
Planning: hard to do
Business: Would love to have my own line of Home Accessories - very difficult to start up, but I keep trying.

Meandering around the internet, I stumbled on to the delightful eye candy that is Janet Hill Studio. The classic furniture, rendered in both bright and muted tones, looks comfortable and charming. I love comfortable and charming.

Janet Hill refers to her paintings as "oil sketches", since they are small and done quickly. When I saw the rendering of the desk above, I had to post it. It looks like I'm starting to collect desks and chairs on this blog, doesn't it?

Wander over to her blog and scroll through the delightful interior renderings and still lifes.

Heather from Habitually Chic shared with us her workspace preferences:

The desk: I'm embarrassed to say is from Hold Everything, may they rest in peace!  I've been looking for something vintage for myself but haven't found anything that's the right size or isn't outrageously expensive.  Sigh.
Chair: From DWR.  I have no idea who designed it or if it has a name.  
Paper: I am a compulsive list maker so I buy Muji double 4x6 ringed notebooks in bulk.  I love them and am never without one!  
Calendar: I used to have the Missoni Smythson Fashion Diary that I loved but since then I've been using a basic one from Muji.  I might have to put a new Smythson one on my Christmas List!
Clock: The one on my desk needs a new battery!  I spend so much time taking care of everyone else's apartments that mine is a mess!
Charging: I just got a new Blackberry and I am so glad I did!  It makes my life so much easier since I'm always on the go!
Inspiration: On my desk are some black and white photos I took in Prague that remind me of my trip and my love of travel.  I also have a huge inspiration board of photos hanging in my bedroom.  
'thank you': Diptyque or Votivo candles are always in my cabinet ready to send to someone as a thank you.  
Flat note or folded: Usually folded but I don't discriminate.  
Organization: I'm the most disorganized organized person right now!  I spend so much time on my clients that my apartment gets neglected but on rainy days I organize my tear sheets into large plastic string tie envelopes and clean out my drawers!  
Handwritten or emailed: If I have their address, then definitely handwritten but sometimes it's nice to send a quick email right after you meet with someone.  I've learned to embrace technology.  
Book: This would be like asking me to pick my favorite child if I had any!  But I do love anything by David Hicks, Bright Young Things, Modern Glamour by Kelly Wearstler, my Preppy Handbook from 1980, The Fountainhead, Happy Times, and anything about inspiring women like Diana Vreeland, Julia Child and Diane von Furstenberg.  One of my new favorites is The Bad and the Beautiful by photographer Ellen Graham.  She is the mother of a close friend and I've gotten to know her recently and am so inspired by her.  She became a photographer in a time when women didn't work, plus she's one tough lady who tells it like it is, kind of like me sometimes!
Color: As a creative person, I am open to all colors but I especially love orange and robin's egg blue.  Recently, I was shopping for a client who liked purple and began to think how pretty some of the shades looked to me.  I never understand those people who hate certain colors.  Just think about how much they are missing!
Magazine: All of them!  I am a devout magazine junkie!  My favorites include Men's Vogue, Elle Decor, Domino, Bazaar, Town & Country, and my guilty pleasure, US Weekly!
Stationery: I've bought a lot of stationery from Vera Wang recently.  She has orange tipped fold over cards with pretty David Hicks looking pattern lined envelopes that are so me.  I love them!
Planning: I'm definitely a planner.  I'm the person who goes on vacation to Europe with the map of a city already memorized so I look like a local.  I've been mistaken for Swedish in Sweden, English in England and Italian and even foreign in New York.  I would never be caught dead in a fanny pack and sneakers!  
Business: I'm working on opening my own business and I can't wait.  As an Aries, I can definitely say that I hate being told what to do!

We all know the talented and inspirational Yvonne of Yvestown, who, in all her pink and green goodness was kind enough to share the photo of her workspace, above.

The desk: Old painted French kitchen table
Chair: Air-Chair by Jasper Morisson
Paper: must feel soft
Calendar: don't have one
Clock: retro look alarm clock from Ikea
Charging: my iPod
Inspiration: blogs, magazines, books and movies
'thank you': ...
Flat note or folded: folded
Organization: magazine files from Ikea
Handwritten or emailed: handwritten
Book: Kiss and Tell - Alain de Botton
Color: pink
Magazine: domino
Stationery: must be simple, clean and white
Planning: my Blackberry

The desk:  a dining room table, a kitchen table, and an old farm table all butted up against each other, lining the room with space to fold, glue, cut, and make a mess.
Chair: SKRUVSTA from Ikea. The darn cushion won't stay on! I'm always sliding off it.
Paper: Yes! So much paper I couldn't being to describe.
Calendar: is my lifeline. I use my iCal as a calendar and a master to-do list. If I lost it... There wouldn't be any point in going to work everyday, because I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
Clock: Not really necessary. When you work for yourself... anytime is work time!
Charging: my iphone, my camera
Inspiration: vintage fonts, nature, japanese prints, modern illustration, antique stores and long drives.
'thank you': no, thank you!
Flat note or folded: Folded! More room for pretty patterns on the outside, more room for writing on the inside.
Organization: is the biggest time saver I know! Ikea KASSETT boxes and corresponding BILLY bookcases are my best friends. Ribbon gets in line at the ribbon bar my Dad built for me - Best. Present. Ever!
Handwritten or emailed: Thank you notes and holiday greetings are always handwritten. Everything else is emailed.
Book: s are downloaded from iTunes and listened to while I'm folding and gluing. Currently When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris.
Color: I need a cheerful environment to motivate me, so I combined pale yellow walls with the rainbow of colors from all my color charts, color fans and ribbons.
Magazine: Cottage Living, even though I don't live in a cottage. It looks like it would be fun.
Stationery: I use my own all the time to write notes and cards. I tend to horde other stationery, Nantaka Joy for instance, I like it too much to write on it!
Planning: a dinner party for 7 tomorrow night, we're having Beef Stroganoff.
Business: Kenzie Kate Invitations

A few weeks ago, we found ourselves completely inspired by Meg of Designer's Library, who, as she was was guest blogging for Design Sponge, sparked our brains with a little feature called "From the Desk of..." featuring Sara of Hicks Paper Goods and Party Perfect. Nothing illustrates more perfectly the fusion of our two passions: interiors and stationery. You just can't write a proper thank-you note if you don't have a desk, and so we started wondering what some of our favorite bloggers and designers use for their paper and workspaces.

Beginning next week, we will feature some of our favorite friends' escritoires on a new little segment titled "Desk".

Black faux bamboo desk image from Pieces in Atlanta.

Wouldn't this be a neat sofa for a loft in some urban district? A little bit of exposed brick, and some bright, airy, seemingly stark white walls would be instantly warmed with this whimsical, sittable, work of art from Squint in London.

Also inspiring: the aviary background pattern on Squint's site.

Images courtesy of Squint.