What a bad blogger I’ve been this week! Desh and I are here to explain ourselves a bit. (No, blogging has nothing to do with him…but he looked so cute that I had to take this picture with him before bed!)

Anyways, I’ve been a bit busy. Isn’t everyone? I know. Some things I can’t really share yet (yes, I’m pulling THAT card…I hate when bloggers say that crap). BUT some things I can share. Here are a few things I’ve been up to (and don’t worry-some of the things will formulate into their own blog posts later):

• My day job! I currently work at the Department of Natural Resources for the State of Ohio and it’s Ohio State Fair season! What does this mean? Well it means that I’ve been creating signage for our Natural Resources Park and helping with the mulching, planting, weeding, and etc. Did I mention it’s the hottest week of the year here in Columbus? SWEATASTIC.

• My freelance business! I’ve been working on lots of fun projects (all of which are mostly still in the works) and I’ll share the finished products soon. Some of my current clients include: a talented musician, a lawyer, two event planners, a salon, and many more in the works.

• MY HUSBAND! Yeah…he’s pretty much #1. Speaking of, we’re trying to plan an extended weekend trip in September. NYC, Chicago or Nashville?

• Writing an article for xheight (which will be posted on Monday so keep a look out!)

• Coming up with fun challenges with Janine so that I can launch my fun “Challenge Series” soon! Side note: I need a fun name to call the series. It needs to be flexible enough to incapsulate challenges that range from 7-30 days. Ideas?

• Oh and of course, spending time with friends and family. It’s essential.

Grilled Pizza | Grilled Cheese Reinvented | White Fish Tacos | Summer Corn Fettuccine

I’m naming this week: ANTI-WEEK. For me, it consists of:

1. Canceling all social plans

2. No Twitter

3. Reading every night before bed

4. Working out every day

5. SLEEP

6. Making a list of things that make me smile

7. Making a list of things that make me frown

8. Attend my first CSCA event

9. Start work earlier, end work earlier

So essentially, my ANTI-WEEK is really a ME-WEEK. It’s not that I don’t love socializing, tweeting, and being carefree but I needed a week where I fought against all my natural tendencies. Things like : saying yes to everything and everyone, sleeping through my alarm, feeling the pressure before a deadline that I’ve put on the back burner, and just taking a passive approach to life. I had Monday and Tuesdays posts scheduled from Sunday so I’ll be taking a 5 day break from blogging. I’ll be back on Monday the 25th :)

<3 Allie

P.S How amazing is that photo? I wish I was taking my ANTI-WEEK there.

It took me two years to realize that I cannot be everyone’s designer.

I seriously laugh when I think back to all the ways that I learned this lesson. Of course at the time I was probably ripping my hair out and threatening to “never freelance again.” And here’s the thing. I’m just being honest. A lot of times, as a designer, I’m scared to talk about my frustrations and the lessons I’ve learned because I’m afraid a client will think I’m talking about them. I promise you this: I have had and currently have some of the world’s most wonderful and creative clients. Without clients like that, I’d be doodling in my sketchbook with crayons. Oh wait, I still do that.

So here’s how I learned my lesson:

I tried to be everyone’s designer.

And it sucks but it’s essential. I’m not sure what exactly makes a great project, a great client or great work but I know some things that make all those things go bad. Like:

• You need some quick cash and you say a little prayer along the lines of, “God just give me a project so I can pay my parking tickets.”
• Your client says something like, “My friend Joanna told me that I need a designer because I want to sell felt Kleenex box covers but I think I can do it all myself.”
• When their first question is, “How much do you charge?”
• When a potential client tells me that my little designs are cute.
• When they assume you’ll work for free because they know your college roommate’s stepmom.

I’m not saying all those things have happened to me…but I’m not saying they haven’t. To avoid situations like this I’ve discovered a few tricks.

1. Create a portfolio and site that really reflects your style. Don’t just display work that drops names. Clients who love your style will approach you.
2. Compile a list of questions to send to potential clients to get a sense of what they’re looking for, what they’re passionate about, and an estimate of their budget.
3. LIKE your client. Make sure you take time to meet with them, chat on the phone, and genuinely enjoy working with them.
4. Take referrals. If someone approaches you as a referral, you can look back on the type of project you had with the referrer.

Okay I’m done acting like I know stuff. I usually don’t share so many of my thoughts here so I hope you can relate or learn at least one thing (one thing being… that I enjoy making lists.)

What about you? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from designers AND the clients.

Photo found here.

Happy Monday! I see rain in our forecast for the next four days so I thought I’d share another photo from Vegas. Blue skies, I miss you. Enjoy the links.

- The Official Manufacturing Company is one of my new favorites. Someday I would love to work with a handful of people, closely, and create.

- A double decker dress shop?? Yes please!

- Before I Die…what would you fill in?

- Butter and Brass shares a few ideas for your walls…

- I made Jewel’s recipe last week and it was delicious.

- Just bought this book and this book at Border’s “We’re Bankrupt” Sale. Both hardcovers for $20 total!

This Monday Link Love is dedicated to my dream house. I’m assuming that it exists somewhere since I would have no desire to build a house of my own. So, here’s to you housey.

- I’m not sure when wallpaper got cool again but I jumped on board. I love the first image in this post. Great pattern and contrast.

- Yes, actually my dream house could very well be a tree house.

- Holy bed, chandelier and wood galore. I love it.

- A great resource I stumbled upon with lots of great photos of rooms, layouts, and inspiration. The featured photo in this post was found there.

- Are you on Pinterest? If so, follow this LIVING board.

- I like the way these photos are arranged.

ENJOY!

What’s on television tonight? I don’t know. Wait, actually I do know. All the time. We got rid of cable this year and now I have a love/hate relationship with television. Most of the shows that I watched are available on Hulu.com now but lately I’ve had a hard time interacting with others on Twitter after 7 o’clock in the evening. It’s either #greys, #americanidol, #LOST, #thebachelor, etc. What I’ve been seeing has really changed the way I view Twitter and how I want to present myself as someone with a Twitter account.

Here are some of my new Twitter standards and implementations:

- I cut down 300 people that I had been following. Reasons included : location, lack of tweeting, and tweeters who do not interact (ever).

- I’ll try not to tweet about random happenings throughout my day and instead start aiming at sharing links and interacting with others.

- I won’t automatically follow someone back. I need to look at what their purpose is on Twitter via their timeline and followers.

- I’ll be scheduling tweets via Postling.com. Often, I want to share articles or blog posts throughout the day but I can no longer consistently tweet while at work.

- If I don’t have something nice to tweet, don’t tweet anything at all.

A trillion plus a million. That’s how many things I have running through my head. More to come later (including my new approach to Twitter, new and exciting blog posts, and a new philosophy that I invited. Just kidding about the philosophy part.) Oh and don’t worry–I found those ants outside. Not in my house. Or even near my house.