I'm loving gold foil these day, and am having a blast designing with it right now for my client (and good friend) Caroline Reehl.
I've had the pleasure (and true honor) of watching Caroline develop as
an artist. When we first met she was 22, fresh out of college, and
beginning to
follow her dream (and god-given talent) as an artist and ceramicist. In
just
short three years, Caroline has grown into a successful entrepreneur /
business-woman / ceramicist. We just updated her logo and overall color palette (see below).
I'm in the process of redesigning her website, blog, and other print
material. She's wanting a more professional look, to reflect where her
work is now.
Here's a sneak peek of her blog redesign. MUCH more coming soon! For now, you can follow Caroline here.
Caroline is so, so talented and an absolute JOY to work with. We've
worked together for 3+ years, and have become such close friends along
the way. Stay tuned for many more designs featuring this amazing artist!
I could watch this video over and over again. Wow. I've seen it so many times, but every time I get goosebumps all over and can't help but tear up. How could you not? God is so good!
And a special tribute to Vince Gill. We actually got to meet him last Thursday evening at the Mobile Rescue Mission event. His voice was AMAZING and he told the best stories. I just love his music, and most importantly, everything he stands for. He's
about as solid and Godly as they come. See the powerful performance
below at George Jones funeral. Vince, you are THE man, and we were truly
honored to be in your presence.
One of the best things about social media is that you stumble upon people and businesses you never would have known existed. Well, thanks to Instagram, I found out about this amazing entrepreneur, Lara Casey. Good gosh, whenever I feel like I'm working hard or making some progress, I just need to look at her work and step-up my game.
I don't know how she does all of this (with a toddler!) but she is definitely inspiring. I love following mommy designers. It's so refreshing to see other women creating fabulous designs and pouring themselves into their businesses, yet embracing being a mommy and putting their babies first, at the same time. I won't lie, being a working mom is not easy—to say the least. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and I'm blessed to work from home. It's a balancing act (I could write a novel on it... to be continued)...BUT, the passion and faith Lara has behind her work is truly rare. I could read her blog and view her website(s) for days—that's how involved she is.
I personally have been very inspired recently and am wanting to take my
business (my website/my branding/etc) to the next level. It's just hard
to find the time, when I'm so swamped updating other businesses'
branding and websites. Believe me, I wouldn't have that any other way
(my
clients are what matter), but it's people like Lara,
who make me want to carve out the time to be the best I can be (as
cliche as that may sound)...and most importantly, to do it for a greater cause. Check out
her site here and her blog here, to see what I'm talking about.
Whew, she's one talented, BUSY lady, that's for sure. So here's to being inspired and many more "Designer Spotlights" to come...
Our new Roberts Brothers TV commercial hit the airways this week, and I am beyond excited to share this with y'all! There are very few projects that come around like this in your career. This has been without a doubt, my favorite project I have ever been a part of, and has literally been my (2nd) "baby" these past few months. (My #1 baby is the one walking in the first shot!)
A little background on the project...
My client (Roberts Brothers) and I have talked about doing a commercial like this for years, but we just couldn't figure out where to start. We wanted to come up with something that really captured the emotion and the meaning of a home. I had never produced a commercial before, but was willing to dive-in whenever the inspiration hit.
That inspiration came when I was watching the super bowl, and I was so moved by this JEEP commercial, with Oprah as the narrator.
It was an ah-ha moment for us and we thought: That's it! We need a script and a voice (not just any voice, but "the" voice) and powerful shots to back it up. I sat down at my computer, and in about an hour, wrote this script. I then presented it to Daniel Dennis (RBI President) and he loved it, and so our work began.
We teamed up with Cari Searcy (owner of All Good Creatives) for the video production. She is amazing and so talented, and we worked tirelessly together to make our vision come true. And also, a huge thank you to Cari's assistant for the day, the talented Devon Ford. We love working with Devon, and she helped Cari capture these shots. The commercial took an entire Saturday to film. We filmed it at my house, my neighbor's house and a RBI agent's house. We were so thankful for all of the people that showed up and acted out the parts. We couldn't have done it without their help!
The next task was to find "the voice". We knew this would make or break the commercial, and we spent months searching for the perfect voice. We looked all the way from Hollywood to Fred Thompson to Condoleezza Rice, and nothing was working out. They were either too expensive or just weren't the perfect fit. On our way home from the video shoot, I told Daniel my father-in-law's voice might be worth listening to. When we pulled up at my house, he just so happened to be there with my husband and daughter. We asked him to read the script, and immediately, we knew he was the one. After all this searching, the voice was right around the corner! Within a week, we met him at the recording studio. To say he was awesome is an understatement. Mack took our direction and nailed it! The fact that his voice is "the voice", makes this project that much more special.
The music is by the talented Sanders Bohlke. I went to Ole Miss with Sanders and have always loved this song, Lovesick Misery. I kept envisioning it as the instrumental. He was nice enough to take time out of his busy touring schedule, and rerecord this 60-second spot just for our commercial.
Whew...sorry for the long recap, and if you can't tell, this project was very close to my heart :)
Happy hump day everyone! May you always live and celebrate life in the home of your dreams...
Spring has sprung, and after years of dealing with the azalea bushes we inherited (which were literally drowning the front of the house), we decided to re-landscape our front yard. Right now, our front yard is bare...nothing but dirt! But everything should be
complete this week and I can't wait to see the end result.
Since our front yard is off-limits, we spent some time working in the backyard this weekend. After about a year or so of neglect, it was time to finish raking, plant some flowers, and lay down new mulch.
We tackled this little area below, which is outside of our screen porch and a small walkway to the deck. It desperately needed some love and was looking mighty sad! We dug up the existing sod/dirt, planted simple plants, and put down new mulch. We used red mulch (because that's what the hubs came home with) because that's the color of the leaves that fall there, so it won't be as much upkeep.
We also tried to improve this little eyesore too. What a difference that made!
And every year we plant our herb garden. This year, I planted basil, oregano, parsley and mint. Our rosemary is the same plant from last year...you can't kill this stuff...which I love! See my previous herb garden posts here and here. I can't believe this is my 3rd year to blog about this. Time continues to fly by!
And for some reason, our mint does so much better in a pot by itself. I guess you live and learn, and I've learned mostly by trial and error.
So with just one Saturday of work, Calder has a much friendlier backyard to play in :)
And I can't get enough of those little thighs and pig tails! I.could.eat.her.UP!
Cross stitch is a true art form. It takes so much patience and creativity, not to mention time! My mom is so very talented, and for as long as I can remember, she has loved cross stitching. I think it's therapeutic for her—she loves to cuddle up with her colorful threads and stitch away. But what makes her designs so special is that it is all freehand, and not done with a pattern. If you've ever tried cross stitch or needlepoint, you know how hard that is!
I guess it runs in the family, because her mother did some beautiful cross stitch and needlepoint work. See the wedding sampler/birth announcement my grandmother did below. I don't think I've inherited this gene. I'm not patient enough for this, nor do I have the time, but I hope later in life I can at least try :)
And here's the amazing wedding sampler my mom did for us. I adore this so, so much, and it will always hang in our living room, and remind us of that special day. Every little detail reflects our wedding...down to the flowers, the church and the exact bench where Bruner proposed to me.
Mom recently designed this beautiful sample for Calder. I can't even describe how much I love this. It is absolutely beautiful, and something Calder will cherish forever, as well as her parents.
I could stare at it forever.
Mom, you are so talented and I can't thank you enough for these treasures. You inspire me everyday, and I hope I am half the artist and mother you are!
Yes, I know now that I have a family of my own and am almost 30 (sigh), my "home" is in Mobile, but Chattanooga will always be my real "home." Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Mobile and have some of the best friends here I could have ever dreamed of, BUT, there's something about going home that makes you miss where you came from. It's where your roots are, where everyone knows you and who your folks are. It's like going back in time — to where all your childhood memories were made. And let's be honest, I may be near the beach in Mobile, but I miss the mountains! I guess you always love what you're use to :)
Bottom line is — I don't go home often enough.
When Calder's with her Grandaddy, she forgets about everyone else. I was a huge daddy's girl, so it warms my heart to see this. Of course, she loves SuSu too, but right now Grandaddy is "it"!
Calder with her Godfather, Uncle Jake.
The weather was perfect for a downtown river walk.
I love this place. I use to sprint up this zig-zag trail all the time, whew...those were the days:)
Mom will probably kill me for posting this photo, but I thought it was so sweet. I think they were very concerned about the wind in her face. Gosh, I love my parents. Calder-bear is so very blessed to have them.
The girl loves to wave ... to EVERYONE.
It really was the perfect weekend. We cooked out both nights, had several dance parties (Calder's dance moves are hilarious!), slept in past 7 am (which is a BIG deal), and laughed a lot!
Such a sweet, sweet time. Too short of course, but couldn't have been better medicine for the soul.
