New Goals + Happy Thanksgiving!

carnation flowers Oh dear, this post is a couple days late.  The group over at Modish Biz Tips all posted on Monday.  Ah well.  So it goes.  But I'm here!  Just busy, like everyone else.

1. Finish and mail out holiday mailer. I got the cards today, and they look great!  I'm cranking up hulu tonight to stamp and address for a couple hours to get these suckers out there.

2.  Get everything ready for the workshop. Done! And the workshop was pretty amazing.  I think it deserves its own post.  Another thing I meant to do already.

3. Set up a time to organize and clean up my studio every day. Um. Still working on this one.  I'm having trouble motivating myself at the end of the day.  It's just the last thing I want to deal with it.  But there's never a time I want to deal with it.  I think I'll have to resort to self-bribery...

4. Continue looking for a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids.

5. Contact publishers with new work. Nope.  But I have some new leads after the workshop.

6.  After the workshop, make a plan of action based on what I learned there. I need to work on this one some more though.

7. Sign up for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Conference in New York. I'm torn.  I asked a lot of people what they thought of this conference and from I gleaned, it doesn't sound like a good place to make connections.  I'm thinking about waiting until the New England one.

8.  Participate in illustration online communities more. Hello Pikaland!  Hello Illustration Mundo!

9. Organize and make special holiday gifts for clients. They aren't quite done yet.  Or organized.

10. Make a list of things to do during our week in Vermont! Alas I made the list, but the trip with Mr G was canceled.  Don't be too sad for us though. We made it up there for Thanksgiving.

Sooo.  Yikes.  December already.  Here we go...

1. Mail out holiday mailer.

2. Organize special client holiday gifts.

3. Make and send them.

4. Make a list of publishers and potential new clients in the children's market.

5.  Bribe myself to clean my office.

6. Collect my thoughts from the workshop.

7. Make time for making fun holiday things and gifts!

That'll do it for this month.  It's crazy enough already, don't you think?  Is anyone else excited to look back at all your goals you made through out the year?

A huge thank you to the wonderful Jena for creating Modish Biz Tips and this meetup.  I'm sorry it's ending, but am so excited for you!  Jena, you summed it up perfectly:

...here's to not being afraid to try things, to experimenting and being brave in your ideas, and to not being satisfied until you truly find the place you're meant to be.

Here, here.

Some Organizing

cambodian chicken noodle soup recipe illustration

One of my goals for this month is to do some studio/office organizing.  And happily it seems I am not alone!  A bunch of people have mentioned on their blogs or goal lists similar desires for a more sparkly work space.  Here are some of the posts I've been looking at for both inspiration and commiseration. hah.

• Over at Mint, Ellie and her friend Margot, from Pitch, have begun a series about starting to work from home.  I've been working at home for years, but am sorry to say I still find myself falling into the "why-bother-getting-dressed?" and "my-house-is-a-perpetual-mess" pitfalls that often accompany having a home office.  So it's always good to hear other's comparable stories and tips for coping.  Find their Howdy Do It posts every Monday at Mint and Pitch.

• When starting to organize my office, I found this post from Uniform Studio chock full of helpful bits.

• If you need some inspiration look no further than Lovely Design's studio tours-- old and new!  Not only does every item seem to have its place, but the colors!  Really gorgeous.

• There's also the Modish Flickr Pool-- Handmade Spaces.  Always fun to troll through...

In related news, both my site and blog got a bit of dusting off these last couple of days.  See the newly organized sidebar to the left!  The portfolio and the homepage menu have been updated, and I decided to add in some pencil sketches from upcoming projects.  (Remember the image above from it's pencil sketch posted a bit ago?)  Let me know what you think of the new work.

My physical workspace may still be a bit of a mess, but now my digital (er, virtual?) one isn't!

Oh Leia, My Halloween Girl Crush

Are you a costume person?  Do you have your Halloween outfit all picked out and ready to go?  Over the last few years I haven't done much dressing up.  But this year I feel inspired. I threw out a bunch of ideas because they were too expensive, or too cold, or too involved, but then hit upon one that involves all the magic elements: layers for warmth, boots, a belt, and braids:  Princess Leia, a la Return of the Jedi.  Think more tie dyed ponchos and less metallic bikinis:

rotj_promo2

My all time favorite outfit of hers is the white snowsuit, with the vest, the gloves and the crazy blue boots in the Empire Strikes Back.

I think she's in that jumpsuit (ahem, spacesuit?) almost the whole movie...

Anyhow doing some research for the fast approaching holiday I came across all these gorgeous Carrie Fisher as Leia photos.

This one is my favorite:

You're welcome.

All photos from The Padawan's Guide to Star Wars Costumes.

Marketing is Fun!

I'm making  alright head way on my to-do list for the month.  I've started work on my fall mailer,  have made a list of items to bring to the workshop, organizing the office/studio has begun, and changes to my site are underway.  Yay!  Anyhow one of the items on my list for September was to list reasons "why marketing is fun."  --Because more than half the time I forget that.  So here's my list.  Any additions would be most appreciated!

1.  An excuse to do some drawings just for me.  Well, for a mailer.  But the client is basically me.

2. Holding my work in postcard form is pretty fun.

3.  Adding to my list of prospective clients can be exciting.  Just imagine all the cool potential projects possibly now headed my way.

4.  Even weeding through my mailing list can be rewarding if I think about it in terms of getting clearer about what kind of people/companies I want to work for.  Aim high.

5.  As the holidays are fast approaching, it will be nice to send out a little something extra to the people you really really want to impress.  I have a few idea rolling around, and this is a good excuse to actually make them happen.

6.  Making a list of blogs to contact is fun-- hello you get to look through blogs and feel like you're actually doing something, as opposed to frittering away time.

7.  Contacting, or really, hearing back from bloggers is wonderful.  Making new friends...

8.  Every new sale, blog write-up, and new client is a cause for a celebration.  Which probably means a yummy dinner in my case.

Basically it seems like marketing is fun if you think of it in terms of goals.  It's an opportunity to continually be checking in and honing both your long and short term goals.  If you can do it with your eyes open, instead of squeezed shut just trying to get through it, ahem, it's a process that can keep you on track.

Any thoughts on this?  How do you make it fun or rewarding?

PS. The above photo is how I spent my weekend: rowing in the Head of the Charles Regatta!  That's me, fourth from the back.  Click on the photo if you'd like to see more.

Congratulations!

I meant to say this yesterday, but a huge CONGRATULATIONS to June, and her team, for completing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this past weekend!   They walked 26.2 miles on Saturday, and 13.1 miles more on Sunday!  --The 4000 participants raised over 9.5 million dollars, making it the largest Avon walk of the year! We are so proud of you guys.  And most grateful for all your hard work for such a good cause!

If you'd like, you can still donate money here.

Edit:  I just noticed Etsy's blog, The Storque, has a post listing Etsy sellers who are donating a portion, or all, of their sales to breast cancer awareness organizations.  Check it out.

Pikaland: "Good To Know" issue #5

Pikaland is a blog about all things illustration and, not surprisingly, it's one of my favorites.  It's founder Amy says:

Pikaland is a blog about living the illustrated life — an art and illustration blog that’s a collection of beautiful things and inspirations that I stumble upon on the internet that’s made/designed by illustrators and artists, and is updated almost daily.

She also organizes the PikaPackage project (a fun promo and marketing tool containing a bundle of prints, limited editions and other goodies from artists and illustrators, that's for sale seasonally,) and the Good to Know project— "a zine filled with advice + inspiration from illustrators, artists and designers."

Right now the 5th issue of Good to Know is available in print and in download form, and explores the topic of Art School:  "Do you think that artists need to have degrees/qualifications from art school in order to be one? Did you study art? Does it matter?"

Always helpful and gorgeous to boot, get yours here!

Ooh almost forgot the giveaway: " 2 random winners will win a copy of the zine when they leave a comment at the blog."

Moleskine Exchange 2

Some images from the Moleskine Exchange, week 2:

I've been musing about doing a portrait series of houses in my neighborhood.   The area is called The Armory because its adjacent to what used to be a huge armory built in the early 1900s, complete with ten acres of "marching grounds"-- now a park.

The houses surrounding it are mostly incredible "3 family" victorians.

Anyhow I started playing around with that idea here...  ( Above you can see a bit of Nicole's star on the left side...I should have taken pictures of the other images in the book.  Darn.)

Though I should note these houses aren't in my neighborhood, just random ones.

"To be a country or a city mouse..."

Ah yes.  My eternal dilemma.

Lemon Cucumbers and Wise Words

I was reading the blog over at Lilla Rogers Studio (--an amazing illustration agency, whose roster of artists is truly impressive and always inspirational, and of course I would die to be among them, but I'm getting off subject--) and I came across this post about Lisa Congdon's  promo card.  This sentence caught my eye:

 Here’s how it works: really good artists have lots of styles and media because they have so much talent and a delicious greed to try everything. Then, over time, the styles often morph together to become one’s own distinctive style.

That's a breath of fresh air to me.  I feel like I definitely have those tendencies--ooh look at that, let's try this... but as I read the post I realized I  tend to reign in my experimenting.  Like I'm getting off topic.  Or my because style isn't cohesive enough.  This is a good reminder that experimenting is a good thing.  And that styles are evolving creatures.  And that at some point, I guess when it's supposed to, it will all come together.  

Coming from an animation world, where you're supposed to be able to draw anything in whatever style they throw at you, its been particularly confusing for me to find my own one style.  I feel like I'm coming into it, but it can be a little scary.  Anyhow, thank you Ms Rogers for the encouragement.

Packaging

I'm finishing up getting some packaging already for a new{ish} project.  I've been working hard on coming up with something that is sourced from local materials, biodegradable or recycled, is easy for me to work with, is cost effective, can function for both online as well as in brick and mortar stores, and of course looks really great and describes the item well AND appeals to potential customers.  

Phew.  Its a lot to think about. And to balance. 

But what should I find today but an article on all this over at Mint!  Ellie interviews 3 different business owners about their packaging.  "All three take packaging seriously, putting extra effort into making the outside look as pretty as the inside."  Thanks for another wonderful and timely article! Go check it out.

ps. the package above held the invitation for my friend's wedding this past April.

Interview with Lolalina!

Before I dash out the door to finish up some wedding preparations for a good friend (more on the goodies we made later!) I wanted to let you know there's an interview of me on Lolalina, Find Your Sweet Life blog!  

As Laura mentions, we met through the networking site HerFuture – I contacted her after I realized, not only did she just move to Providence, but she has a gorgeous design blog as well.   It's just wonderful and has become a daily read for me.   So of course I was thrilled to talk with her!

Thanks so much Laura. It was really fun.

Creative Leadership

Thursday night I got to meet John Maeda, the new president of RISD, at a RISD alumni event.  (Yes, I graduated from Pratt, but as my parents are alumns and Mr G is going to start teaching there this Tuesday(!), they let me in.)  

Copyright RISDCopyright RISD

Maeda's talk was really wonderful, and I have to say, unexpected.  The president of Pratt Institute is many things, but a dynamic public speaker he, alas, is not.  Maeda was witty, well spoken, and seemed to genuinely listen to those around him and then adjust, or not, according to their input.  He seems to be extremely accessable, which seems like a rare and good thing:  He has various blogs, is on twitter, facebook, etc, apparently he can be found walking around campus most days, and if you're an early riser you're welcome to go running with him at 6am.  At the Q & A someone asked a question he could have easily hedged, but how wonderful was it to hear him say, "I don't know.  But I'll find out and get back to you on that."  

What struck me the most was when he spoke about Creative v. Traditional Leadership.  This really hit home for me as it pin-pointed so many of the problems today with "leadership" in our country, the corporate world, and various relationships in general.  Plus, he laid it all out in a handy chart:

Take a look at it.  It seems to be the direction our culture is moving in. Which I find to be both heartening and really exciting.

Reality Check

I woke up  in a bad mood today, my head swimming from anxiety dreams.  I felt anxious about work, doubtful of my career path, and in general was just wonderful to be around.  A few minutes ago I found this my inbox: 

"The most significant thing a woman can do to boost her self-worth is be conscious of her thoughts. Her thoughts inform everything around her. If she believes in herself, the world will too. Our most important job on this planet is to proactively clean up our thoughts." 

~Gabrielle Bernstein, founder of HerFuture

Ah, yes.  Hello wake up call.  That statement is something I truly believe, and unfortunately, often find myself forgetting.  

Who is sending me these timely little gems?  Thank you Daily Worth.  You seemed to have picked me right up off the ground and set me back in the direction.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today we tried to surprise my mom with a postponed Mother's Day lunch.  She made it difficult when she made various other plans, since "nothing was going on Wednesday afternoon."  My dad ended up breaking down and confessing that he had rounded up three of her four children for an afternoon meal, and that he had made reservations and would she please come.  She decided it would be more fun to go somewhere without "white tablecloths".  Which is how the five of us ended up at the fabulous Liberty Elm Diner, circled around a table in the back room.  

Once upon a time these, albeit partial, (--we missed you Will--) casual family gatherings were a rare thing indeed.  But my sister has moved to the east coast, and one of my brothers is back for the summer, and now that I'm here as well, meals like this are possible.  Looking around the table at everyone laughing and telling stories, a couple things struck me.  1.  Why don't we do this more often?  2.  I have such a great family.

 As the eldest child in our family, ahem, has a birthday coming up, my brother Sam pointed out that my mother has been a mom for thirty years!  And that, come Sunday, she will no longer have any teenagers to call her own.   This photo was taken a few days? weeks? after my youngest brother was born.  I think its the first picture of all of us as a "complete" family.   I love you mom.  Good job.

Color Inspiration

 We watched Let The Right One In a couple days ago.  And I loved it.  Which is hilarious as Mr G had to basically cajole me into watching it.  I was balking at the idea of watching some gory slasher film.  Which it definitely had elements of.   But even though some parts were very scary, it was totally worth it.  ( I have a pretty low tolerance for scariness: Reruns of Buffy were making me jump last night.)   I loved the slow pacing, still atmosphere and the snowy-white Swedish landscapes counterbalancing the viciousness and ferocity of this little girl eating dinner.  But more to the point, for our purposes here, it is visually lovely.  Every shot is gorgeous.  The color palate is perfection.  I could go on and on.  But I went searching and found these stills so you can see what I mean:  

Wedding Wrap Up

We're back in Providence, still recovering from the wedding weekend of fun.   Gorgeous weather! Lots of dancing! Our food was a success! But most importantly... our friends got married!  And it was completely beautiful and wonderful. 

Congratulations you two!

Photo by by Nishat

Photo by by Nishat

mmm

This has been making the rounds, but in case you missed it:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

Its lovely.

Handmade Goodies, Part II

Here are some of the stores and sellers I got wonderful gifts from this season.  Going through the list I realize they are not all strictly handmade. But I did try to stick to smaller, cool businesses, for the most part.   Oh the wonderful Tiny Showcase:

Gorgeous letterpress print, "Goes to Show You What a Moon Can Do 2009 Lunar Calendar", by Alec Thibodeau for my brother, Will. 

And another letterpress print, ""Homage to the Stamp" by Gavin Potenza:

(I was a smart cookie and ordered early, so we got "A Field Guide to the Stamps of the World" poster as well.  Its pretty sweet.)

Poketo wallet:

This one is part of a series they did in collaboration with 826LA.  It was for my friend Jane, which was perfect as the story on the back features a "girl named Jane...[who]was 18 and lived in New York City."

 

The Curatorium is my new favorite store in Providence.  It is filled to the brim with amazing stuff-- at all price ranges-- and they must change the shop around almost every day, because every time I go, everything is in a completely different place. And I've been going a lot.  Here are the highlights:

Bamboo sporks by Bambu made for some great stocking stuffers.

Cardboard Deer Bust for my brother Sam.  Or did I get the moose?  Man, I am really wanting ALL of these.  (You can find them online at PopDeluxe.)

Twig pencils:

Hokusai paper diorama by Tatebanko.com:

picture-5

It comes packaged flat and actually looks pretty cool even before its cut out and assembled.  From their site: Hokusai himself did “Tatebanko paper sculpture” in those days and we are celebrating this well-known masterpiece with our owninterpretation. Hokusai Tatebanko remix!

Another store I went to a lot is just up the street from The Curatorium: Benefit Street Antiques. (At least I think that's what its called.  Unfortunately, I am horrible at paying attention to silly things like, um, names.  However I do know its on the corner, and next to Cafe Zog, and across the street from the more hip antique store on Wickenden Street.)  Its one of those stores that looks too pretty and upscale to be able to afford anything in.  And that's kind of true, but tucked between the gorgeous furniture and sparkly chandeliers, were the coolest treasures. Small paper mache boxes, carved wooden deer figurines, teacups, handkerchiefs.... so fun! Definitely check it out if you're in the area.  And I did not take pictures of any of it..

And of course a couple of Etsy sellers!  (For all my goings on about  buying handmade etc, you'd think there would have been a long list.  There isn't a long list because I was a moron and forgot about shipping time. NOT because I don't have a long list of people I love buying fabulous goods from. SO  I resolve to start earlier this year!  Thanksgiving v Christmas be damned.) 

The hilarious Six Pack temporary Tattoo from Temptuous Tatts :

They are even more hilarious when your brother returns from a party sporting said tattoo. Believe me.

And the gorgeous "Pocket Theater Pop Ups,  Night Journey" by Roadside.

Check out Roadside Projects Blog for more information and inspiration.  She does all kinds of cards, flat prints of her originals, and custom work!  I especially love the family portraits.

Alright back to the perfect drawing-gloomy-day.

ergh.

Ever have one of those days...? I had one today. NOTHING worked.  I didn't get much done.  Very, very frustrating.  Especially since I started the day all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I did not see a basically wasted day coming.   But this is making me happier!:

So cool, right?  Its from Anna the Red's Bento Factory blog.  She catalogues her amazing bento box creations on her blog.  There's even one of the Spirited Away characters.  So great.  I do a lot of cooking and tend to take special care in how everything looks and is plated ( ahem, picked that up from Top Chef.)  But obviously this is taking it to a whole other level.  Even past your typical, awesome bento box presentation.  I think I'd have a hard time eating these though.  It'd be kind of heart breaking, wouldn't it?  Or just super fun...Thanks Shelterrific for the tip. 

And... Another late birthday post.  Happy, happy birthday, Mr Henry Lincoln Jr.  

I miss you and your lady friend.