Early on, my plans of art and the design world were almost thwarted. Looking back, I can see many opportunities throughout my life that I had to allow rejection to shake my confidence and send me in another direction.

My first bout with this client-induced distress came when I was 10 years old. As a small child I had grown up in a family of crafters. My parents build very nice wooden children’s furniture: table and chair sets, rocking chairs, step-stools and desks. My mom eventually began painting on the pieces, the latest children’s characters, teddy bears, tractors or trains; she had  a large repretoire of designs.

Being a busy child I wanted to help and soon a natural knack for drawing and painting was discovered. Before long, I had surpassed my mom in the ability of personalizing the furniture in our home shop. However, when we were "on the road" at trade shows and craft fairs, it was my mom that did the majority of the work, dealing with customers and meeting their needs. Customers were able to select a piece of furniture and my mom would paint the child’s name or names on there while they waited.

In the fall, my mom had a severe case of bronchitis. It became clear that she would not be physically able to attend the upcoming Craft Show we had booked a year in advance. Needing the money, my grandmother suggested that I could take the show that weekend and she would be willing to help me deal with the clients and I would be able to handle the painting needs.

As I said, I was 10 years old.

The prospect of handling my first show was exhilarating. I was so excited and nervous. Anxious about my age, my grandmother helped me set up an area in the back of the booth where I couldn’t be seen. All day long I busily personalized the pieces, selling my work quickly as my grandmother handled the customers who never saw the young girl that was actually doing the painting.

Then it happened. A customer came back to pick up a $5 wall-hanging coat rack she had purchased. I still remember it clearly. The piece had a fluffy white lamb painted on it, and I had painted the name "Ashley" for her granddaughter. My grandmother turned to me, as during a slow moment I had walked to her side to watch the people browsing the auditorium.

She asked, "Jen, did you finish that coat rack?"

"Yes!" I replied and hurried over to where it sat, the paint finally dry.

I handed it to the customer, hopeful. She looked at me sharply, "YOU painted the name on there?"

"Yes ma’am!" I replied, proudly.

She looked at it closely, shook her head and said, "The letters are crooked and it doesn’t fill the space properly, I want my money back."

I was stunned, hurt and angry all at the same time. Having grown up in the shows, I knew better than to express my emotion. My grandmother curtly told her that I had been very successful this weekend, so her measley $5 wouldn’t matter and that someday I would be a successful artist, regardless of how I had been treated.

When the lady walked away with her $5 in hand, I sobbed to my grandmother, "I’ll never paint again, I quit."

My grandmother, being the wise woman she was, explained to me, that if I quit painting and doing what I loved, then I had let that woman beat me. I learned the tough lesson of dealing with clients: You can’t always please everyone and sometimes, they will be downright mean."

I often think back on that lady and her $5, hoping that if I’m ever in a similiar situation I will graciously be an encouragement, not a road block to someone else’s dream. I thank God for my grandma, who didn’t let me quit and was an encouragment helping me see that it wasn’t MY problem if someone didn’t like my work and I wouldn’t ever let that stop me.

So today, even if it’s hard, I will continue my art, continue designing and continue my dream in the face of rejection or disappointment, knowing that while I may not please everybody, I am talented, I am gifted and I am in the right field, the field of my passion.

To suffix this story, I will mention that after that show, I no longer hid in the back when I tag-teamed with my mom. I looked the customer right in the eye. Soon, the customers lined up to watch me work. Our booth would have tons of people in it wanting to see the ‘little girl’ that did the painting. It was my first niche! I was the youngest business person there.

At a show nearly a year later, I had my first request for an autograph on my work. What a thrill that was. The lady who did that, far made up for the mean grouch at the first show. I had come full circle.

I hope this story is an encouragement to you as your work is rejected by clients, companys or even your boss. Don’t sweat it. Don’t quit! You will succeed. You have the talent.

Bookmark This!

If you’re concerned with keeping on the cusp of modern style, it should. Where do you find inspiration and ideas for the latest design trends? All around you!

Inspiration can be found anyway, but keeping an eye out trends takes active observation.

There are tons of ways to gather ideas, here’s some of my favorites:

1. Any time I take a road trip, those who travel with me are constantly bombarded with the oohs and aahs that come from my seat. Billboards are one of my favorite sources for current trends.

2. Business signs also make a great impact on the design world. What better way to keep an eye on successful logo design then checking out the new businesses going up in your city?

3. When we try out a new restaraunt or see new branding at an old one, I make it a point to grab a business card. I collect these business cards in a 3 ring binder with trading card sleeves. When I need ideas, I look through the binder at the cards I’ve collected.

4. Random searches online. Some of the funnest online searches are for candy companies, and other food resources. Often their sites are fun and engaging, with bright colors.

5. Finally, browsing the book covers at Barnes and Noble, or Borders is a great way to see new and exciting designs that big name authors and large publishing houses.

Wherever you find your inspiration, just be sure to take the time to get the most of it!

Bookmark This!

If you are including an indicia or using a bulk mail code, be sure you keep artwork away from the areas the psotal printer will need.

Check out these examples:

 \

Hope you find the examples as inspiring and thought-provoking as I do!

Bookmark This!

Two nights ago in an attempt to replenish those creative juices, I went home, dug out my paints, a canvas and threw down some drop cloths and just started to paint. Interestingly enough I DID NOT get out any photo references, but instead I allowed the brush to just do what it wanted. Being used to painting landscapes in the past, I instinctively started with a sky.

Knowing that I had a lot of work to catch up on on the computer, I worked as quickly as I could. The goal was to not have any rules, but just to let the brush do what it wanted.

Once I had "completed" this rough painting it was amazing how my creativity level had jumped back up, I was able to get into my work and knock out some jobs that had been alluding me up to that point. I say that to remind myself that for the good of my health and those of my projects.

So here it is, don’t judge too harshly, there is no real detail to it.

Bookmark This!

Start where you are. If your client can only afford a single sided card with square edges, try a graphic treatment that will be remembered. Cant the words to one side, try leaving most of the card white. Only include the extremely necessary information. Add stripes or light lines to simulate the ridges of an expensive paper.

Low budget doesn’t have to mean poor quality. It simply means you have to be more creative.

To get your creative juices flowing, I’m gonna include some cool business cards I love that came from the Flikr Business Card pool.

Use your name creatively. Notice this card would not be outside the scope of a small budget 

Film Studio?

Go retro. This card has a definite touch of class. Notice the die cut.

If you have somebody to assemble, something like this can be done fairly low-cost as well.

If the camera breaks, he’s ready!

Get a little forensic evidence with the card for a hair stylist.

Dog tags for a Greyhound adoption agency. ‘Nuff said.

Card is inside. Awesome idea.

Leave something with your client’s they can enjoy!

Hope these are inspiring to you! I’ll post some more later!

Bookmark This!

So what is "necessary" on a business card? Personally I subscribe the the theory that less is more. Unfortunately, my clients don’t always subscribe to that same idea. In fact, I’ve dealt with just the opposite: the client that insists on a single-sided card with everything but their blood-type and social security number on there. (Seriously, they could use the thing as a second I.D.!).

Let’s see, if we just cover the basics, we need a BUSINESS NAME, CONTACT NAME, CONTACT POSITION, then contact information. I don’t put my mailing address on mine anymore, since I’m a freelancer, it’s not like I have a show room, or a studio that anyone can "Come By and Visit". So I just include my CITY, STATE, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS and WEB SITE.

I also much prefer 2-sided cards as they finally give you enough room to space out your elements. I suggest grouping your information in a logical arrangement to make it easy on any reader that wants to quickly scan the card. If someone has to struggle to find your contact information, they may move on to someone else.

In my next post, I’ll be uploading some cool business card examples. One thing I do everywhere I go is pick up a card. I store these in a 3 ring binder in trading card pouches for easy access and design inspiration.

Bookmark This!