I'm Angie Allen, Reno (NV) girl, stationer and mom to Jack and Kate. This blog is a peek inside my studio. From my love of paper and design to kids coloring on the studio floor, share the triumphs, frustrations and inspirations of a family-run stationery studio. I hope to inspire you to follow your own passion through art, photography and family joy... (more)
Enjoy wine and beer tasting, food, live music and holiday shopping with local businesses and artisans. Stop by my booth to say hello and meet Reno’s premiere calligrapher and artist, Denise Hallerbach, of Scripts Unlimited. Denise will be making appointments for custom art orders and calligraphy. Alleviate holiday stress by having Denise address your holiday cards.
As a former oncology RN this charity is near and dear to me. Plus Brookfield School is my nephew’s alma mater. I hope you will join me to support a great cause.
The festivities are taking place on the Brookfield School grounds located at 6800 S. McCarran Blvd. in Reno (between Kietzke and Lakeside).
Holy decomposing Jack-o-Lantern! Where did October go?
I’ve been busy powering through the pre holiday rush. When I looked up it was November 3rd. Huh? Thankfully, my October goals kept me on track in the midst of fall chaos. All in all I’m pleased with my October accomplishments.
{October Goals}
1. Design: 2 new holiday photo cards; 2 new holiday boxed card 2. Prep: Prep for Nov 12 Beers & Bows Shopping Faire 3. Complete: Adding holiday line to Etsy (almost done!) 4. Market: Purchase one more ad spot and contact 2 bloggers about features
5. Continue: Re-taking photographs for Etsy listings (goal of 10)
November is always a whirlwind, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
{November Goals}
1. Design: My own holiday greeting
2. Prep: Prep for Nov 12 Beers & Bows Shopping Faire
3. Complete: November News Letter
4. Market: Contact 2 bloggers about features
5. Continue: Blogging… Ha ha ha ha! Really need to work on this.
The monthly goal meetup is the brain child of Jena Coray. Be sure to visit her at Modish.
1. Design: Children’s Carnival Invitation 2. Prep: Photograph, edit, post holiday designs 3. Complete: Website/Blog face lift 4. Market: Purchase ad spot on three blogs
5. Continue: Blog three times per week
Woo Hoo! September was a highly productive month. I plowed through my to do list and felt in control of the process. September is always a stressful month because it is all about holiday prep. I managed to get 90% of my holiday designs onto my new website and complete a minor website facelift. The facelift has left me refreshed and confident. I see why people can get addicted (RIP Michael Jackson).
My favorite September design was the Carnival Party Invitation that topped my to do list. It was a big hit with the birthday girl plus it made it onto IndieSpotting.com which was a fabulous treat.
I am still intimidated by the blog submission and advertising process, but I did make some strides in that area. I purchased one ad for October/November, contacted one blogger about a feature and was accepted into Paper n Stitch‘s November Exhibition. I plan to concentrate more on getting the word out throughout October.
And, to top it off, there was an increase in sales on my new website, I reached 300 sales in my Etsy Shop, added a new printer to the studio and updated my camera equipment. All in all, September was a great month. Now to keep that momentum going through the holiday season.
{October Goals}
1. Design: 2 new holiday photo card designs; 2 new holiday boxed card designs
2. Prep: Prep for Nov 12 Beers & Bows Shopping Faire
3. Complete: Adding holiday line to Etsy (almost done!)
4. Market: Purchase one more ad spot and contact 2 bloggers about features
5. Continue: Re-taking photographs for Etsy listings (goal of 10)
It’s an ambitious list, but I’m counting on my Holiday Adrenaline Rush to keep propelling me along. The monthly goal meetup is the brain child of Jena Coray. Be sure to visit her at Modish.
We all love reading blogs. Design blogs, stationery blogs, family blogs. You name it. The upside? Unlimited sources of inspiration. The downside? Keeping up with your favorite blogs often eats up valuable studio time. A great way “feed” your need to read and save time is to subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite bloggers.
Below is a video that offers a concise explanation of the modern marvel that is the RSS Feed:
…and I’m madly working to get our 2009 designs posted. Because I have a wonderful new website, the process is a bit slower this year. Bear with me and I’ll keep you posted my progress.
I am introducing a new blog segment called ‘The Process’. In an effort to improve my photography skills I am taking photos of my orders throughout different stages of the design and assembly process.
Our Carnival Party Invitation was designed for Kate’s best friend Ella. Her mom is throwing a carnival birthday celebration and asked us to create the invitations.
Here is the process beginning in the upper left corner:
1. All the paper elements are cut to size and printed
2. Adhesive is added to the text sheets to be mounted on the matte
3. The belly band and tags are wrapped around the invitation
4. The finished invitations are ready for packaging and delivery
Phew! My oldest began first grade today. After a summer of swimming, hiking, traveling and unstructured chaos, I welcome the school year and relish returning to a normal work schedule.
Technically I should review last month’s goals before moving on to September’s goals. However, I was a complete disaster when it came to staying on track. My accomplishments include a terrific family vacation, keeping on top of orders and a greater understanding of my camera. Looking back, I don’t think I could ask for anything more.
My goals for September look light, but are quite an undertaking. The holidays are fast approaching and I need to be 100% ready by September 15th. After that date, I plan to promote and create.
{September Goals}
1. Design: Children’s Carnival Invitation
2. Prep: Photograph, edit, post holiday designs
3. Complete: Website/Blog face lift
4. Market: Purchase ad spot on three blogs
5. Continue: Blog three times per week
To learn more about the Monthy Goal Meetup please visit Jena at Modish Biz Tips. Here’s to a productive and rewarding September!
{Interesting Factoid}
First graders cannot smile and look at the camera simultaneously.
The Handmade Highway is a living, dynamic directory of handmade sellers giving users 1-click access to handmade shops, products, pictures, location, seller contact info, and availability for wholesale, consignment, bulk discounts, custom work and availability for blog features and giveaways. The goal of Handmade Highway is to give buyers and sellers a reliable place to find what they’re looking for.
The directory is the brain child of Lori, a blogger and jewelry artist. Lori also runs the wildly successful Etsy Shop Risky Beads. Be sure to stop by her blog and show your support for the wonderful world of homemade artisans.
1. Design: One amazing wedding invitation suite 2. Prep: Research online press kit 3. Complete: Design and packaging of “variety pack”
(I don’t want to talk about this goal. Meh)
4. Market: Design ad and purchase spot on one blog
5. Continue: Blog three times per week + one giveaway
Happy July! June was officially the fastest month of my life. I feel like I just wrote down my June goals. Scary. That being said, I managed to accomplish half of my June goals… more like 50% of each goal. For instance, I came up with a wedding invitation concept that I’m extremely excited about, but it’s only reached the sketch stage. I designed a blog ad, but realized I am too busy with summer and existing orders to actively promote. I blogged three times a week (minus the week I was out of town) but didn’t do a giveaway due to scheduling conflicts. So I consider myself 49% successful this month.
At first I was frustrated that I wasn’t completing my goals in a efficient manner. I was struggling to fit work into every free moment: nights, weekends, etc. Then I read a tweet from a fellow designer that stated (I’m paraphrasing), “My life is 178% better since I stopped working weekends.” LIGHTBULB! At that moment, I had a mid-summer awakening.
Work life with kids underfoot all-day-every-day is significantly more challenging than I had anticipated. Time to adapt.
My little ones are too young to send outside without supervision so much of my work is done under a shady tree — great for proof sets, email, twitter but lousy for photo editing, client meetings, printing and assembling. If we aren’t outside, we are on the go, biking, hiking, swimming. Sadly, my imaginary staff of helpers never gets anything done while I’m gone! The kicker is after the kids are in bed, I’m so exhausted I can’t do anything but melt into the sofa.
In response to our summer-of-fun lifestyle, I’ve had to limit marketing and the number of custom design orders I take on. I must admit, it has been somewhat liberating to say “no”. No, no, no, no. There, I said it! This reality check has made me contemplate how to handle future summers as my kids grow and become more active. I foresee summers with limited hours and a european approach to vacations; closing shop for a month or more of family time. It sounds decadent now, but as a my own boss, I have the freedom to plan for these times ensuring loose ends are tidy and clients are well informed.
I’m realizing I want it all, but simply put, I’m not that talented. This realization has been a blessing in disguise. It’s inspired me to step back and focus on summer fun with my family. Typically, I become discouraged or feel guilty about my lack of ‘productivity’, instead I’m feeling a sense of freedom enjoying popsicles and shady trees. I plan to keep plugging along, and look forward to being refreshed and prepared for the fall rush.
{July Goals}
1. Design: Bear party invitation for my favorite soon-to-be four year old
2. Prep: Photograph boxed holiday cards for website & Etsy
3. Complete: Wedding invitation design (it’s gonna be awesome)
4. Market: Purchase ad spot on one blog to start July 15th-ish
5. Continue: Blog three times per week
1. Begin monthly Newsletter
2. Prep: Research online press kit
3. Design and package “variety pack” 4. Complete custom design PDF forms x 6 5. Blog three times per week
We have had a very busy two weeks, since I first discovered Modish Biztips Monthly Goal Meetup. Crazy schedule aside, I am happy to report I made a dent in my list of goals. I am very excited that our first Newsletter is ready to be emailed on Monday, June 8th. {If you would like to receive one, please subscribe to our Newsletter} I have completed my PDF forms and the general layout and sketches for the variety pack of cards I was asked to create nearly six months ago. And, holy cow, I met my blogging goal!
Now I need to keep it up. I have discovered I need a bit more structure with my goals. I also want to make sure I have all my bases covered each month. It would be easy for me to create a list of all the tasks I enjoy and excel at, but those things would get done without a deadline. For June, I decided to limit my personal expectations to five goals, one in each of the following categories:
Design: Create something new to add to my portfolio Prep: Research something I want to learn more about Complete: Finish a project that has fallen through the cracks Market: Do something to get the word out about our shop Continue: Keep up on something I have been doing well
{June Goals}
1. Design: One amazing wedding invitation suite
2. Prep: Research online press kit
3. Complete: Design and packaging of “variety pack”
4. Market: Design ad and purchase spot on one blog
5. Continue: Blog three times per week + one giveaway
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…and I’m madly working to get our 2009 designs posted. Because I have a wonderful new website, the process is a bit slower this year. Bear with me and I’ll keep you posted my progress.
Phew! My oldest began first grade today. After a summer of swimming, hiking, traveling and unstructured chaos, I welcome the school year and relish returning to a normal work schedule.
