Raspberry Creative

First Show - Big Success

2012-01-31T11:04:00.001-05:00

After all the stress and anxiety about the first show ever for Raspberry Creative, I'm happy to say it was a big success. Raspberry Creative is officially legal to sell products and this weekend was my first attempt at selling physical items. It was pretty exciting.

While i didn't sell a ton of things, the best part was making so many new contacts and just getting the name out there. I had so many people come up to me to tell me they've seen the shop in Mifflinburg and didn't know what it was or they were happy they now know about me because they have something coming up. Lots of people took business cards and asked real questions so I feel like my goal was accomplished.

I felt all along that the biggest thing for me was letting people know what I actually do and for that I succeeded.

Here are a few other shots of the show. I think it was a successful day for everyone.

Right Around the Corner

2011-12-12T14:52:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted here in a long time. The new company website was built in WordPress so the blog is built right in. I find that this is still a popular spot for visitors so I'm thinking that maybe I'll keep this up as more of an insider's look at me and what's going on with the company. I keep the company site more professional or at least I try to. I'm thinking that maybe this will be a spot where I can get a little more personal.

If you are here, but haven't found your way to the official company website I welcome you. The new studio space (which isn't really new anymore) has come along nicely. We continue to make improvements around here but we are loving our new home in Mifflinburg. Everyone has been very nice and welcoming and we have been getting a lot of really positive feedback.

A couple weeks ago we had our Holiday Open House during the Community Tree Lighting. We had fresh baked cookies and fun give aways. We got to talk to lots of great people and it was fun getting the studio all decorated for the special night.

During the actual tree lighting I recruited my mother-in-law to help me pass out little packets of custom designed gift tags that also included a discount card for any future design project. Feedback on facebook was really positive and I think those that took the time to share their comments.

Now Christmas is right around the corner. I can't believe it's less than two weeks away!

Monday

2011-05-16T08:54:00.002-04:00

Have you been following the blog on our site? I hope so. I've been sharing some of the latest projects including a wedding suite and continued political designs. We've been busy around here but things are going very well.

Visit us at http://www.raspberry-creative.com/

More Press

2011-04-05T11:30:00.002-04:00

I was surprised today by a letter that arrived in the mail from our local state rep Fred Keller. The letter was a little pocketfold with a note inside from Mr. Keller along with a newspaper clipping from the Standard Journal that also carried the press release that MHRA put out. How exciting!

Have you checked out the website?

2011-04-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

If you haven't visited the new website yet you should. Yesterday i shared an article in the paper about the grand opening which was pretty exciting. If you missed it, I have shared it below.

New Website!

2011-03-30T19:58:00.002-04:00

I am beyond excited to announce our new website. You have to check it out.

The new site is powered by WordPress so our blog will be integrated meaning we will likely be phasing this location out. For now there is a link from the site to here as there has always been.

New Toys and What's Going On

2011-03-29T08:23:00.000-04:00

We've got some new toys in the office to play with and hopefully open up even more creative doors.

My wonderful husband surprised me with the Yudu last week as an office warming gift.

Our trial run didn't go so well so I'll have to work on it a bit. I'd love to print up some t-shirts for the business or be able to do t-shirts for family reunions, parties, etc. Just for fun.

The other new office toy is the Silhouette SD. This baby cuts all kinds of things from paper to vinyl and I can link it up with Illustrator to cut my own designs. I've been playing with this since the weekend and I'm really loving it.

There wont be much playing the rest of the week because there's lots of work to be done. Yesterday we were given the content for two upcoming political mailers for Tony Mussare. There are some changes to the Ireland wedding invitations and some new work for Salt Lake Prenatal Massage to be done. I also need to put together some sketches for a meeting on Friday for a new wedding package. Toward the end of the week we will also have another round of endorsements ads for a political candidate we are working with through Jason.

It should be a good week.

Grand Opening Success

2011-03-28T09:27:00.000-04:00

Despite the colder than ideal temperatures and my nervousness the Grand Opening was a success. The sun shone brightly all day and we had a great time!

The window looked great!

The ribbon cutting went well. It lasted all of about two minutes but it was fun.

Then it was photo time.

Me.

Mom, Dad and Brother

Jason, my friend and colleague.

And maybe best of all, my wonderful husband.

The giveaway table with those giant, heavy scissors.

The refreshments.

Our awesome friend Dan helping my mom with food.

My Aunt Ellen, Cousin Rita and her lovely daughter Jamie. The day was made even more special by sharing it with family. They have no idea how much it meant to me that they were there.

It was chilly but the sun shone brightly all day. I had a good time so I hope everyone else did. We made some new contacts and I sincerely thank everyone that helped out in some way or came to the opening to share the day.

The Grand Opening is Tomorrow!

2011-03-25T07:14:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's tomorrow! It has been so crazy the last couple weeks so I haven't been keeping up with posts but I think we are as ready as we are going to be!

The ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 10 and we will be hanging out until 2.

There will be refreshments, giveaways, and a grand prize drawing at 1:30.

The Grand Prize is a free package design. If you or someone you know is getting married this prize could be worth up to $500! For a wedding package the winner would receive a custom designed invitation suite including invitation, response card, additional enclosures, place cards, table numbers, menu, etc.

For other types of stationery the packag includes the design of the invitation / announcement / card and the design of an envelope and / or label. While this prize wouldn't be worth as much monetarily, if you have a special event coming up, it's still a great way to get a custom design at no cost.

This prize can also be used for a business package. If you are starting a new business or want to give your existing business a facelift, this could be a great prize. A business identity package includes a logo, business card and letterhead. If you don't need a new identity design this prize could also be used for the design of a brochure, flyer, newsletter or any other single design.

It is important to note that the prize does NOT include the costs of paper, printing other materials or postage.

If you are in the Mifflinburg area tomorrow you should stop in to say hello, grab some refreshments and put your name in the drawing for the grand prize or several of our other prizes.

I will also be handing out gift certificates to everyone just to say thank you for coming!

Grand Prize Giveaway!

2011-03-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

Since I've been slacking off with so much going on I thought I should take the time today to share some info about the Grand Prize which will be given away this Saturday at our Grand Opening Party.

I will be giving away a free custom design package. This could be a business identity package (logo, business card and letterhead) a wedding invitation set (invitation, response, enclosure) or a custom design for an upcoming birthday party, formal event, birth announcement, etc. Please note this is for the design only.

Throughout the event we will also have other giveaways and will be handing out gift certificates for $5 and $10 off just for coming to the opening.

If you are in the area on Saturday be sure to stop in, say hello, grad some refreshments and get your name in the drawing.

New Office Projects

2011-03-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

I had my hubby working hard with me this weekend to get shelving done in the office. I now have card display shelves on my wallpaper wall and a new custom shelf built into my desk.

I'm excited to have display space now for all my stationery samples.

We are counting down the days till the Grand Opening party. I've been getting a little freaked that it's going to flop but at the same time it's exciting.

Custom Birthday Party Invitation

2011-03-07T08:25:00.000-05:00

Last week I sent out this custom birthday invitation. The project was for Lisa, a client I've worked with a number of times before and I think this might be one of the best sets yet. We went with custom wrap around labels for the chocolate brown envelopes to coordinate with the invitations. Cute right?

New Rug

2011-03-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

I scored a new rug for the office over the weekend. It's actually a carpet remnant that has been bound. It's perfect though and for under $100, I think I made out pretty well.

I slid my chairs around to sit at the corner of the rug and Brad has promised me that the shelf for the front of my desk will be done before the opening. I've also decided that I'm getting curtains for the front windows. I've got the dog situation under control and I really just need the option for privacy. I'll share more on the curtains once I order them.

The Week Ahead

2011-02-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

To try to get myself on a regular schedule I am going to try a Monday post looking at the week ahead. Today I've got some new projects to share and a recap of a meeting I had on Friday.

First up, I've been sharing a lot about what's been going on but haven't shown any images of the acutal work and believe me, there's been a lot! I'm probably most excited about the political projects. They have been taking up most of my time and the hard work is starting to pay off. I'm getting my name spread all over the place and so far all the projects have gone super well.

I don't have copies of all the printed pieces yet because for some candidates I'm handling the printing and not all the work has gone to print yet.

I know I have to come up with a better spot to photograph my work but it's better than not sharing at all for now. These are palm cards and I have completed a third but don't have copies yet. Last week I completed a mail piece that is going to print this week and will be starting two more mail pieces this week.

I also had to share this again. My poster for the Grand Opening.

It's just supposed to be fun.

This week I'll also be starting to work on the rebranding for JDM again. That brings me to my meeting on Friday. I was informed that as far as the political division goes I am their exclusive designer and will be so starting with any new clients from here out. They felt that my fees, schedule and work has not only met expectations but far exceeded it and they now consider me to be as much a team member as anyone else.

While that wasn't the topic of the meeting, I was glad we had the change to talk because that means Raspberry Creative will have significant ongoing work during political race "seasons". Aside from the work, it is also excellent exposure and will hopefully open more doors down the road.

The acutal topic of the meeting was to clarify and begin to more forward with JDM's new identity. While there is some disagreements about it, I feel like we won more than we lost and I am now looking forward to moving the project forward. The project now includes the design of a whole new website with lots of integrated features. I'm nervous but excited about it at the same time. I was also informed at this time that they are pushing towards me being the exclusive creative director for all of JDM. This could be a major boost for Raspberry Creative.

The JDM project will pick back up with us looking at some revised color options for JDM. It was a unanimous vote to go with this design but in a color palette more in line with the parent company Moran Industries.

As if all this wasn't enough we also designed a custom birthday party invitation last week in a very whimsical style. Printing and assembly will be taking place this week and I will share photos of the project then.

Last but not least, we are starting the new custom wedding invitation set for Amanda. She is going for a great sunflower and celtic knot combination and I've already got several sketches ready to bring to life. The wedding is in September so we are going with a muted green and gold palette. The basis of this design was done almost a year ago with her in mind.

Amanda is acutally the younger sister of past client Heather. The design is going to get a big update and the colors made richer for more of an autumn feel but I think this gives us a great place to start.

It's going to be another crazy week!

Grand Opening Update

2011-02-24T08:36:00.000-05:00

The Grand Opening date has been changed to March 26th. This is the official day and it is going to happen. Plans are under way and I'm getting really excited about it. I've got some giveaways planned with one grand prize which I will share more about later. All the festivities start at 10AM. I hope you can make it.

Aside from planning the opening, it's been super busy around here! With new projects coming in every week, we've been blessed with no down-time and no end in sight. 2011 is starting off super strong and with the office finally open we hope it continues.

If you are local to the Mifflinburg area, please stop in and say hello. The dogs will bark but they LOVE visitors!

Open House

2011-02-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

The open house date had to be changed. There were too many scheduling conflicts and I knew early on that I didn't want to do it at all if it wouldn't be worth my while. The new date and final, official date is March 28th. Please mark your calendars. There will be light refreshments and lots of fun. More details to come.

Happy Friday

2011-02-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday and if you are in the Northeast I hope you are enjoying the spring-like weather. It is so nice here right now that I opened my front door and am enjoying the smell of spring in the air as is blows through the office. It is just beautiful outside.

I'm busy working but decided to take a quick break and share something that I spotted last Friday when I was away. As you may know, last Friday I closed the office and spent the day with my hubby, my brother and his wife. We drove down to Harrisburg and went to the sportsman show. As a child I remember going with my parents and it took all day just to see all the camper and boats. My parents bought both their boats at the sportsman show. My brother later bought his boat and jet ski there. I used to love going. Now it has become mostly a show for hunting and some fishing outfitters.

While I knew I wouldn't be super into the hunting and fishing I went anyway just for something different. Living and working under the same roof can get tedious sometimes. I honestly had more fun watching people than anything else. I did however spot a company logo that I thought worthy of sharing.

It has a very tattoo-ish look to it and it's girly without being girly if that makes sense. Anyone that knows me knows I like tattoos and have my share of ink. Anyway, the company offers hunting apparel made specifically for women. I'm not into the hunting clothes but I thought the logo was pretty cool. I'd love the opportunity to design a logo in this type of style someday.

Apology and Thank You.

2011-02-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

For someone that makes a living using a computer there is really a lot that I don't know. For instance, I had some time today between projects so I decided to take care of some marketing related things. While in the midst of it I realized for the first time that I have actually had comments to posts and I never realized it.

I would like to thank those that have left comments and encourage you to continue. I apologize that I didn't realize it until now and I promise to follow up on comments from here on out. I sincerely appreciate that you took the time to say hello.

Facebook Fan Page

2011-02-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already, please check out our new page on Facebook.

Mid Week Update

2011-02-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

I hope you are having a good week and that you are able to enjoy the warming temps outside. I can honestly say that I am enjoying all the lovely sunshine coming through my now finished window.

My boys have been enjoying ti too as you can see from them on Monday morning. I have since moved them to the powder room and coat closet area between the office and the house. They can still see me and what I am doing but they can't get into trouble or cry becasue they know I'm here but can't be with me. So far it is working out very well.

With the window open to the world I have made an effort to dress the part...finally and am enjoying seeing all the people stop and stare trying to figure out what it is that I'm doing. I'm trying to find time to put a couple posters in the window with services and a run-down of who I am.

I should also announce that it looks like the grand opening if finally set for March 19th. I pushed it out so I'd have time to plan and hopefully have a better chance at good weather. It's not going to be anything major. There will be some light refreshments, some small giveaways and that's about it. The mayor has offered to do a ribbon cutting and give a little speach but other than that, I'm thinking I'll keep it pretty simple, light and fun. It's more just for me to celebrate a dream come true.

Work is going very well. I'm staying pretty busy between the campaign projects, ads and flyers for Jay in California and a couple logo / identity projects. I will try to put some sets together to share some of our recent work.

I'm also trying to get the site finished. I'd love to say it will be finished for the Grand Opening where I can have it on display on the laptop. I guess we'll see.

We Have a Sign

2011-02-12T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hubby and I did the office sign today. It needs a little touching up but overall it turned out pretty well!

I still want to put the website below the name but for now I'm happy with it.

Now if only I could decide on what to do with the window...

Coat Closet Finished

2011-02-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend I finished the coat closet in the office. Now I have a place to store my computer bags, coats, etc. Brad even hooked me up with a touch light and shelves above for extra storage. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Now if I just knew what to do with that front window I'd be happy.

I also want to share that the office will be closed on Friday, February 11

Thinking Pink

2011-02-05T06:26:00.000-05:00

In an effort to try some new things with the business blog I am going to try something a little new today. Design, be it graphic, interior, fashion, is all related. Most of us look to the other areas to pull inspiration and many of the trends that you see in one, you see in all from color, style, etc. While I love what I do, I have also always been very passionate about interior design. Just don't ask me about my own house becasue I can never make solid decisions.

Yesterday my newest issue of House Beautiful arrived. This issue is all about PINK! Ok, honestly I have never been a super girly girl that loves pink. I have owned some pick clothing along the way but never much and never mixed with frills. After looking at all the beautiful interiors however I think I changing my mind and now I'm trying to figure out where I can use pink in the house.

Regardless of whether you go for a soft, pale pink or a bold, saturated deep pink, the color works with any style and with so many other colors that is really is a versatile color. Aside from wanting to do pink somewhere in my house, I'm feeling very inspired to do some fun pink stationery and of course now I know I need to bring some raspberry into the office!

Have a wonderful weekend!

"Leslie" Wedding Set

2011-02-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

With so many things to be done before the official opening I have been working hard in my down time and in the evenings to get my catalogs ready and even add some new designs. I like always having something fresh to showcase. My latest is this new wedding set.

New Online Magazine

2011-02-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

As I was catching up on my favorite blogs this morning I read a post about a new online magazine that I am really excited about. Piccola Magazine is going to be geared toward small business owners and it seems like more specifically creative business owners. I can't wait for the first issue coming out in May.

Friday, January 28th :Update

2011-01-28T09:57:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd check in today to update everyone on what's been happening around here lately. First up, I'm happy to share that the office renovations are done. There are some small things to do like put doors on the front closets and put hooks in the front cubbie for a little coat closet type thing but the major renovations are done!

I'm also happy to say that it has been busy around here with clients. This was a rollercoaster week with some extra stresses but I've made it through. There are several projects in various stages going on right now. From flyers to postcards, brochures and logos. I'll be happy to share some of the work when it's completed. Some of the political work I have to keep under wraps until it goes out officially.

Hopefully next week I'll have some completed office photos to share.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Its Coming Back Baby!

2011-01-14T12:09:00.000-05:00

It's Friday and I have to admit I am pretty happy about that. It's been another hectic week (as mentioned yesterday) and I could use a little break. I actually wont be getting a break because we are finishing the office renos this weekend and I'll be trying to get the new website finished since I don't have time through the week.

I wasn't going to post today but I thought I had something worth sharing. I am happy to share that "raspberry political" is coming back. I did some work for the Marino Campaign last year and did some photography for a State Rep about the same time but that was about it. Then it looked like the whole idea of adding political design was going to fizzle because of too many people with their hand in the pot already. With the Marino win things got buisy for our consultant friend and thing started looking like they were going to turn around.

Recently I've been sending prices and proposals on various print and design projects and this morning I got my first official go-ahead. I can't share details until the campain is officially announced next week but it's an open ended contract and I was told to start logo designs because the turn-around needs to be pretty fast.

I feel so fortunate that things are going so well right now. I also still can't believe we are actually in this house and I have my dream office that is finally almost done. This old house couldn't be more perfect for us and it will only get better as we continue our renovations. Now as I look to the future I'm thinking not about an office but employees. It was just a couple years ago that an office seemed so far from reality and now I'm here!

Have a great weekend!

Week of 1/10/2011 Update

2011-01-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy week so far and I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already.

While most of the week was spent working on a logo for Pearl Entertainment, a South Asian Entertainment Company that currently has a very successful television program. We will also be working with a developer on a new website for the tv show. Here are a couple of the logo concepts .

I'd also like to share what's been going on here at the studio in terms of renovations. We should be 95 - 98 percent complete after this weekend.

The original transom was put back in after the hole had been closed off with wood and insulation.

We also spent last weekend on this wallpaper project that made me never want to hang wallpaper again!

The Grand Opening will be just around the corner and right now I need to find time to figure out what plans I am going to make for it and figure out what I am going to need and just how much time I don't have to get it all done. I'm extremely greatful for everything that is happening but I'm a little frazzled at the same time!

Thoughts on the Website

2011-01-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

I'm in a strange pause right now with projects so even though I know the storm is coming, I'm trying to take advantage of the time I have right now. I'm unpacking more boxes and I am working on the website which is one of those things that I really need to make a priority in the early part of this year.

Here is a little sneak peek at what I'm thinking about. I'd love to hear feedback.

Clearly from this mock-up you can see that my goal is to go with something simplified. Any big news or special projects I share here on the blog anyway so I am eliminating all the extras. I'm going to shorten the "about" stuff and cut back on the number of projects on the website. I'd rather show quality than quanitity.

Meeting Aftermath

2011-01-05T14:28:00.000-05:00

I'm back from me meeting and trying to figure out what I'm going to start next. I no sooner got back here and I had a call from a past client want to update some things. That's good.

While I never like to share a whole of of a project before things are finalized, I want to try some new things in the coming year and one of those is sharing more about the process I take with projects.

The big project right now is the complete rebrand of JDM Consultants. I have already shared basic details about this but I'd like to share more of the details as I go along.

Here is their current logo.

Ok, maybe it worked back in the day but clearly this is outdated and not at all fitting for a young, forward thinking company that is really starting to take off. I should also point out that this logo was designed back when the primary service offered by this company was surveying. Now they are a consulting firm that offers political, engineering and interior design. It's just not the same company that it used to be.

Once I knew why the change was being made I began to think about how a change will benefit the company, what their goals are, who their competition is and in the most basic sense, who they are.

After my initial meeting with the three primary members of the company I was confident that we were all on the same page as far as the look the new identity. When I sat down to start my sketches I really got into it and started having lots of great ideas. While we all seemed to be in agreement that a solid wordmark would be best, I thought that finding a unique twist would be a great way to make the logo feel more special. I had to be careful though that I found design options that worked for all three aspects of the company. The political side tends to be conservative professional while the engineering side might be able to move a little bit more into the artistic side. The interior design part while staying professional and classic also would call for a more artistic approach. In the end I tried to being in all elements by combining text, shape and color but keeping things simple at the same time.

To my meeting today I took 12 concepts. I usually don't ever do more than 10 but I felt 12 was right this time. It was really funny how everyone seemed to gravitate toward the same couple of designs both in overall design and color. Here are the top three in no special order.

The more we talked today however it was interesting to see how one design took center stage.

With two of the three primary contacts present we made some small changes right there in the meeting and went to my pantone chips to fine tune the colors and all of a sudden we had a design that they were ready to get final approval on from their boss. It was really exciting for me to see how very different people in very different fields felt this one design was right for them. Maybe they were easy to please or maybe I really got this one right. I'd like to think at least some of it was me but regardless it was easy.

So here is the design they picked as it was originally and then how we modified it slightly.

In case you can't tell when changes were made here they are. First of all we made the word "consultants" slightly smaller. That made JDM a bit more prominent. We then modified the colors slightly. The gray is a bit lighter and has less blue in it. The blue is really only a bit lighter and slightly more saturated rather than having gray in it. The chartreuse is just a little less orange / yellow and more of a true chartreuse. Really it's just a slightly brighter version of the same palette. It's cool, modern but still professional and not too over the top for the political consultant. He was the one missing from today's meeting so I will be anxious to see how he reacts to the design and really the entire presentation because nothing is official yet. We could still go back to another option if not everyone feels the same way.

I'll update when I know more.

Presentation Day

2011-01-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

I'm getting the last of my stuff togther for my presentation meeting later this morning with JDM. I've had the presentation ready since Monday and today just have to check my list and make sure I don't forget anything. I feel pretty good about it.

I'll share more after the meeting.

New Year, New...

2011-01-03T08:18:00.000-05:00

Lots of things are new today. We are starting a new year, we are starting a new week, I am writing to you from my new office and we made some major new progress in here over the long holiday weekend. Brad and I didn't spend our weekend out partying or anything, instead we worked here at the house on the office.

There's still a pile of things in the center of the room to be dealt with but the cabinets and shelves are in, my desk is set up and we have light!

Did I forget to mention the boys helped too? We still need to replace the transom above the back door. We need the molding around the ceiling put up, the bump-out wall needs wallpaper, trim needs painted in a few areas, the powder room door needs attached and the trim put up, I need to finish painting the floor and the closets needs built out.

We brought in my drafting table to replace the white table and little desk. The drafting table isn't pretty but the work surface is nice and high, big and sturdy.

We moved in the cabinets from our dining room that was originally part of our living room entertainment center. I am liking how they look in here. There are still a couple boxes of old magazines that need to go out, the white desk needs to be moved to the basement and I have lots of cleaning and organizing yet to to.

I am happy with how things are coming along though. It's light and bright and open.

This week is going to be a busy one. Aside from wanting to continue getting the office ready for our opening I have a big presentation meeting with JDM on Wednesday for their new identity and branding and a big package of sample designs for DDS Marketing in addition to some smaller projects as well. We're starting off 2011 with a bang.

Where are We Headed in 2011

2010-12-31T07:15:00.002-05:00

It feels like 2010 flew by like a streak. So much has happened both in the business and in my personal life and it’s hard to believe we are starting a new year already. Yeah, there were some things that didn’t quite happen this past year but we aren’t going to allow ourselves to dwell on that. Instead we are looking ahead at what we have yet to accomplish.

Admittedly I felt like much of this past year was a wait and see kind of situation. We didn’t know for a long time where our new home was going to be and where the business “home” would be either. We didn’t know how our new connections to political campaigns and stationery vendors would pan out. With so many unknowns, it was hard to make any solid plans.

Now that things have settled, we are making major progress on the office renovations and we are starting to get a feel for how our new connections are going to pan out, things are looking brighter and clearer for Raspberry Creative and where we are headed.

I think it’s obvious that the number one goal for 2011 is to get the studio completed and have our Grand Opening. This also includes getting our office sign installed on the window. It is very important to me that the Grand Opening be something special. If no one knows about it and no one shows up then it will be just a big waste of time and send a negative message or not make a good first impression.

The second goal for the coming year is to improve the website. IT got a new facelift last year and for the most part the new design will remain. The problem was that it was never really finished and I want it to have better functionality and look more technologically up to date.

The third goal is to focus more on our social media outlets. It’s important that we reach out to our audience in the most effective ways. We have given only a partial effort when it comes to these mediums and I really want to spend more time on them. These will include our Facebook page, blog, LinkedIn, Twitter and some new options we are also considering.

The fourth goal is drastically improving our Etsy shop. Our Etsy shop to this point has admittedly only been an afterthought. Little effort has been given to descriptions, photography, organization, design and marketing. Since the new studio isn’t meant to be a shop it will be important for our clients, local and beyond, to be able to purchase items / sets of stationery and designs without feeling intimidated by working with us the way you would for a typical design project.

Goal Five is improving our sample library and completing our stationery catalogs. This will be invaluable when it comes to those that come into our studio off the street. With this we also want to start adding equipment. Now that we have the space, it’s important that we continue to grow and improve.

Goal six is keeping cool displays in the storefront window. This might sound like a funny one but I know myself and I know how things can get when there are several projects going on. I tend to get very narrow minded and let extra things (like the window) go unattended. It will be important to keep fun and interesting window displays to keep people interested.

The seventh and final goal is to stay in touch with clients. I need to do better at staying in touch with clients even after their project is done.

Looking ahead at what’s coming up there is already several projects that will be starting in the new year. The most pressing is the complete rebranding of JDM Consultants. Our meeting was rescheduled for this coming week to discuss initial concepts, colors, etc. I feel pretty good about my ideas for this project!

I’m also gearing up for another great year of projects with Jay. We’ve done a lot of admin work together this past month in preparation for the new year and his increased client based. We are very lucky to have formed such a good relationship with him.

As previously shared, we provided a proposal / cost sheet to JDM’s political consultant so that we can team up with them and offer a range of consulting services. Jason seems to be getting new leads all the time now that he led the successful Marino campaign and that means the potential for us to get some of that work is very high.

We are also making some new contacts that look like they are going to lead to new work. With the office soon to be open to the public here, we are also counting on an increase in local business.

I will also share that this weekend, the hubby and I will be working on the office and it looks like we should be able to get us almost done! We have almost all the supplies to finish so now all we need is time!

Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Raspberry Creative - 2010 Year in Review

2010-12-28T08:06:00.000-05:00

2010 has been a big year for Raspberry Creative. We had a record number of new clients and from that you can imagine a record number of projects as well. We formed a solid relationship with Jay of DDS Marketing Guru and did 30 projects just for him!

In February of this year my husband and I started talks with our perfect house which also included the small commercial space of my dreams. May 1st we were here ready to start bringing this place back to life. In August we moved into the house officially and just this month I moved from the living room to my studio and we are probably just weeks away from our grand opening.

Last year at this time I was excited about launching the “new and improved” service listing but as things progressed with our location and we started looking at what we really want to be we took a step backwards and realized we were trying to do too much and wanted to focus on what we are best at even if that meant not offering as much.

With our stronger focus on stationery we did some new advertising and landed our first BIG wedding package. We also stepped up our Etsy shop though we are finding that will be an area we want to work on in the coming year.

We worked on some projects in some new areas this year. We got involved with our friend and political consultant and worked on two different local political campaigns. We even ventured outside our usual list of services and did some photography that actually turned out pretty well!

2010 was a year of realizations. While we aren’t where we really want to be, we are seeing that we are headed there and that this thing will work. It’s not always the size of the project but the relationship you create because the repeat clients are where the real success lies. We’ve had a lot of that this year and we are so grateful to all our clients for their continued support and loyal business.

Later this week I will share a look ahead at the coming year. I’ll share some goals, some current plans and even some new things I’d like to do with the blog in the coming year.

Good News!

2010-12-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report that we got the verbal go-ahead on the rebranding project for JDM. I will have the signed contract in my hand by tonight. That's going to be a really big project to start the new year. I'm very excited about it. I already have a meeting set up with Lachelle next week to look at color samples and do some brainstorming. This should be a fun project.

I am also excited to share that we were contacted by Jason, the political consultant from JDM yesterday to talk about doing some design work for three campaigns he is contracted to manage. I have already started some preliminary work making contact with some other companies that we will need to work with to get the work done. I am expecting that we will be signed on with JDM for this work in the next couple of weeks as well.

Lastly I should share that I am adjusting nicely to working out of the new studio. Looking beyond my desk I can still see plenty of work to be done before the grand opening but I'm happy to at least be working in here finally.

Good News...New Project

2010-12-17T16:06:00.000-05:00

I had my meeting this morning at JDM about their new marketing goals. I didn't realize it was going to be so informal and be attended by so many but it ended up being a good meeting.

JDM is the company that my husband started working for almost two years ago. It's hard to believe it has been two years. During that time I have been brought in to do a number of projects focusing mainly on the work my husband does which is engineering.

Shortly after my husband started another man was hired as well but his role is political consulting. It wasn't until this year however that he really started showing what he could do and now they need a way to market this very diverse company.

At the meeting today was a third person that I didn't know was part of the group. She is an interior designer but is currently helping both my husband and his co-worker doing both engineering drafting and political work. The long term goal of the company is to grow all three aspects of the business under one name.

From the beginning of my working with them I urged them to consider a new identity. While my husband and his co-worker were all for it their boss always seemed to drag his feet about it. While it is a big step I felt like it was a necessary thing given where they want to go with the company.

Today's meeting immediately brought up this all to familiar topic. We talked about why it is a necessary step as they look forward, consider their goals, their competition and the level with which they want to compete. At the meeting we got approval to completely rebrand the company and I am proud to share that Raspberry Creative will be heading up this project.

It's going to be a challenge designing a logo appropriate for political consulting, engineering and interior design but I'm excited about it. We also brainstormed about the marketing packet they want to put together and I think my stationery experience is going to come in handy for this project. It's pretty exciting and I am going to be really anxious to get started in the new year.

Anxious to Start the New Year

2010-12-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

Since it has been a while I thought I would take a few minutes before I run out to a meeting to share some new things happening around here. The office is coming along slowly...still but that isn't keeping me from doing other things.

We've had some past clients come out of the woodwork this month wanting various things done. Return clients is one of the biggest compliments whether they realize it or not. I've been staying pretty busy with those things alone.

I've also been working on the samples for "J" that I found out this morning needs to be done about a week sooner than originally planned. It will all work out fine I'm sure.

In about 20 minutes I'm heading out to meet with Jason at JDM about some new marketing materials they want to do. They are also a return client and I'm hoping their work grows because they could open a lot of doors for us here.

With the office work lingering on and on, it's been really hard to plan for the new year. I'm not where I had hoped I would be and with so much going on because of Christmas being just a week away, even finding extra time has been hard. I know it will all work out and 2011 is going to be even better than 2010.

I would like to do a year in review next week if possible and also share some goals for the new year. It should be fun.

Couple Things to Follow Up On

2010-12-01T15:06:00.001-05:00

I had a good phone meeting with my client "J" today and I am getting excited about the future. There's lots of things coming down the pipeline from him and it will be interesting to see how things play out with the rest of the business.

It's looking more and more like an early January Grand Opening is going to be reality. I have the month of December to get everything set up and ready to go. I'm getting a little freaked out and excited all at the same time.

Lastly, I forgot to share this until now but I finished the Nurses Heart to Heart project last week. Below is the final logo design. Thank you Anita for an awesome project.

Tentative Date Set

2010-11-30T15:14:00.000-05:00

After feeling more frustration yesterday on the lack of progress on the office I looked at my calendar to find a Grand Opening Date in January since December just doesn't seem reasonable now. I figured that maybe setting a real date, I would be able to keep Brad on track and motivated as much as I am. I've said it all along, if there were things I knew how to do to get the work done I would. I've been doing everything I can to take as much off Brad's plate as possible.

With that said the unofficial Grand Opening Date for the new studio is January 8th. It's a saturday, the first after the new year holiday weekend actually. I'm not sure yet what all I want to plan for that day but keep your calendar open. This has been a long time coming!

Started Window Decorating

2010-11-29T10:39:00.000-05:00

With the big wedding project done I am able to focus on getting the studio done. The frustration level continues to excalate as little progress was made once again this past long weekend. How can we be so close yet so far away?

In an effort to continue to remain positive despite my frustration, I began decorating the window this weekend. It looks pretty sparse yet and I have thoughts of adding some holiday card samples on strings across the back curtain but the tree looks cute, right?

The frame the poster is in is pretty flimsy so I can't hang it even though I think it would look a lot better than it does just leaned against the window. At least the stage area is done minus lighting. I guess I am going to have to start cracking the whip despite how it might upset Brad. I'd do it myself if I knew how.

The Verdict is In!

2010-11-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share this yesterday but found myself in bed with the flu. Not feeling 100% yet but am doing much better today.

Saturday I received a couple emails from my client Kate saying that she got her wedding invitations and she absolutely loves them. She and her finace were even nice enough to send me photos of them holding the invites.

They were an awesome couple to work with and I couldn't be happier that they are happy with the end result.

No Project too Small

2010-11-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start off today by sharing a project that I am starting this week for two of my cousins that are in the process of starting to sell home-made quilted purses. They have both been great sewers forever and it seems to be a fun project they enjoy doing together.

At a family gathering this weekend I got to talking to them and they asked me to set up their Etsy shop. They have a cute business card already set up and they are already going to craft shows so Etsy seems like the next step in their endeavors.

In addition to their shop design I am continuing to work on the wedding package project for Kate. Things are coming together nicely but it is a slow process with so many little details to attend to. I have a pretty detailed timeline from now until early next week to keep everything on track. So far, so good!

I am also continuing to work with Anita and her logo for Nurses Heart to Heart. From the intial concepts she was able to clearly define the specific details she wants and through that I made a series of changes that I am awaiting comments on.

Lastly I started a new project for "J" at DDS Marketing for a holiday promo program one of their clients is doing. It was a great start to the 24th project we have done for them. Thank you to "J" and his company for continuing their relationship with us.

One more bit of news to share is about the studio. Brad was able to make some big progress in there over the weekend including a new back door!

Tonight Brad has promised to get the drywall finished so that painting can resume and be completed this week. Then its about moving the filing cabinets to the storage room in the basement, cleaning and then we are ready for the ceiling. That is just about it. I am planning on doing something to the floor too but I haven't decided just yet. The end is in sight now.

Sneak Peek and Some Inspiration

2010-11-03T17:07:00.000-04:00

I have spent a good portion of my day working on assembling my wedding invitation package and thought since I already sent a sneak peek to my client, I might as well share it here as well.

The photo really sucks but maybe it's better that way since this isn't the finished product...just yet.

The other thing I wanted to share is an inspiration board for a new wedding design set. I was looking through a magazine while eating my lunch and was drawn to the photo of a sun room. The warm colors and mix of patterns immediately made me think of using the idea for a wedding invite design.

Here's the patterns and colors I am thinking about. The flowers need some more work but I'm liking the general feel.

The background should be lighter and the flowers need some of the dark brown mixed in maybe as an outline or little added details. Not much, just some of the color to tie it in. I can't wait to get designing!

Election Day

2010-11-03T08:23:00.000-04:00

Since I haven't given an update this week I thought today would be as good a day as any since yesterday was Election Day and Raspberry Creative did some campaign work this past year.

Starting earlier this year, Raspberry Creative was brought on board to do some design work for Tom Marino which later led to some photography for Marino and Lynda Culver. Having the opportunity to get to know both candidates on a personal level was fun and educational because for the first time I got to see the political process first hand. It sounds silly maybe but I was never that interested in politics but now I find myself with a growing interest in it.

Last night we attended the Election Party for Tom Marino. Brad and I were invited by our friend and Brad's coworker Jason who was the political consultant for the Marino campaign. It was a great experience and I am glad that we went despite the late hour and the long drive.

This week and next I'll be hard at work assembling everything for the wedding invitation package for my client and Bride-to-Be Kate. I am so excited to see how everything turns out.

Etsy Morning

2010-10-27T11:12:00.000-04:00

I had some free time this morning and decided to use it to add a ton of stuff to the Etsy Shop. This past week a big chunk of the designs that we were "leasing" to a retailer expired so now we are proud to be offering them from our own shop. I will also try to update the website as well in the near future. For now, here is a sampling of what we are now offering.

New Project

2010-10-26T15:48:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't been keeping up very well lately but I promise to try in the future. I feel like sometimes there is just so much going on with the house renovations and projects that I just don't take the time to share what is going on with you.

Office renos are taking much longer than hoped if you haven't noticed. I had originally hoped that the studio would be open by mid October and since we are nearing the end of the month it is pretty obvious that it didn't happen. I've been trying to get the hubby motivated but it doesn't always happen.

The reason I am writing today is to share a new project that I will be starting tomorrow. The new client is Anita and she seems super sweet. She was sent to me by my bride-to-be Kate that I have been working with. Anita is heading up a wonderful non-profit organization for nurses who will be traveling to poor countries like Mongola to teach their nurses basic things like CPR. It's really a great thing and I am really excited about the project which will be a logo design. Anita has provided lots of inspiration and ideas and I think that the design is really going to be great.

The wedding invitations for Kate are being printed this week and as soon as they come in I will be sure to share them. The design really turned out great and she seems really happy with everything so far. I'm thinking of revamping some of the other versions to sell on the website. I might even turn them into other things like stationery, shower or party invites or something.

Christmas Designes Flooding In.

2010-10-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

We've got a few more Christmas Card designs to share with you this morning. Remember all our designs are completely customizable. Include photos, or don't use photos at all, change the colors, text...anything you want we can do.

New Christmas Card Designs!

2010-10-18T19:50:00.000-04:00

As promised, Raspberry Creative, LLC has soem great new designs for sale in time for the holidays.

Don't wait, order now to take advantage of our Early Bird Special! That's 10% off any order for the holidays from now until October 31st.

Be the first to customize one of our new designs.

More new designs coming later this week!

Early Bird Special

2010-10-17T06:42:00.000-04:00

Even though our new studio is still under construction we are still hard at work getting ready for the holidays. Order your personal or business holiday cards by October 31st and receive a 10% discount! Don't wait, contact us today!

Kate and Jason's Invitations

2010-10-14T15:58:00.000-04:00

As I have been sharing, Kate and Jason's wedding package is coming along nicely. We have finalized the design and are now working on all the details.

When the final design was selected they weren't sure if they wanted to do the border layer on the invites so I showed them some digital options to give them an idea of what it might look like. They were also unsure about what to do for the envelope liner.

I sent them this mock up to give them some options.

They really like the idea of using the striped liner which was my personal favorite because it is less expected. They also opted for the navy background / border layer because it will tie in nicely with the text which is also navy blue.

I can't wait to see everyone when they come back from the printer!

Clients can Say the Nicest Things...

2010-10-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

I have been so fortunate to have had so many wonderful clients over the years. Some I have gotten to know better than others and while it is important to maintain an aspect of professionalism with each project I also try to bring in a personal aspect as well. I don't ever want to be seen as cold or sterile and I truly believe that it is the personal stuff that infuses the most unique and creative designs.

The past couple of weeks I have been working with Kate and Jason on their wedding invitations. Today I sent off some revisions for Kate to look at with her fiance and she sent me the sweetest email.

Her note was simple and it said, "Hi Bethann- I feel like a kid on Christmas everytime I open an email from you. =) I love them. I'll show Jason and get back to you, Kate"

I just thought it was the cutest thing and such a compliment.

It's Not too Early to Start Thinking...

2010-09-29T11:48:00.000-04:00

...about the Holidays. They are just around the corner so we are gearing up to offer some great new holiday greeting cards and invitations.

If you order your pre-designed or custom holiday greeting or invitation cards BEFORE OCTOBER 31, 2010 we will give you a 10% DISCOUNT!

Here are a few of our current designs, new ones will be coming out shortly!

New Wedding Project

2010-09-29T11:39:00.000-04:00

I am excited to share that I have begun working on the custom wedding invitation package for bride-to-be Kate. Kate found one of our new ads and loved our work and wanted to work with us for her custom wedding design.

Her ceremony and reception are a bit untraditional which we think makes the whole project even more interesting. The reception is to be held on Hilton Head and while Kate loves the idea of a beach theme she also wants to make sure it doesn't come off as too casual. The reception is to be semi-formal and that needs to be communicated through the design.

She doesn't have all her wedding plans nailed down yet but she was pretty sure she will be having hydrangeas so we used that as our primary inspiration. She also mentioned starfish and upon some reasearch of my own I found several photos of the Hilton Head Lighthouse that I would love to incorporate as well as a nod to the location.

While I have ideas for several different artwork styles I started yesterday with some watercolor paintings since that is the closest to the inspiration design she sent me.

This design is from Wedding Paper Divas and is totally adorable. Since her event is more formal I am not planning on keeping the design quite this simple but it is really cute.

I don't want to share any of the artwork just yet because I haven't shown Kate but as soon as the concepts are sent I will share everything with you as well.

Been a While...

2010-09-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have posted and I apologize. Things have been a bit crazy around here.

Last week I started project #20 for DDS Marketing in California. Don't let the project number fool you though. Each project consists of at least 2 design pieces and one of the projects we started last week included 6 designed pieces!

I am also in the process of finalizing a couple things for Rebecca at Salt Lake Prenatal Massage and later this week it looks like we will be starting more for her.

I also wanted to share that I created a couple of ads last week just to "test the waters" and see if I could get any response. I just did them on Craigs List because I read a blog where another creative was getting considerable work from her CL ads.

I just posted my ad in the local listings and since the local CL doesn't seem that heavily used I wasn't sure I would get much of a response. Well this week I have had a couple responses. They are just responses right now but it only takes one to turn into a nice project.

I am now feeling confident that once the studio is up and running, I will be able to post ads in other locations and possibly get a decent response. It is encouraging!

In my head my goal for the studio opening will be mid October. I am trying hard to make it happen. I worked quite a bit in there on my own yesterday and hope to do the same today.

Hopefully soon I will have some photos to share!

Work in Progress

2010-08-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

Among several other projects over the past week I have been finishing up a bunch of stationery and invitation designs for Chickadee Prints and am in the revision phase for Salt Lake Prenatal Massage.

Heather of Chickadee Prints ordered some wedding invitations last week and this some of what I will be sending her.

This is a front and back design that has a matching Save the Date card.

This also has a matching Save the Date.

She was looking for some designs that spoke to her new location in the Middle East. She wanted some designs that kind of represented the different culture the she is learning about now that she is living over there.

These designs for Salt Lake Prenatal Massage are still in revisions but this is what we have so far.

There is also a "diploma" for a class she teaches and some different gift certificates that we haven't started revising yet but I will share those another time.

Permits are Here!

2010-08-30T11:08:00.000-04:00

This morning while I was running some errands I got a call that our permits were ready. Actually there is one permit for three things but who's counting? I just dropped the application off Friday afternoon and the zoning officer was gone for the day. Talk about easy and fast!

I also managed to get the office somewhat cleaned out this weekend so that I can start filling in holes and paitning this week. I got a can of sample paint last week when I was a Lowes and it is PERFECT!

I also talked to the Mayor a week or so ago about who to contact for permits, etc and he told me to call him when I am ready to "open" so that we can plan a Grand Opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony and the whole works. How cool is that? It makes me kind of nervous but an excited nervous.

We are almost there!

Working on Signage

2010-08-25T20:42:00.000-04:00

I am writing tonight because I haven't had time to write this week so far. I did think my schedule would be too crazy.

I do however want to share what I am working on tonight...the new office signage! I have to admit that I am starting to get very excited about this and now I feel a renewed energy about getting the office renovations done. I did step in there for a few minutes this afternoon while clearing my head to clean up a little and put a splash of the paint on one of the walls to see how it is going to look.

Anyway, as part of my permit application submission I have to provide a sketch of my signage plans and my submission will also include this mock-up.

Just the words I fear wouldn't show up well enough so I opted to use the background shape to hopefully make it stand out more. Here is the sign design.

I have been using this same illustration of a raspberry bush in my collateral for quite some time.

I have simply eliminated the "r" "c" icon and added a background for the signage. I am not sure I will use it for everything but I think it is a good start to the transition into more of a custom stationery and graphics studio over the marketing agency.

I am really excited about what lies ahead!

It's the Weekend

2010-08-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

I don't typically write this late at night. I actually don't think I have ever posted this late but it has been a crazy day and I wanted to write just in case I don't get to this coming week.

My Friday morning started out with me needing to finish a couple small projects for Chickadee Prints our frieds out west that got us hooked on card and stationery design. With that finished I got to working on new copy for the website and made the header which will be the start of our new "identity".

With mid-day past my day got extremely crazy. I got a call from an old high-school friend that I hadn't talked to in a couple months. That kind of threw me off and no sooner did I get off the phone with her and I had another call. That call was my wonderful client Rebecca, owner of Salt Lake Prenatal Massage.

If you recall, we did a new identity package for her earlier this summer and she is now ready to start some new marketing projects. She is inspiring with all her wonderful ideas and she makes me think about all the things I will be able to do now. I sent her an estimate on future work earlier this week and she wanted to talk about moving forward.

After that call was done I went to my email only to find several new ones about 4+ new projects starting next week for Jay my marketing consulting client in California. He does marketing consulting for dentists in the California area and since first hooking up with him a few months back, he has been keeping us very busy. It appears as though things are starting to really take off for him and that means even more work for us. Great right?

Finally after beginning to stress a bit about the pile of work that is growing for next week already, I then received an email from Heather of Chickadee Prints requesting even more work.

I plan on putting in some time this week to get some of these projects under way so that next week doesn't have to be quite so hectic. I also wanted to share the news of all that is going on around here just in case I don't have time next week to share all of it.

I did mail out a set of cards today for Marianne in the UK. She found us on Etsy and ordered a set of our "We've Moved" cards. They look so cute.

I know it is hard to see them through the ribbon but trust me, they looked really cute.

I hope to start adding new items to our Etsy shop once I get the revisions to the website made and get all my pricing worked out.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Changes are Coming Our Way

2010-08-19T10:50:00.001-04:00

When I started my business The Media Loft, LLC in 2005, I really didn’t know exactly where I would end up with it. I had dreams of one day running it full time but I was at a time in my life where I also really loved my full time job. I decided then that I would work more like a freelancer to see if it really was for me.

Things went really well for several years, but when life took a major 180 a couple years ago I found myself having to make some major decisions without any time to really think things through. Along with dealing with getting ready to move several hours away, knowing I had to quit my job without another one to go to, I was also forced (for trademark reasons) to find a new name for my business.

With so many big changes happening at once I decided that the new life and new name was really a chance for me to start with a clean slate and redefine my business based on what I had learned thus far. I started developing the plan in my head and after we moved I also started rewriting my business plan. The new identity, new location and new outlook gave me the opportunity to THINK BIG and with some excellent new contacts out of the gate, I didn’t hold back when it came to my goals.

In January of this year I launched my long awaited new website. The website showcased the new direction I wanted to take making Raspberry Creative more of a marketing agency than the design studio we have always been. I thought the appeal would be our low-cost, personal touch that would set us apart from the snobby, big city attitude that similar companies in this area have.

It was a good idea but the reality of my clients is that most of them come to me already knowing what they want to do. Most of them are just like me and are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to their marketing efforts. They know what they want and simply need someone to make it happen and look good in the process.

I was also faced with another reality recently when I was presented with what could have been a very good and profitable new client lead. The company was looking for someone to define, coordinate and manage all their marketing efforts. While there would have been some design work involved, the majority of the work would have been more about following up on leads, running different campaigns, etc. Even though the money would have been very good, when faced with the prospect I found that I really wasn’t interested in getting into those kinds of projects and that it isn’t a direction I want to take my business.

It was then that I really got to thinking about who Raspberry Creative really is. Our website says we are a never ending list of things but are we really?

I can honestly say that after I knew we were going to get our dream house all I have been dreaming about is getting the “paperie” division established and organized. I keep telling people that this is where I think my success in this area will be. I keep thinking about the displays, the trade shows, the way I will price things, the way I will sell things. I don’t want to stop offering the identity and branding services but I truly feel the stationery is where my future is. This is where my personal design strengths are and I feel very confidently that I have a unique niche that no one else in this local area is filling.

In January when I launched the new website I made a big deal out of the three new “divisions”. There were based on either my personal strengths and experiences or some strong personal contacts that I had that I felt were significant enough to really grow my business. While I don’t plan on eliminating these as services all together, I have come to the realization that these just don’t feel like priorities to me based on my personal passions.

I think as a business owner I felt like the more I offered to compete, the more people I would appeal to and the more business I would get. The reality is that I will be much better off finding the one or two things that I do better than anyone else and that is how I will increase business. I think somewhere deep down I knew from the time this house became a possibility I knew the stationery side of the business was the direction I wanted to go.

Without even thinking about it I have put all of my spare time into preparing my catalog, setting up my price scale, adding web images and how I will decorate the new studio so showcase my work.

I know this seems like a really big change that came out of the blue but I think I have been feeling this way for quite some time and it just finally came to the surface a couple days ago as I was beginning to plan some website updates / changes.

I worked late into the evening last night on possible new logo ideas that combine the paperie logo with the existing RC logo. I’m not sure I have what I want just yet but I don’t want to rush into anything this time around.

From here you are going to start seeing some changes in the website and I will make any big announcements as they become necessary.

I think some big things are headed our way!

Article Worth Sharing

2010-08-19T07:54:00.000-04:00

I am going to be sharing some pretty news later today but as I was planning my day I came across this article that I thought was interesting. It shares the prices that big brand companies spent on their branding. Now branding includes more than just a logo design, it also includes any packaging design, collateral and costs involved in introducing the brand through marketing campaigns.

It is clear that these companies take their brand very seriously or they wouldn't invest this kind of money into them. I guess it pays off though because we all know them very well.

check out the article.

Website Updates

2010-08-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

With the ease of keeping up the blog I have kind of forgotten raspberry-creative.com so over the next week my goal is to spend some time updating, revising and improving our website. With our studio opening up soon and all the hopes of making this a great new beginning for us, I want the website to be up to date with everything else as well.

We Moved!

2010-08-17T10:42:00.000-04:00

Raspberry Creative has moved...FINALLY! The office space is still a work in progress but we are in the building and will be working hard to get the office ready for our Grand Opening. I would love to think it will be some time in mid September but it is likely to be more like the beginning of October. At least sharing that much will keep us on task so that we can get it done hopefully close to that time.

Our new office address is 260 1/2 Chestnut Street in Mifflinburg.

A lead we were given a couple weeks ago turned out to be a no go but the guy was super nice and he at least knows we exist and that could pay off down the road. I must remain positive at all times.

We are staying pretty busy with our friends from CA and more work keeps coming in. We also sold some cards this past week which was a nice surprise with our new listings.

The wedding sets are coming along nicely and I hope to wrap them up this month so I can get the other things ready for the new office opening.

New Week New Work

2010-08-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday all. I know I have really been slacking and my honest goal is to get better at doing all the articles, the features and general news once we get settled into our new house and office. My mind has been pulled in so many different directions with the house, the office, keeping the business going, etc. I can't wait for it to all settle down so that I can focus on what I really want to.

This morning my goal was to simply share some of the latest happenings around here. The wallpaper for the office feature wall is on its way. The powder room is 80% complete and looks beautiful. The house is also about 95% ready for us to live in and over the weeekend we received a couple of proposal requests. This morning I will be writing those so they can be reviewed ASAP.

I was also contacted by our friend Heather from Chickadee Prints about doing some new designs for the fall. She's got some new things up her sleeve that I wont give away just yet but I am honored to be her top designer and always love the work I do for her.

Progress on my wedding catalog for Raspberry Paperie has been coming along nicely. I have been working on that literally a couple hours a week but it is beginning to pay off. In my head I was hoping to have around 10 designs to start with and I have 6 complete with sketches for several more just waiting to come to life! I should be well on my way towards being ready come next year's wedding season.

The Latest News

2010-08-03T08:04:00.000-04:00

The office powder room is coming along nicely and Brad and I will be moving into the residence this weekend. That means that the office renovations will be going into major fast-forward because I will be there during the day to work on it between client projects.

In the meantime, we are still working on several projects for our marketing friends in California. A coulple of those jobs should finish up today or tomorrow finally. We are also proud to say that we have been getting phone calls and emails for potential new work at increasing levels as well. I will be so happy to get moved into the new office so that we can finally get organized.

On one final note, our office policies are going to change and will become effective immediately when they have been finalized. I will go into more detail about the new policies and how they will impact our clients when the time comes.

Business Opportunities

2010-07-27T10:02:00.000-04:00

The new week started off with a bang and things just keep getting more and more interesting around here.

Saturday night Brad and I attended a birthday party at the wonderful James restaurant in Williamsport. The party was for one of Brad's co-workers and it turned out to be a really great event for us. We had the privelege of sitting with the owner of MePush, Conor Quinlan and his wife. Conor offered me some great business advice and I guess attending events like that realy helps because yesterday I talked with him and he passed my name along to a client of his that needs some marketing assistance. I will be sure to update you when I know more about the project.

Raspberry Paperie-Update

2010-07-23T10:21:00.000-04:00

Check out our latest additions on Raspberry Paperie. The "Jocelyn" set has been updated.

New Wedding Invitation

2010-07-22T17:58:00.000-04:00

We proudly posted a new design on raspberrypaperie.com today that I also wanted to share here. In addition to the items shown a place card, thank you card, table number and menu design can also be included in the package. See Raspberry Paperie for more details or contact us today!

Office Ramblings

2010-07-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

Can you believe we are at the mid-point of July already? I am finding it hard to believe. Time seems to be flying by and July has been another busy month to this point.

This week has been a week of emergency projects for some reason. Yesterday I spent my afternoon doing color elevations for the engineer at Moran Industries. Moran has been very good to Raspberry Creative over the past year and a half since our move. It is always a pleasure doing work for them and yesterday’s emergency project was no different.

Earlier this week we did another emergency project for our marketing friends in California. It was a fairly simple project; more of a continuation of something we already did but it has shown that we are able to manage our schedules to handle whatever comes our way.

I am currently in planning mode for the office. I have decided on the wallpaper for the feature wall and am starting to consider how the space will be laid out.

(Graham and Brown)

The walls will be custom matched to the blue.

We inherited a large white desk that I will be using until we get to a point where I am ready to upgrade. I will also have another small white desk set up as an additional workstation. I am planning on a movable worktable with storage underneath for project assembly, sketching, etc. My large lightbox will finally have a home and I am also planning on some seating in the front of the office for meetings, lounging, etc.

Given the size of the desk I was worried that my plans wouldn’t all fit but when we got the desk into the office I realized that I have more space than I may have realized. I have forever loved this table and chair set from Ikea and think this would look great near the planned kitchenette. It would also be a great place to sit with clients to look at designs, etc.

Another option is this tulip table that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

I could pair this table with a couple of these chairs.

Or these.

I actually like these because I am a big fan of Lucite furniture. This could give me my fix without breaking the bank.

I am also still considering exposing the bring along the back wall of the office where the future wall of shelves will be. It will be a lot of work to clean and seal that much brick but it could look pretty cool. I guess time will tell.

There are no new paperie designs because this week has been so hectic with other projects. I am happy with the progress thus far though. I think we are well on our way to our big launch next wedding season.

After Independence Day

2010-07-07T08:57:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend. I enjoyed the long weekend away from reality but am glad to be back with a fresh mind and lots of new energy.

There isn't anything super special to share this week. We are doing clean-up on several current projects that we hope to finish in the near future. We are also working on getting some new designs ready for Raspberry Paperie.

Not much new to report on the new office space yet either. With the current heat wave, we have taken a short break from working but hope to resume work soon. The closer we get the more exciting it gets.

Happy Monday

2010-06-28T09:51:00.000-04:00

I have some time this morning so I thought I would update on what's happening around here.

Work is still coming in and over the weekend we were contacted by a company that we talked to some time ago about working on updating their brand. They opted to go with a designer that said they would do it for less money and in the end, the project didn't go well. If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, I could retire.

Brad and I started moving our things into the house this weekend. With the office still needing lots of work, that is the one space that we aren't moving into yet but it felt good to get some of our things into the house. It now feels more like ours.

Saturday I received the first of the two wallpaper samples for the feature wall in the office / studio. I will have to wait until the other one arrives but it will be hard to pick something else over this first sample. It is just about perfect!

Last week I completed the first set of wedding invitations for Raspberry Paperie's catalog.

Matching white envelopes are included but color coorinated envelopes can be chosen as well. All colors and text are customizable to coordinate with the wedding colors. Because the fonts are part of the design, an additinoal fee will be charged to modify them.

I am also working on the second design for the catalog but it is not yet complete. Here is what I have so far.

One last thing I want to share today is that over the weekend when we were moving some things into the house a man stopped to introduce himself to us and to pre-welcome us to town. It was Mifflinburg's Mayor, David Cooney. I felt kind of bad that we were so dirty and sweaty from moving but Brad and I both thought he was very nice to take the time to stop and introduce himself to us and to welcome us to town.

Tuesday Night

2010-06-23T07:24:00.000-04:00

Well last night ended up being a wash. Brad's meeting at 7:30 that he thought would be over at 8 or 8:30 wasn't over until 10 and then he had to drive the hour + home from Williamsport after that. He got here a little after 11.

I wont complain about having a night off where I wasn't sweating like crazy and killing my arms and shoulders more. I guess in some ways I needed a night off.

This morning I have some errands to run and then it is back here to do some work before I get ready to meet Brad at the house after work.

It's gonna be another hot one.

Office Renovations and Latest Projects

2010-06-22T11:24:00.000-04:00

I am really slacking in the updating department. I have been so busy I just haven't had time and it bothers me. I feel like I am going on high-speed all the time and I am starting to get really worn out.

Anyway, the office renovations are going on full force and should be done in the next few weeks. The unofficial goal is to be moved in in the next 3 - 4 weeks anyway.

Here is a picture of the exterior of the space with some fresh paint.

The paper in the window isn't pretty but it keeps the dogs from freaking out and keeps the people on the street from being too nosy. EVERYONE is wondering what is going on in there! Fixing up this place has been news in town I guess.

Anyway, I am in major planning mode on the interior design. I've got some pretty bold ideas and I can't wait to reveal them. I'm thinking of having a big open house party later this summer. The house wont be done but it would be a great way to introduce the business to the community.

Here is a little hint of what will be going on inside.

Now, about real work. Things are still pretty busy around here but it always feels good to end another project. All designs for Salt Lake Prenatal Massage were officially finalized yesterday.

This morning I also sent off the final logo files for Kacvinsky-Daisak PLLC a law firm outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I did their logo for them a few years ago and this summer they brought on a new partner and needed their logo updated with the new name.

In addition to some other projects, we are starting a branding package for DDS Marketing Guru our marketing friends in California. I will share more later this week.

When they don't want Creativity

2010-06-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Remember the other day I shared the "boat" that I was hired to design a logo for? I was pretty excited about it becuase it was something different. I got my brief from my client contact and had a pretty good idea what they were looking for. I went through my typical process of doing quick thumbnails, eliminations, refining them on the computer and then putting together my presentation. I had three solid contenders and my client contact like them a lot. At the presentation meeting however things changed.

The company is a family-owned business. The man that started it is pretty much retired now and his son runs things. The father is still involved however and while everyone liked my options he decided he wanted an actual rendering of the boat along with the name in a text they already used years ago for some t-shirts. I was given a t-shirt to use as a reference but no one knew who designed them, where the original designs were, etc.

I was a bit disappointed despite the fact that ultimately the client always has to win out. I also thought the options I gave were spot on with what they wanted. In the end, the rendering / illustration turned out well I think and I was able to re-draw the text in illustrator but I think the design now lacks creativity and uniqueness.

Ultimately if the client is happy then I have done my job. For that I can't complain.

Boat Logo

2010-06-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

Late Friday afternoon I got an email from a client that I have worked with in the past asking me if I would design a logo for their boat. I thought that would be cool. It would be something new and different and I grew up around boats so it would be something that I have a little knowledge about. They said they would send me a picture becasue they want to incorporate the general shape of the boat in the logo. I anxiously awaited the picture and this is what I got.

All I could think when I saw the photos is "THAT'S NOT A BOAT!"

I got a bit of a run down this morning about their thoughts for the logo. I am looking forward to getting started and I have some ideas of some things I would like to try. I will share more as the project moves forward!

Another Busy Week

2010-06-11T17:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday friends of Raspberry Creative. It has been another busy week and while I feel bad for not updating sooner I am very happy at how well business has been.

We are reaching a milestone with Salt Lake Prenatal Massage. We have completed the initial design set.

The Business Card

Front

Back

And a Gift Certificate that goes inside of a paper cd cover with the clear window.

Front

Back

I am really excited about the designs. The project went pretty smoothly and I am confident that the client is happy.

We have also been very busy doing several projects for DDS Marketing in California and we are still finalizing a logo for an interior designer in Maine. I will share more projects as they are finished.

Happy Memorial Day

2010-06-01T07:39:00.000-04:00

I hope the long weekend was a great one for everyone. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather here in north central PA. Brad and I worked at the new house on Saturday for a while and then took the boys and headed off to spend the weekend camping with family. The time went by way too fast but it was so relaxing and that I really needed some time to reset.

Yesterday we got back and got everything unloaded and put away and then went to move some things to the new house. We aren't ready to move in just yet but taking things of ours to the house does make it seem more real. The primary focus is still on the master suite (bathroom and bedroom) but it wont be long until we are ready to really get moving in the office. That is when I think I will get excited.

There is another busy week planned here at Raspberry Creative. I am starting to put together the business card and gift certificate for Salt Lake Prenatal Massage. The logo was finalized last week.

I think I shared before that I was initially very nervous about this project because the owner Rebecca really loved her original designer. She would have continued to work with her but her designer has things going on in her life that has required her to stop working. I was just worried that I wouldn't be able to live up to her expectations because I am not her other designer. At least on my side of the project I feel like things are going well despite my concerns. The logo process went pretty smoothly and we seem to have good communication. I am excited to see how the other pieces in her new identity package turn out.

This is really where my main focus will be this week for sure.

Friday Update

2010-05-21T12:25:00.000-04:00

It has been another busy week and I am beginning to see that I need to work out a better schedule for my time. As new work continues to pour in I am finding that I just don't have time for a lot of the general office tasks. My desk is piled high with paperwork that I haven't had time to file and now with the house and office taking up so much of my "free" time I see that I need to find a better balance for it all.

We are still plowing away at several projects for JPK Marketing including an adorable baby announcement type card for a family member of Jay's. The sweet baby was born premature and has had a long, tough road to travel but she is going very well now and the parents wanted to send out a card sharing all the good news with their family and friends.

I also wanted to share more about the project I hinted about the other day. For the past few weeks I have been talking on and off with Rebecca Overson the owner of Salt Lake Prenatal Massage. Her company recently changed its name and she now needs to rebrand the well established business.

While this in itself can be stressful she is even more stressed because she has been working with another designer for quite some time and she absolutely loves her designer but the designer has to close her business.

A long time client and sort of email friend Heather from Chickadee Prints know Rebecca and told her about me and Raspberry Creative and the rest is history.

I admit at first I was really nervous that I would never be able to live up to Rebecca's expectations based on this other designer. I wasn't worried about my abilities but that I am just not her. After getting my project brief and getting some rough drafts the other designer started I suddenly felt very excited and all my worries went out the window.

Rebecca and her original designer decided that because the new business name is pretty boring they wanted the logo to make up for it. Their brainstorming lead them to the idea of the logo looking like a vintage apothacary label. I have been inspired by this look before with wedding invitations and stationary but I am really excited about doing a logo.

I started sketching yesterday and today I will start turning those sketches into a set of concepts that I will submit to Rebecca Monday. It is going to be fun.

One last thing I want to share is the latest on the new office. Work has begun on the powder room and we may make some progress on removing the center wall between the two rooms to get the space opened up.

The Primary Results are In

2010-05-19T08:10:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report this morning that both candidates that Raspberry Creative worked with won their primary elections! Congratulations to by Lynda Culver-Schleagel and Tom Marino.

I also want to provide a brief update about other happenings.

My husband and I are making progress on the new house and the new office. We are working on getting ready to redo the office bathroom. When that is complete we will take out the dividing walls to open the space up to be one large studio space. Then it is on to all the "pretty" things. I expect to be moved in later this summer!

There are still a lot of projects going on, too many to go through one by one. We have also been selected to work with a company in Salt Lake City on a very large identity and branding package. Thank you to Heather from Chickadee Prints for recommending Raspberry Creative. I will share more about this new project later this week.

We are also still very busy doing numberous projects with JPK Marketing in CA and more coming in every week. We are very thankful for our relationship with Jay and the continued work he sends our way.

More to come later this week.

Busy

2010-05-13T07:47:00.000-04:00

I am not slacking I have just been extremely busy. Raspberry Creative has had work coming in like crazy and it has been keeping me plenty busy. I am not complaining but it has made getting the typical office tasks done much harder.

We are making progress on preparing our move into the new house and my new office. I have got some big renovation plans for the office like I would like to get well underway before we open up our new "shop" but I am not sure how it will all pan out just yet.

Wine Reception

2010-05-05T15:06:00.001-04:00

Last night’s reception for my client Lynda was very nice. It was held at a local winery and not surprise, it was beautiful. The reception room was clearly newly remodeled and had wide plank floors, exposed chunky beams and huge windows overlooking the vineyard. Despite some earlier storms the weather was perfect too. Brad and I weren’t able to stay for the whole event but I will say that the atmosphere, the food, the wine, everything was wonderful.

I had some errands to run this morning and then had to address comments from three different clients regarding their respective projects. I have all that finished now and have to move on to some other things.

Tuesday Update

2010-05-04T09:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday turned out to be a rather long day. I had to bounce around between three different projects and had a few phone calls and emails from potential clients. One of those leads has turned into a project already and the others are still up in the air though they look promising.

Tonight I will be attending reception in support of my client Lynda Schlegel Culver who is running for State Representataive. She was kind enough to personally invite Brad and me to join her for the evening. The reception is to be held at a local winery so I will have to close up shop early today to get ready. I am looking forward to it and I will be sure to share the details later this week.

Design Trends

2010-05-04T09:38:00.000-04:00

One question I get asked over and over is where I draw my inspiration. While I know the answer it isn't an easy response because I draw inspiration from everywhere; fashion, interior design, architecture, nature, other designers, the art world...

This topic came up because I have recently had several identity projects that have all be extremely different in style, target audience, industry, etc. Each project required me to draw inspiration from different places to get the look just right. That got me thinking about what the trends are right now in logo and identity design. One theme across all my projects is keeping the designs clean and simple.

I came across this article and thought it was interesting to see what is popular right now and what directly logo designs are going. If you are looking to update your look or are a new company needing an identity, maybe you will find some inspiration from these trends.

It's finally Monday!

2010-05-03T09:03:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I am saying that but this weekend was extremely busy and despite my long list of "to do's" I think I might actually get some rest today. Brad and I spent our weekend working at the new house. The lovely building has been so neglected we needed to start in the yard just to be able to use the walk and start planning for a fence for the dogs. Of course we picked the hottest day of the year Saturday. The 90+ degree temps didn't stop us though from making a huge dent in the overgrown shrubbery.

Last evening I put in a couple hours prepping for my busy day of work today. Friday Raspberry Creative was officially hired by a home decorating and real estate staging company to completely rebrand the business. I am really excited about the project because the owner wants a boutique style design that is right down my alley! I already have some great sketches ready for me to work my magic on today.

I was also talking with my internet friend and client Heather from Chickadee Prints on Friday. She shared with me that she has a big move in her near future and I sincerely hope the move doesn't change our working relationship. I am also currently working on a series of Graduation announcements / invitations for her to add to her site. I will share some of the designs when they are ready.

I am also finishing up a couple concepts for Jay at JPK Marketing in California. Jay is a fairly new client but we instantly clicked and Raspberry Creative has since completed several projects for him and I hope to continue to do so.

That's not all that is going on but those are the big ones right now. I will be updating the website soon to include some of the recent projects and I have some other things planned that you will just have to wait to see.

For now, I wish you all a wonderful week!

Big News and More...

2010-04-30T06:48:00.000-04:00

This week has been a rough one. Between things happening with family and my very full work schedule and a computer virus, I have had a very sleepless week.

About a month ago Raspberry Creative was hired to do a design project for a marketing consulting company based in California. The project was on the small side but it went quite smoothly and when the project was finalized we were thrilled to be asked to continue to do design work for them. One project turned into several and I could be kept busy 2/3 of my week just with that client.

Over the last couple of weeks I have also forced myself to find time to organizing. I have always been a pretty organized person but with our current living situation and my sorry office ammenities right now, it is hard to organize where there is no storage or place to put things. I am happy to say however that there are some new procedures going on behind the scenes that make day-to-day workflow much more efficient and streamlined.

Now for some very exciting news. Last week I promised that there would be some big news coming along this week and here it is. Raspberry Creative will be moving into our new office in downtown Mifflinburg very soon! Hubby and I sealed the deal on our dream home and the dream home happens to include a very wonderful commerical space for moi!

The lovely historic building needs its share of work including the office but it wont be long and we will be moving in and setting up our new home.

Yeah, I know I shared these photos before but we are official. I've got keys on my keychain to prove it! You can guarantee I will be sharing progress photos on the office.

New Birthday Card and Personalized Stationary Designs

2010-04-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

Long time client Heather of Chickadee Prints contacted me to do some additional designs for her shop. Here are some of the most recent designs.

This is just a sampling but if you see something you like or would like something customized for you, please contact us. We would love to create something special exclusive to you!

I would also like to mention that tomorrow is the wedding for Heather and Richard. If you recall, Heather is the bride that I designed the custom cowboy themed package for. She has been in touch and knows I will be excited to see how perfectly everything ties together. Since I have known Heather since junior high, I am also quite honored to be able to share in her very special day.

Next week I will share some other projects that Raspberry Creative has been hard at work on lately. Also keep looking for a very big announcement coming soon.

Enjoy your weekend!

Photography?

2010-04-22T09:29:00.000-04:00

In the past week I have become a regular photographer. At the last minute last week I was contacted by Linda Culver who is running for state office. She needed a photographer to follow her for the day and shoot her talking with different people. While I stressed that I am by no means a professional photographer I do know my way around a camera and understand the basics of taking photos.

Again this week I got a call from my political consultant friend that I have been working with and they needed me to do a photo shoot with Tom Marino. This is the candidate for Congress that I did work for a couple month's ago. With one photo shoot under my belt I said I would be happy to. They must have been ok with the photos I had already taken or they wouldn't have asked again.

So yesterday, arms full of equipment, I met up with Mr. Marino and the political consultant for another tour of the local area to take photos.

Right away I could tell that I was much better prepared this time around. I was much more aware of light and what would work well and what wouldn't. I actually kind of liked taking photos. I wont be going out of my way to market it but if I am ever called upon to do it, I now know I can.

I wanted to share a couple photos from my two recent shoots. Keep in mind these photos are for promotional purposes.

This last photos is one taken on Friday's Photo Shoot with Linda Culver. (Linda is great and I hope that after all this campaigning is over we can get together socially.)

Today I am "back to reality" with tons of design work to finish. The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy with barely any time to breathe.

Just as a little teaser, there is some HUGE news coming your way. More on that probably next week.

I also will be sharing in the next day or two some work for a new client that is turning out very well.

It's Gettin Busy!

2010-04-13T14:11:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to take a quick minute to share that we have some additional job leads and I am just so excited about it that I had to share.

Good, solid, hard work pays off because there is no better compliment than repeat business.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

What's Going On...

2010-04-12T08:58:00.000-04:00

I have really fallen off the horse when it comes to keeping up with my updates and articles. So much has been going on behind the scenes that it has been hard to keep up with everything else. I have been keeping busy with projects including a recent flyer design and logo update which still isn't finished. The logo client keeps disappearing for days at a time so it has been really hard to keep moving forward.

Last week we were hired to update a logo that we did several years ago for a law firm in Pittsburgh, PA. We also received the go-ahead to start an identity package for a start-up builder outside Philadelphia. In addition I was contacted over the weekend by a past client (a marketing consulting company) to do some design work for another client of theirs. They loved our past work and wanted us to submit a proposal for some new work. That is the ultimate compliment as far as I am concerned.

Last but not least I have a phone interview set up for later this week for a long-term newsletter project. I submitted the project Saturday morning and less than an hour later I heard back from the potential client wanting to talk.

There is no shortage of work and it looks like Raspberry Creative will likely be moving into our new office in the near future. Not only is this exciting on a personal level because it also means a new home for my family but the potential for the office space is really the icing on the cake.

Below is the flyer and poster design that I did. This was a tough project because the client could not provide me a workable logo. I had to remove most of the white background from the logo myself and then find a way to work in a background that wouldn't show the white border around that logo. I tried several options from bands of color with white at the bottom to this gradient which the client liked a lot. It is a little softer and really does look like it was all planned that way. The goals was something pretty and feminine and obviosly Mother's Day themed. That brought to mind spring flowers and soft feminine colors. Instead of using flowers however I opted for this spirograph inspired flower-like design.

Below is the original logo that was designed by Raspberry Creative back in 2007. We have been retained to update the logo to include the new company name which includes a new partner's name.

This is going to be a busy week but I will do my best to keep updating all that is going on.

Another Monday

2010-03-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

Here we are starting another week. Time flies by doesn't it? I can't believe that this week will start April already not to mention this weekend is Easter.

I don't have much time to write today because I am starting two new projects. The first I probably mentioned last week. A logo for an online promotional gift company. I did actually start it last week but today I will be finalizing concepts and then send them off to the client for review.

The second one was a suprise over the weekend. A flyer and poster design for a dentist doing a promotional event for Invisaline. I will share more about that this week after I have officially started it.

There is nothing else new to report right now so I wish for everyone to have a wonderful week.

New Project

2010-03-26T07:38:00.000-04:00

I sat down at my desk this morning and opened my email to find that I was hired for a new project. I sent a proposal yesterday for a logo redesign for a promotional gift company. They were very clear in their RFP that they didn't want a completely new logo. They wanted someone to take their eixisting logo and improve it or expand upon it to make it look more modern and professionally designed.

This is the existing logo.

I really don't have much to say about it. It looks like someone just picked a font they liked and typed it in their choice of color. There is some kind of a dotted border around the letters but there really isn't anything special about it.

The biggest challenge will be taking someone else's vision and expanding it based on my own ideas. I did provide the client several initial ideas and showed them these.

These are two of the most popular logos of today. They both have been renewed and while they have been updated, they have retained their general look. It is an obvious evolution rather than a comlete redesign.

Showing these images showed the client, Ben, that I understand his goal and shows him that this is the frame of mind I will be in as I begin working on his project.

Where’d the Sun Go?

2010-03-25T09:48:00.001-04:00

I plopped down at my desk this morning at 6:30 with coffee in hand and was so happy to see the sun shining in the windows. I do my usual morning routine including checking emails, my favorite blogs, watch the news, plan my day and then go get my shower. I always wait until everyone else is gone to shower because 1. I am the only one that doesn’t have to be anywhere in the morning and 2. It gives me a little pamper time. I arrive back at my desk and now it is dark and gloomy and downright depressing.

Gloomy or not, work must go on. This week has been good. I have been writing plenty of proposals and some have been declined. That is the way things roll. Raspberry Creative does NOT do spec work and it is sad that so many out there want it. I will talk about ideas and make suggestions but I will not do any work before I have been contracted. You don’t go to the dentist and get braces and then decide if you like them and are willing to pay for them. It just doesn’t work that way.

There have been some good leads coming in and I have been working on some new additions to Raspberry Paperie. I have a lovely wedding invitation set that is just about ready to go up for sale. There are 5 color choices and I can’t wait to show you.

I also just received my paper sample packet from my supplier to start doing more interesting options with colors, envelope styles, etc. IT is going to take some time but I am very excited about what is happening on the stationary front.

I also have to share that I heard from my friend Heather. She is the bride that I designed the custom western wedding invitation package for. In addition to the invitations I also gave her some design files for the paisley, the rope and some other elements so that she could use them for other parts of the wedding décor. She said she can’t wait for me to see what she did; she is so excited at how everything is coming together! She also told me that she is getting rave reviews on the invites so maybe someone down the road will remember me and give me a call when they are getting married. I sure hope so! I just thought it was so nice to hear that people are loving the invitations. Just wait until they see the Thank You cards!

Aside from the normal day-to-day business I feel like things are in a holding pattern. March is coming to a close and I am really behind on sending out the announcements and the party can’t happen until the announcements go out. It is a chain reaction that has put my whole plan for the year on hold. The whole drama with the house has been stressful and it has been so hard for me to think past not getting the house. It is absolute perfection.

We are getting close to a final decision. It could still go either way but we are getting close.

Tuesday Pick-Me-Up

2010-03-23T11:06:00.000-04:00

Last week I was contacted by a man that I knew of through my former boss Rene Hoffman. Rene, an architect in the Philadelphia area did quite a bit of design for for this man's company (a building / development company). Well I guess a lot has changed since I left my job a year ago because this once well-known, pretty large builder is closing its doors and this man Rick and his brother are opening up their own company.

The great guy that Rene is, he passed my name along to Rick as a contact to do his entire company identity package. As I would normally do I sent him my standard questionnaire to get a better sense of the project scope so that I could provide him with a detailed proposal. When I never heard back from him I wondered if maybe he went elsewhere or maybe he didn't really want to fill out the form. Sometimes the heads of these new companies don't like to take the time do do things like that becuase they don't see the value in it.

Well this morning I got a nice filled out questionnaire from him. As I was reading through the packet I found that he was interested in getting a quote for copywriting. As much as I would love to be ablet write, I just don't do it well so I picked up the phone (very unlike me) and called the only local copywriter that I know. I used to work with her husband years ago. While we may have met once or twice I didn't really know her but we have emailed once or twice to kind of let the other person know of our services. She is interested in the project and even though she is out of town at the moment I am happy to finally have a good first project for us to collaborate on.

It isn't much but it was a little pick-me-up for this very dreary Tuesday.

It's not an article... but close enough.

2010-03-18T15:48:00.001-04:00

I am spending some time this afternoon writing proposals and felt an overwhelming need to take a break and share some thoughts. I have been seeing an overwhelming number of RFP’s being written that have a very negative tone to them in regards to the quality of designer they are seeking. Many of them make comments about the quality of work or professionalism they have seen lacking in past projects. They seem very bitter and take a very condescending tone talking to their potential bidders like we are uneducated or children.

What I also see is an unrealistic expectation that all graphic designer do everything from print design to full web development to copy writing and beyond. While I do not deny that is seems more and more important that designers be well rounded when it comes to their abilities, there is just no way that we can all be perfect at everything.

Most recently I have been seeing RFPs that require a designer to have worked on exactly the same type of project as the one they are looking for bids on. In some cases the likelihood that a designer as worked on the same exact kind of project is very slim because some projects can be very specific or customized for a very unique situation.

I also feel troubled that people don’t have enough of an understanding of graphic design and the abilities of a well educated, experienced designer. A good designer is more than an artist making a pretty picture. They are problem solvers, critical thinkers and a sort of scientist that has the skills to take a situation, do research and then devise a plan that will best solve the given problem. They then are able to use their artistic eye and create a visually appealing, EFFECTIVE and SUCCESSFUL design which is also the solution to the problem.

A good designer can work in just about any industry, whether they have prior experience or not. Because a good portion of the project is research and a gaining of knowledge, prior experience isn’t necessary. I do not deny that is can be beneficial but every client and every project is different and requires it own new set of rules.

Case in point, I plan on submitting a proposal for a new salon seeking someone to design their service menu. They want the bidders to provide samples of past salon menus to show that they are capable. I understand that I am taking a chance at wasting my time as I do not have samples of this type of project but I have worked for salons and similar businesses. I also am well aware of what a salon menu is and how it can be used.

Businesses looking to hire a designer to replace a past one that didn’t live up to their expectations are a whole other story. First of all, more and more RFPs have unrealistic project budgets. People want something for nothing every day (and don’t get me started on the increasing number of people wanting spec work). All I can say is to some degree you get what you pay for.

If you are out there getting ready to hire a graphic designer or marketing company, do your research. Don’t pick the company that gives you the lowest bid without knowing who they are, what their quality of work is or looking into their reputation with past clients. It is not fair to the rest of us that are educated, that care about our work and our clients and who are trying to make a fair living doing what we do best.

There will be times when a certain designer’s style isn’t right for you. (I have talked about this before.) There will also be times when a designer that has lots of experience in a given industry is beneficial but it isn’t necessary all the time. As the one putting out the money to have the work done, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Know that for as many lousy designers out there, there are just as many good ones and we deserve respect.

Catching Up

2010-03-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

It has been a while so I thought I better check in. I didn't do the March article and I wont pretend that I know for sure it will happen. Between work and my personal life, things have been pretty hectic.

There are some new leads coming in that are pretty exciting. One of them is for a new real estate development company outside Philadelphia. Very exciting.

We finally submitted final artwork for Beth the Personal Shopper from Canada. The designs turned out so beautifully and it was so refreshing to have a client that was willing to go with something a bit unexpected. That is a rarity.

Another New Week

2010-03-08T07:35:00.000-05:00

I was glad when last week ended. I was feeling really under the weather late last week and it was hard to concentrate. I lot my voice and had a terrible runny nose. It seems now to have come to an end as fast as it started and this morning I feel almost back to normal.

I didn't post my article as I had promised and so I will need to make that a priority this week. I did however write the numerous proposals that I said I was going to. Raspberry Creative was also suprised with being asked to do some additional work for PS Call Me. The logo and business card turned out so well that we were asked to design some addtional pieces to coordinate with the new designs.

I will share some of the new projects hopefully this week too.

First Impressions are Lasting

2010-03-02T13:20:00.000-05:00

I am only hearing things through the grapevine but it seems as though a larger marketing firm located about an hour north of me made some phone calls to some of my clients that I designed ads for for the Lincoln Day dinner asking who this Raspberry Creative is and why they did the ads and not their firm. The full page Raspberry Creative ad sparked some interest and I hear the site was visited. That is some pretty good news and it means that we have made a pretty solid impression given that some of the most prominant businesses in the area used us and not someone else.

Assuming my husband remembers to bring my copy of the program home, I will have photos soon.

Now we just have to hope that people needing marketing services will start calling too.

March Happenings

2010-03-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

I don't like to do multiple posts in one day but I thought that I should share what is in the works for this month.

Thurday will be another installment of my article series. Also sometime this week I hope to share some photos of the program from the Lincoln Day Dinners that were held all across the state this past weekend. Raspberry Creative was fortunate enough to have a full page ad in the local program. A copy was saved for me so as soon as it makes its way to me I will surely share it.

It looks like the Marino Campaign work is done for now. Everything is designed and back from the printer. Everything looks great and everyone is happy.

There are a ton of proposals to write and I have set aside time in my mornings to work on them.

Unless something unexpected happens in the near future it looks like my husband and I may very well be getting our house which means Raspberry Creative will be moving into a real office. Don't be scared of the mess but here are a couple quick picks of the spaces.

This is the door into the office from the home's foyer. This door would only be used by me and would be kept closed during regular business hours. I do love the transom above the door to allow light to pass through. The transoms upstairs open for ventilation, I wonde if this one does.

This is the front office facing the street. There is tons of natural light which is wonderful. It is dirty and I would probably paint the floors in here a light gray to make it even brighter but it really is a nice sized space. The gray wall to the left I think was added later and my idea is to remove it if it isn't load bearing so that the space cam be opend up into one large room. The back office is pretty small and dark and I would much rather have an open studio than a closed off cave-like space.

This is the view looking back toward the foyer. I would eventually hope to replace the box around the base of the store-front window to be more of a display "stage" but with raised paneling like the wall. There is an alcove over there with shelving floor to ceiling which would be wonderful for storage. Using boxes and other pretty containers will make the storage more attractive.

This is a shot of the other side of the window and the door to the outside. I love that the office has its own entrance and looks out onto the street like it does. Lots of traffic passes by every day which is good for the business but I admit a downside to the house. I should also note that on the far side of the door in that alcove is more shelving.

This is another view of the window. As you can see by the tables sitting there, it isn't a huge window but it isn't small either. As I said, I would want to rebuild a window seat / box with raised panels to match the other woodwork and provide a surface for window displays and hopefully add some additional storage for things that I may not need every day but still want to to keep in the office.

The office powder room. The tiles are sticky tile and after the house sitting there unlived in for two years they are starting to curl up in some places. The toilet and pedestal sink are new which is a bonus but I would hope to change out the flooring eventually.

If all goes well we wont be able to get into the building until at least April some time. We still don't have papers drawn up and the owner has a lot of office furniture and other items to move out before we could start moving in. The barn out back is full of stuff too.

Because of the house I am holding off on any big advertising. I hate to be on hold like this but I think it will be the smart thing to do in the long run. There is work coming in and plenty to do so we aren't doing too bad. I even have some new items to add to our etsy store for Raspberry Paperie.

Well this wasn't much of an update. Instead it proved to be yet another obcessive indulgance in my dream house. This is like a dream to me so I can't help but feel the way I do.

There will be more to come!

March is here!

2010-03-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday started a new week and a new month. I am happy March is here becasue it means that spring isn't too far away now. The temps are in the 40s this week rather than the 20s and a lot of snow has melted leaving the brown, muddy earth exposed. This time of year it is all about the mud.

I wanted to write yesterday but between some errands in the morning and an afternoon filled with projects, I just couldn't find time.

My most recent project is a small identity package for Beth Hitchins. She lives in Canada and has a business doing personal shopping. She is really great and it seemed like we immediately clicked. I was late providing a proposal for her RFP and she was prepared to award the project to another firm when she thought she should read through my proposal to be sure. I am not sure what it was but she hired me immediately. I try to keep my relationships with clients friendly but professional but Beth is like a long lost friend. She appreciates my love of my five dogs and we have shared some stories about dogs in our lives. A part of me will be very sad when the project is over because she has been such a pleasure to work with.

From the initial concept stage we have narrowed down the logos to two. One is what she was hoping for while the other was unexpected for her yet she really likes it too. We decided to use the two logos in some business card designs to see if that helped make the decision of the battling logos easier.

Here are the two logos and below are a few of the business card options I provided her. Keep in mind the color palette was already selected for me and she has an existing website that I used to take design cues from to make sure everything works together.

Update...

2010-02-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a while I know. I have been busy with several smaller projects that I can share with you. The first was an identity package for First Place Fitness.

It was a very low budget project and had a very short timeframe. This is a perfect example however of how Raspberry Creative can create a package of services for any budget. The idea holds true that while a $50 logo isn't going to look like a $500 logo it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice quality and professionalism.

Even with the client's limited budget he got a logo that he can use for his website, his stationary, signage, etc and has a business card that is professional. He didn't have to spend a ton of money to get something that he can be proud of.

Another project for last week was putting together three ads for an upcoming event program. While I have to admit I am a little biased, I think the designs I did looked far better than the others that I saw.

Here is my ad.

The final ads are supposed to be in black and white but my colors are just too pretty to not show it in color.

Here is the one for Moran Industries.

This doesn't look bad, right?

And this is the one for JDM Consultants. Personally I don't think it looks good but they have a horrible logo, they have no established brand, solid copy, photos or anything to work with.

I have done my best with what I have to work with and the limited time to do it in. I have been talking to them about considering a full brand redo but it is a big decision and I don't think they yet understand the value of having a strong brand.

I also just completed another brading project for a nail spa. I started this several months ago and the project kept getting put on hold. Here is the final logo.

It's nice right? I am a big fan of the color as is the client. She was really great at the start of the project by providing me one of the most insightful questionnaires I have ever gotten from a client. I know that it was because of the time she spent giving me the backgrond that made this project ultimately successful. Aviva means spring, new life, etc. and she wanted this chartreuse color used with browns and earthy colors. I urged her to consider more spring-like colors or blues to represent purity. In the end we opted to stick with this single color design and I think it was the smartest choice.

Before I end my post today I have some confessions. With the start of the new year I had this drive, this new energy. I had more ideas than I knew what to do with and I was set for getting out and making this business thing really flourish. I had plans of having a launch party, launching my new website, and all kinds of other things.

So Valentine's day came and went as did my new website launch. There was no launch party though the new site went live. I disappointedly never had that "big" meeting I was hoping to and not everything else has gone the way I thought it would when I planned it all out.

I did however get my first month's article out on time, I did get the site done and live. I now have an ad in a pretty big publication as far as business goes and new projects are coming in. Things haven't gone exactly the way I thought they would so far this year but things are moving forward. We did get some work with the Marino Campaign and we have made some new contacts there. We have landed some unexpected new clients and are hoping that continues.

A couple weeks ago I said I was doing an announcement to introduce the company to certain targets but that got put on hold when the prospect of the new house came along. I admit the whole house thing has taken longer than expected but all hope is not lost. If the house works out the announcement will include a new address and the launch party will be held at the new office and not in some random place.

I have been somewhat bothered by the fact that I knew I had a list a mile long at the start of the year and just because not all of it has happened doesn't mean things aren't happening at all.

My goal is to debut another article next week to start off March and we will see what else happens.

Monday Madness

2010-02-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

It really is Monday Madness here at Raspberry Creative. I got a call this morning that I have to design three different ads for an upcoming event. The coordinator is meeting with the printer today and I am still waiting for information on formatting, ad size, etc.

The upside to the project is that Raspberry Creative is getting a full-page ad in the program for free. This will be one of our biggest public introductions to date and will be viewed by many of the most important businesses in the area. It is very exciting.

Concepts have been sent off to First Place Fitness for review and hopefully that project will be wrapped up early this week. I will show samples when the designs are finalized.