Ho, ho, hello there Holidays!

I realize my blogging has been pretty lackluster over the last month, but I finally feel like I'm back in the creative swing of things so hopefully will be posting more regularly. And what a better kick in the pants of inspiration than when I opened up the Snapfish holiday catalog over the weekend and one of my card designs was in there! Check out more designs at Snapfish.com.

I would like to dedicate this post to my computer

From million dollar campaigns to million dollar smiles

I don't know how this blog title could better describe the changes that Anna and I have gone through since our big bad NYC ad days, but I was excited for the opportunity to collaborate as art director / copywriter for the Waco Fourth of July Parade, and this time I KNOW the client was happy with the result.

Interestingly, the art director hat (literally and figuratively) went to Anna this time and I wore the copywriting one.

A blast from my advertising past

Five years after my Glenlivet ads debuted, I finally made One Magazine (a respected industry publication that no one in the real world has heard of) which praised the look of this ad campaign and the typographer who I hired for the project. My only other time in the mag was in 2000 when one of my student pieces declared me 'a woman to watch' in the ad industry. And while the ad industry and I have stopped watching for each other lately, it WAS a nice feeling to get a wink from them in 2011.

Until next year, Javits Center

The squeaky wheel gets....CUSTOMERS

I'm so excited to announce my editorial debut in Furniture Today magazine today! Now let's get some Green Line riders over to our showroom.

Snow Day Corporate Attire

I mean, not that mine's that much different than a non-snow day, but I appreciated that everyone working from home was dressed just as spiffy.

Goodbye Thanksgiving holiday

Ho, Ho, Hello there Snapfish

I've recently started designing cards & invitations for Snapfish so I visit the site regularly to check on my little design-babies. And today I felt like a parent who's kid made Honor Roll: one of my cards was chosen as their front page note card design!

A decade of "maybe"

I just got my anniversary issue of Lucky magazine and boy I feel old. Like, I remember that I was already OUT OF COLLEGE marking interview outfits with those little tabs.

OK who am I kidding, I never did that because (duh) I chose advertising as a career specifically so that I wouldn't HAVE to ever wear an interview outfit. Like my great mentor Angela Bower, who proved that client presentations were just as effective in sequined prom dresses, I was left to putting Lucky's intriguing new sticky tabs on high heels I'd never be able to buy, let alone manage in on the streets of NY, and shopping streets of cities I'd only dream to walk.

But ten years later and living in a car culture that allows me to finally wear heels (occasionally), I'm happy to see that I've achieved something that your editors deem Lucky-worthy.

Drumroll please for #90, #91, #93, & #95. Sigh, macaroons and (literally) stuffed animals, Who's the Boss? For today, I'd like to say that I am.

Walk away from the stamps, Karen

A by-product of designing wedding invitations is the almost OCD-ness I get when thinking about the stamp that will go ON the invitation.

Does it fit the design 'concept'?
How does the stamp size influence the appropriated address space?
Does it color-coordinate?
And most importantly, why is the only non-Forever stamp that is always in stock at the post office the freakin' BART SIMPSON stamp?

So many times this decision is out of my control, as I really can't demand that my clients (other than your wedding, Paola) use only the stamp that I recommend. But thanks to my new find, the USA Philatelic, I can both change my stamp-obsession status from "Crazy" to "Enthusiast" as well as have a hands-on guide for my clients. I know they'll be so happy to hear about it.

Out with the old (literally), and in with the new

So, the furniture market is next week. Already! I've got my newest photoshoot ready for the showroom gallery and am now just left with a few last-minute (yet very important) market prep steps.

Like waterproofing my new Market Shoes, using last April's price lists as a backdrop.

Sometimes I feel like I may have OCD

Or at the very least, an affinity for order. But I may be loving how our market invitations look all ready for mailing even more than they do on their own.

Thanks mom. I mean, Hamlin's.

 

Just a little guilt trip life lesson to start my Thursday morning. Though not as creatively worded as last week's thought of the day.

I hope this grey area doesn't extend to my food...

...but I notice that Kroger takes a very PC approach as to not stir up aisle-fighting common in the Harris Teeter across town.

No wait, THIS is better than cable

(Note: Yes, I did take this photo from the safety of my own car. I'm not really one of those people who would die for the sake of their art.)

(Note: And no, I'm not really considering this photo 'art')

Do any of your packages contain anything fragile, liquid, perishable or potentially hazardous?

Would you like to ship this Express Mail and have this arrive tomorrow? Would you like delivery confirmation or proof of delivery? Can I interest you in any packaging supplies or a post office box today?

(in other words, if all creative outlets fail, I think I could be one hell of a postal employee)

This is better than cable

A fond hello to my old friend, Corporate America.

I really forget about Those Days. It's usually when I need to make a fax (+ $3.00) or when I have to buy my own lunch when discussing business (+ $11.00) that I really miss Those Days.

But today, I got to pay my friend a little visit when dropping off Save the Dates to client. So what if I didn't work in the Wachovia building, the good people of Goodberry–who were schilling ice cream sundaes in the name of a corporate sponsor in the building–had no idea. I could almost taste my bottomless expense account along with Heath Bar crunch.

Now does anyone have a dinner function they need accompaniment to??

Screw punchbuggies!

Wait for it.....

Wait for it....

Yessss!

There's nothing more exciting than the acceleration power of a BMW (while not exceeding the speed limit, of course) and seeing my third installment of Hot Rod advertising (the first and second being Rice Krispie Treats and Air Heads) on the way back from the beach.