New Goals + Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh dear, this post is a couple days late.  The group over at Modish Biz Tips all posted on Monday.  Ah well.  So it goes.  But I’m here!  Just busy, like everyone else.

1. Finish and mail out holiday mailer. I got the cards today, and they look great!  I’m cranking up hulu tonight to stamp and address for a couple hours to get these suckers out there.

2.  Get everything ready for the workshop. Done! And the workshop was pretty amazing.  I think it deserves its own post.  Another thing I meant to do already.

3. Set up a time to organize and clean up my studio every day. Um. Still working on this one.  I’m having trouble motivating myself at the end of the day.  It’s just the last thing I want to deal with it.  But there’s never a time I want to deal with it.  I think I’ll have to resort to self-bribery…

4. Continue looking for a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids.

5. Contact publishers with new work. Nope.  But I have some new leads after the workshop.

6.  After the workshop, make a plan of action based on what I learned there. I need to work on this one some more though.

7. Sign up for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Conference in New York. I’m torn.  I asked a lot of people what they thought of this conference and from I gleaned, it doesn’t sound like a good place to make connections.  I’m thinking about waiting until the New England one.

8.  Participate in illustration online communities more. Hello Pikaland!  Hello Illustration Mundo!

9. Organize and make special holiday gifts for clients. They aren’t quite done yet.  Or organized.

10. Make a list of things to do during our week in Vermont! Alas I made the list, but the trip with Mr G was canceled.  Don’t be too sad for us though. We made it up there for Thanksgiving.

Sooo.  Yikes.  December already.  Here we go…

1. Mail out holiday mailer.

2. Organize special client holiday gifts.

3. Make and send them.

4. Make a list of publishers and potential new clients in the children’s market.

5.  Bribe myself to clean my office.

6. Collect my thoughts from the workshop.

7. Make time for making fun holiday things and gifts!

That’ll do it for this month.  It’s crazy enough already, don’t you think?  Is anyone else excited to look back at all your goals you made through out the year?

A huge thank you to the wonderful Jena for creating Modish Biz Tips and this meetup.  I’m sorry it’s ending, but am so excited for you!  Jena, you summed it up perfectly:

…here’s to not being afraid to try things, to experimenting and being brave in your ideas, and to not being satisfied until you truly find the place you’re meant to be.

Here, here.

Some Organizing

One of my goals for this month is to do some studio/office organizing.  And happily it seems I am not alone!  A bunch of people have mentioned on their blogs or goal lists similar desires for a more sparkly work space.  Here are some of the posts I’ve been looking at for both inspiration and commiseration. hah.

• Over at Mint, Ellie and her friend Margot, from Pitch, have begun a series about starting to work from home.  I’ve been working at home for years, but am sorry to say I still find myself falling into the “why-bother-getting-dressed?” and “my-house-is-a-perpetual-mess” pitfalls that often accompany having a home office.  So it’s always good to hear other’s comparable stories and tips for coping.  Find their Howdy Do It posts every Monday at Mint and Pitch.

• When starting to organize my office, I found this post from Uniform Studio chock full of helpful bits.

• If you need some inspiration look no further than Lovely Design’s studio tours– old and new!  Not only does every item seem to have its place, but the colors!  Really gorgeous.

• There’s also the Modish Flickr Pool– Handmade Spaces.  Always fun to troll through…

In related news, both my site and blog got a bit of dusting off these last couple of days.  See the newly organized sidebar to the left!  The portfolio and the homepage menu have been updated, and I decided to add in some pencil sketches from upcoming projects.  (Remember the image above from it’s pencil sketch posted a bit ago?)  Let me know what you think of the new work.

My physical workspace may still be a bit of a mess, but now my digital (er, virtual?) one isn’t!

November Goals

Here’s how I did on my October Goals:

1. Fall mailer. ERgh.  I worked on one for weeks, before deciding it just wasn’t right.  So I’ve decided to just make a holiday/winter one and send it out late November.
2. Make list of items to bring to the book workshop.
3. Three new kid illustrations for site.
4. Update site– add in new work, do new homepage. Adding in the new work today!
5. Make list of children’s publishers to contact.
6. Get a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids. Still working on it.
7. Work on organizing my office/studio.

And now for November!

1. Finish and mail out holiday mailer.

2.  Get everything ready for the workshop.  This is a big one, and it all has to happen this week.  Yikes.

3. Set up a time to organize and clean up my studio every day.  I think if I do this on a daily basis the clutter will be more manageable.  Seems like a good habit to get into.

4. Continue looking for a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids.

5. Contact publishers with new work.

6.  After the workshop, make a plan of action based on what I learned there.  Hopefully I’ll make some good connections!

7. Sign up for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Conference in New York.

8.  Participate in illustration online communities more.  I realized the other day that the great majority of the blogs I read have to do with cooking, fashion, or crafting.  They are super pretty and fun to look at, but I’m not taking advantage of the whole illustration community out there.

9. Organize and make special holiday gifts for clients.

10. Make a list of things to do during our week in Vermont!

Marketing is Fun!

I’m making  alright head way on my to-do list for the month.  I’ve started work on my fall mailer,  have made a list of items to bring to the workshop, organizing the office/studio has begun, and changes to my site are underway.  Yay!  Anyhow one of the items on my list for September was to list reasons “why marketing is fun.”  –Because more than half the time I forget that.  So here’s my list.  Any additions would be most appreciated!

1.  An excuse to do some drawings just for me.  Well, for a mailer.  But the client is basically me.

2. Holding my work in postcard form is pretty fun.

3.  Adding to my list of prospective clients can be exciting.  Just imagine all the cool potential projects possibly now headed my way.

4.  Even weeding through my mailing list can be rewarding if I think about it in terms of getting clearer about what kind of people/companies I want to work for.  Aim high.

5.  As the holidays are fast approaching, it will be nice to send out a little something extra to the people you really really want to impress.  I have a few idea rolling around, and this is a good excuse to actually make them happen.

6.  Making a list of blogs to contact is fun– hello you get to look through blogs and feel like you’re actually doing something, as opposed to frittering away time.

7.  Contacting, or really, hearing back from bloggers is wonderful.  Making new friends…

8.  Every new sale, blog write-up, and new client is a cause for a celebration.  Which probably means a yummy dinner in my case.

Basically it seems like marketing is fun if you think of it in terms of goals.  It’s an opportunity to continually be checking in and honing both your long and short term goals.  If you can do it with your eyes open, instead of squeezed shut just trying to get through it, ahem, it’s a process that can keep you on track.

Any thoughts on this?  How do you make it fun or rewarding?

PS. The above photo is how I spent my weekend: rowing in the Head of the Charles Regatta!  That’s me, fourth from the back.  Click on the photo if you’d like to see more.

October Goals

Alrighty, just a little late, ahem.

1. Fall mailer. Probably Thanksgiving themed, as I pretty much missed Halloween. Darn.
2. Make list of items to bring to the book workshop.
3. Three new kid illustrations for site.
4. Update site– add in new work, do new homepage.
5. Make list of children’s publishers to contact.
6. Get a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids.
7. Work on organizing my office/studio.

That should keep me busy!

The sketch above is from some more work I did for Time Out NY Kids.   They wanted the birds to almost look Disney-esque…

PS. Canine family member update: We are meeting a pup this weekend. I think. Very exciting!

Sept Goal Wrap Up

So at first glance my goals for September didn’t go so well.  But I think it was more of a matter of changing priorities and focus, as opposed to slacking off. I’m ok with that.

1.  Make a list of all the reasons marketing is fun. I made a list.  I should post it here so you guys can add to it.

2. Finish drawing Fall Mailer and send it off to get printed. Ergh.  This one did fall by the wayside and now I’m seriously behind.  Not good.

3.  Get a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids. Still working on it.

4.  Make a list of blogs, and then contact 3 each week for both Magnetic Kids, and Other Such Things shop. This felt like to much to bite off in the end.  I did make a list, but contacting three a week is too much for me right now.

5. Be brave and buy an expensive printer.  It will be worth it. Nope.

6.  Use said printer and put some prints in Other Such Things!  Nope.

7.  Make a letter mobile.  Or two. List in Other Such Things shop.  Nope.

8.  Research holiday guides. I did a bit of research.

9.  Go. to. the. beach. Yes and it was lovely!

10.  Get a dog.  yup, I dare me. We are working on it!

10. Think about updating portfolio site. Have some more changes to make, but did make some serious headway on this one.

Anyhow I’ve decided to really focus on pursuing children’s illustration.  So I’m going to work on my networking skills to get some advice.  I want to start contacting book publishers as well as magazines.  I’m hoping the book workshop will be helpful will all of this.

I think this means not selling prints for right now.  Maybe I’ll change my mind, but it seems like too much at the moment.  So that fancy new printer will have to wait.  Sad.

But it does mean updating my site with new kid’s work. I’ve been working on a few new pieces, and I just finished up an illustration for Time Out NY Kids.  Exciting!  And perfect timing.

Btw, the photo above is a plaque on a historic house in Wickford, RI.   I love the colors and the little icon above the name.  Providence doesn’t have any icons on it’s historic plaques…

Falling Leaves 09: Picture Books Master Class

I was accepted into a picture book workshop! –the Falling Leaves 2009 Picture Books Master Class, run by the Eastern New York chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.  Gosh, that’s a mouthful.

It’s a November weekend in the Adirondacks filled with group critiques and lectures and individual meetings with children’s editors.   I’m pretty excited about it.  I’ve been working on this book proposal for what feels like forever now, and hopefully I’ll get some useful feedback.

Now I just have to make it to November.

If you’ve attended previously, or have any insights regarding attending such workshops, I’d love hear about it.

Sept Goals + August Goals Recap

I did really well on my August goals– see below.  I think reading and then posting that bit about ” ‘quick implementation’ being the key to success” was a bit of dare for me.  Like, I dare you to finish this list.  And it worked.  So I double-dog-dare me this month:

1.  Make a list of all the reasons marketing is fun. Because sometimes it is fun!  And it seems to very, very easy for me to forget that.

2. Finish drawing Fall Mailer and send it off to get printed.

3.  Get a wholesale account for Magnetic Kids.

4.  Make a list of blogs, and then contact 3 each week for both Magnetic Kids, and Other Such Things shop.  Ask if you can do a give-away for Other Such Things.

5. Be brave and buy an expensive printer.  It will be worth it.

6.  Use said printer and put some prints in Other Such Things!

7.  Make a letter mobile.  Or two. List in Other Such Things shop.

8.  Research holiday guides.  Ideas anyone?

9.  Go. to. the. beach. Contrary to popular belief, September at the beach is lovely.

10.  Get a dog.  yup, I dare me.  (The gorgeous pup modeling in the above photo is Miss Dottie, who lives in New York with her lovely parents and kitty sisters.  We miss them all the time.)

10 For real.  (c’mon we’re not gonna get a dog just cause its on my September Goals list.  We are waiting patiently for the right one to find us.  So patiently.) Think about updating portfolio site: new homepage?  add pencil drawings? new spot for them?  Add “as seen in” section?

•••••••

Here’s how I did on my August Goals:

1.  Send out new Mailers at the end of the month.

Happening tonight! In front of guilty pleasure tv brought to me by hulu!

2.  Start sketches for a fall mailer.

yup.  Though emphasis on “start”

3.  Contact 3 more agents about possibly representing me.

Just contacted one as I’ve been reading it’s rude to contact more than one at the same time…

4.  Go to the beach. Its August and I haven’t been yet.  Not even once.  And now I live in the “Ocean State.”

I cannot believe this didn’t happen.  Seriously.  Pathetic.  The hurricane really put a damper on my plans.  Well, I’m going to Martha’s Vineyard in a few weeks…

5.  Add a newsletter sign up page to my site and blog.

6. Contact Thumbtack Press to see if they’re interested in carrying any of my work as prints.

7.  Send out a newsletter announcing opening of my online shop.

Sign up for my newsletter by clicking here!  And get a little goodie!

8. Make a list of possible wholesale stores for Magnetic Kids. (what’s Magnetic Kids? My new{ish} project in the works!)

9. Finish Magnetic Kids wholesale line sheet.

10. Contact two blogs about my online shop.

Mid-Month Goal Check In

Jena from Modish Biz Tips has kindly posted a reminder that it is indeed half-way through August.  Here’s what’s up with my goals:

1.  Send out new Mailers at the end of the month. 

I have the cards, but I need to   

    •buy more stamps,

    •print out labels

   •spend an hour watching something fun and slapping it all together.

2.  Start sketches for a fall mailer. 

Um, nope. I have some ideas, but nothing on paper yet.

3.  Contact 3 more agents about possibly representing me.  

I have a couple in mind and have the materials to send.  Just gotta schedule it in.

4.  Go to the beach. Its August and I haven’t been yet.  Not even once.  And now I live in the “Ocean State.”

Sort of.  We went to one of the many beautiful state parks, and while this one was gorgeous, it definitely wasn’t indicative of your typical RI beach experience, complete with waves and soft sand and clam cakes.  I’ve got such a trip planned for this weekend though. 

5.  Add a newsletter sign up page to my site and blog.  

6. Contact Thumbtack Press to see if they’re interested in carrying any of my work as prints.

7.  Send out a newsletter announcing opening of my online shop.

Sign up for my newsletter by clicking here!

8. Make a list of possible wholesale stores for Magnetic Kids. (what’s Magnetic Kids? My new{ish} project in the works!)

9. Finish Magnetic Kids wholesale line sheet.

So close!

10. Contact two blogs about my online shop. 

I really just need to bite the bullet on this.  I hate to admit it but I think I’m just a little scared.  

But I feel good at where I’m at so far.  How is everyone else doing?

Anyhow, I’m supposed to be concentrating on a pretty fun illustration project, but I’ve got friends coming for dinner tonight, and I keep getting distracted by the cooking possibilities.  Chocolate mousse…?  Watermelon Basil Salad…?  Agggh!  Gotta get my head back in the game!

Other Such Things on MODISH. Swoon.

What? What’s this?  My Hello cards are being featured on Modish as I type.  How wonderful!  What a lovely way to start the day…

Not only do I scour Modish Biz Tips and participate in the monthly goal meetup, but the “regular” Modish is a delicious daily treat.  So I can’t tell you how excited I am to be included!  Thank you so much Jena.