So this week, it's been a tough one. Here's just a reminder to hang in there, and another reminder to check on your "easy" relationships. You know, the folks in your life that always seem like they're put together. The ones who are always "cool" with last minute change of plans, generally the people you don't worry so much about. If they're anything like me, chances are they feel like they can't ask for help, like it's not allowed or something.

So no, I'm not asking for help as I've literally just expressed that I feel like it's not allowed. I can offer my help though, that's perfectly acceptable. I like to help, and I'm pretty good at it. Take for instance a call for help (on social media) that I responded to a while back. I met an interesting blogger, local to me, who dabbled in many interests that overlapped my own -mainly being a steward of a property instead of an owner. We talked for sometime about working with our respective properties and shared strategies and interesting facts. Really cool person, the kind you just click with immediately --well that was my reaction anyway.

So back to the call for help. My client and soon to be new friend, wanted to visualize a feeling she had whenever she discovered something new and exciting about nature and life blogging. She had a person connection with dragonflies, I won't share too many of her details, she's got her own blog for all that. She wanted a dragonfly somewhere in the design, and she also wanted the essence of a painting.

Fast forward just a couple interactions to discuss thumb nail sketches, color palette, etc. and we had a plan. Fast forward again and we had a first draft, then a second, then a final lickety-split. Side note, I love creating logos, and I'm really REALLY good at capturing the "vision" in a short amount of time. See, I love telling stories, and logos are the very first impression that an audience will make whether it's a personal or professional context. Logos and branding really REALLY matter when it comes to basic psychology. More on that in a different blog.

The beautiful thing about this particular project is that it was never intended to sell. The design was meant entirely and soulfully for my client to enjoy. This blog of hers is a forever passion project, and that resonates with me, deeply. So, when I saw a call for help for something so wholesome I absolutely jumped in and offered.

This specific project has yielded some unintended but definitely welcome dividends. For starters, it's GORGEOUS so naturally it makes for a nice portfolio piece. Second, my client came back to expand on the initial project which is always nice. Third, and most poignant this week, resurfacing it and sprucing up a new portfolio page for myself really helped to lift my spirits. It's really been a dumpster fire floating down the street week here at the studio, and yet the story this little dragonfly expresses was enough of a reminder to pick myself back up and keep going.

The road ahead isn't going to be less rocky for a while. The economy sucks right now, and art isn't exactly going to come before food, shelter, and amenities but I'm going to keep trying. If you're in a pickle too, and feel like you're also not allowed to ask for help, let's talk. I'm sure we can figure it out. I'm not just an Artist, Graphic Designer, Product Manager, Webmaster ---- the list goes on you get the idea, I'm also a small business owner with BIG corporate experience from another life. If you need help on the admin side of house, technology, operations management, etc let's connect on professional services.

That's all for now, I'm late for my next live stream!

Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to check on your quiet people, they need love too!

-Kristi