Once a month, I like to get out of my studio and immerse myself into a creative atmosphere. A few years back, I found that by only looking at my work, I was not expanding my mind or learning from the creativity of others. There are such amazing minds in this world—it would be a shame to not tap into their artistry and challenge myself to be better at what I do for my clients, and for myself. This stems deep into the fact that I believe I need to not only stay on top of current trends, software, etc., but to also keep my creativity sharp. We are extremely fortunate that now through May, renowned artist Dale Chihuly has a stunning exhibition "Chihuly in the Garden" at the Desert Botanical Garden. The combination of the desert landscape with Chihuly’s colorful and vibrant masterpieces, creates the perfect contrast and is extremely awe inspiring. Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and changing people's perception of the glass medium from craft to fine art. He is acclaimed for his aspiring architectural installations, museums and gardens all around the world. If you are in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend you visit before they close the exhibit. If you are not and have not seen his works yet—or if you have, but just want to see them again—you have a lot of options. The Milwaukee Art Museum is one of my favorite places and one I personally love. Not only is the architecture of the new wing (designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava) out of this world, the Chihuly piece they have is outstanding, just like all of his work. Of course, there is always Las Vegas. The Bellagio has one of his public installations—just ask where it is as you enter and they will point you in the right direction. Trust me, it is worth the walk through the casino. Or, if you want to avoid the Bellagio all together, you could always go to City Center, near the Aria. These are just a few I have seen and loved. A quick Google search and you will find that you may have an option in your backyard. Go out, be inspired. I hope these pieces that I photographed will inspire you as well.
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I hope your 2014 is off to a great start. Can you believe it's February already?
I recently finished a rather easy and straightforward project for a client: new logo, signage and business cards. Other than the printed and foil stamped elements of the logo on the business cards, this was a fairly simple undertaking—or so I thought. When I received the cards in the mail, I went to inspect them only to find that my OCD (self-proclaimed and husband-confirmed) wasn't happy with the end product. The logo elements were slightly off…by maybe 1/16 of an inch or even less. Most likely, your lay person never would have noticed, but to my trained eyes this was a glaring error and one I couldn't dismiss. I contacted my vendor and snapped some pictures with my iPhone (scroll down to see the before and after), so they could see what I was seeing. They were extremely nice and admitted that the cards didn't look good, and they went on to reprint the entire order at no extra cost to my client. I was very satisfied and will continue to use them in the future because of this. I received the new cards in the mail the following week and, WOW, you could tell the difference right away. I was very happy to be dropping these off at my client's place and for her to stop using the few "not-so-perfect" ones I had given her in the interim. The next morning, I received this note from her, "Naty, what a difference!!! Just looking over the cards again. Thank you, thank you for your great eye and demand for excellence." The point? I am telling you this story in hopes that—regardless of what we all do as professionals—in 2014, we will make it our personal goal to demand excellence in our lives, our businesses and, most importantly, for our clients and the services we provide them. So let me ask you this: Does your marketing reflect the high standards you have for your brand and your business? Are you conveying the right message? Do your clients walk away thinking, "Wow!"? If you are ready for a creative professional that will demand excellence on your behalf, give me a shout. I would love to be the “discerning eye” that makes your 2014 truly remarkable. Cheers, Naty |
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