Sooo… It’s been a while since I last kept a blog on my website. I was advised against it because my opinions or topic choices could put off potential clients or alienate existing ones. Of course, I could’ve started a blog on a separate site that had nothing to do with my design business, but multiple hosting plans and multiple domains are expensive to maintain. So I’ve decided to blog here and we’ll see how that goes 🙂 After all, I’m not your typical business person. To be honest, I’m not a business person at all. I’m self employed because I like the freedom that comes with it, but I loathe the whole business aspect of it. I just happen to loathe corporate culture and a commute even more, so I have no choice. But if I did have a choice, I wouldn’t even be freelancing. I would be making my own art and volunteering for animal rescue organizations.
I could play it safe and just blog about design or share updates about my work, but I honestly don’t think this is something that I would enjoy. I’m a design snob and I obviously love graphic design or I wouldn’t be doing it for a living, but I’m not one of those people who “eat, sleep, and breathe design.” Wait, scratch that. Judging by my taste in fashion and home décor, I am. But you won’t find me spending my entire free time reading industry magazines, books or blogs and attending networking events or conferences. My work doesn’t define me. There’s a lot more to my life than my job and I’m happy to disconnect after I’m done for the day.
That being said, let’s get one thing perfectly clear in case you’re a potential client or one of my current clients and were starting to get worried 🙂 I do have a good work ethic — like I said, I’m a design snob and a perfectionist to boot, so I can’t deliver sloppy designs. I just can’t.
I’m still not too sure what I’ll be blogging about. I know I don’t want this to be a design blog, but I also know that design — all aspects of design, not just graphic design — will still be one of the main themes. A few years ago, I fell in love with interior design and little by little redecorated my whole apartment, so maybe that’s a topic that I’ll explore here. You will see the design snob in me whine about how ugly my kitchen and the carpet on my floor are, but I’m renting so I can’t change them. Other than that, though, I replaced literally everything (on a super tight budget, with a lot of stuff from IKEA!). I did this when I decided to just work from home. I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus surrounded by furniture that offended my design sensibility since it was from before I became a design snob, when I first moved into my apartment as a student and my dad pressured me into buying the least ugly furniture from the first store we visited because he wanted me to be all settled in before classes started. I never particularly liked it, but I could live with it before turning into a design snob. After my transformation, however, it was simply driving me insane! So I replaced it with lighter, more minimalist Scandinavian-style furniture and décor more conducive to a peaceful, relaxed, and cozy atmosphere. A home that matches your design aesthetic makes for a much happier living and working environment!
Another topic that I’m sure will come up a lot is my unconditional love for my feline daughters, Arya and Kiera (as well as Layla, who crossed the rainbow bridge almost two years ago at 18 years old). Yes, I’m a mother of cats and very proud of it because they’re truly amazing creatures! But I’m not your typical crazy cat lady — I love dogs, too, and I’m seriously considering adopting a puppy! Now that I work from home, I can totally walk a dog several times a day. I live across from a wonderful park with a lot of trails and a dog would help me get more exercise and fresh air.
Last but not least, there are so many issues that I care about, from a nationwide ban on declawing to a single-payer healthcare system for all humans, so I think I’ll write about all that, too. I’m very opinionated when it comes to politics and my views oftentimes find their way into my work, so there’s no need to hide them. Why hide them in the first place? I’m not ashamed of being extremely progressive. If this puts off some clients, too bad so sad. I once turned down a gig with the Cato Institute (tied to the Koch brothers!) despite desperately needing money to pay my bills, so I wouldn’t be working with right-wing, conservative clients anyway 🙂
I’m actually excited to be blogging again and I hope you’ll like the content that I’m going to share in this space. Stay tuned for more posts!