Times Are A-Changing

So, understandably, most of you have probably forgotten that this blog exists – I think I might have even forgotten for a while! Yet, alas, the changing of the season (and many far more significant changes) has inspired me to return to the blogosphere and resume my once regular updates of the goings-on in my life.

Where to begin?

I’ve finally joined the ranks of real world professionals – I got a full-time job! And better yet, it’s in my field – using both of my degrees! Today marked my first day of employment as a Production Designer at Tiny Prints, Inc., a web-based card retailer that specializes in announcements, invitations and greeting cards. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this job! The company is pretty young, they launched in 2004, but they’ve had incredibly impressive success in the last six years. They’re based out of Mountain View, CA and they just opened a new office in Tempe on June 1, so everyone is either new to the valley or new to Tiny Prints, which makes it a pretty interesting time to join the team since we’re all transitioning together. The product line is amazing and almost entirely developed by contract freelance designers, so the company itself has very little creative involvement on that end, but they encourage employees to share their own work. My position as a Production Designer is more of an editing position, so after a customer submits his/her card, I edit the text, photos, and layout to guarantee that everything is as close to perfection as possible, and then we send it off to printing. Beyond being totally impressed with both their product and success, the company promotes a family-like culture that I am honored and excited to be a part of. Everyone seems to genuinely love working for Tiny Prints and it was even chosen as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times! I feel like I’m writing a press release for them, but I’m just so thrilled that I found such a wonderful place to work! Seriously, check out the website, and tell me that you don’t love them, too! And family and friends, there’s a discount in it for you, too!

Here's some samples of their work:

My first day of work was great. There is one other girl who was hired as a Production Designer and she and I will be in training for the next two weeks, learning about company standards and quality assurance and everything we need to know to be awesome at our new jobs. Today was very introductory – we filled out lots of paperwork, met the other people in our department (there are only 7 right now in Tempe), and started with our training. Also, there’s no dress code so I can wear jeans and flip-flops to work everyday! Amazing!

Obviously, my various other activities took a hit since I’m now occupied Monday-Friday from 9-6. I had to end my internship at the Children’s Museum, although I’ll still volunteer there when I have some time. I tried to stay on at Anthropologie but I just can’t commit enough hours and summers are very slow here since no one wants to visit the 120° weather. I haven’t figured out what will happen with Free Arts, but that will be the most disappointing activity to lose because I so look forward to seeing the kids each week. My partner and I both stayed on through summer so we’ve been with the same kids since January and I really don’t want to leave them!

That’s enough of an update for now, but I still have lots to share so I’ll be back soon! Happy summer everyone!

New Year Update

Ok, so my new year's hiatus lasted a bit longer than I intended... I started watching HBO's former series The Wire and, well, all I can tell you of the last month and a half is that I've learned to never trust a politician, news writer, police officer, lawyer, dock worker, or drug dealer. Great show!

Anyways, now that I've re-emerged into the real world, I have quite a few updates. I recently designed a logo for my parents and brother's newly formed real estate team:

So if you're looking to buy property in this beautiful state (and why wouldn't you? It's 75 degrees of gorgeous sunshine right now!) they're the team to call. Plus, they're great people.

I've also resumed my position as a mentor at Free Arts of Arizona. My partner Kyla and I are working with kids aged 5-11 and so far it's been a blast! I love this age group, they're still excited about playing with glitter and pipe cleaners and nothing is totally lame yet. Last week we made valentines, tissue paper flowers for Mom, and candy rings:

I've been busy at work at the Children's Museum, which I'm loving more and more each day - I even got to write a few grant requests this week! We've been preparing for months for a huge gala that is finally upon us! This Saturday night adults will take over the museum and play and explore like kids, and I'll get to partake in the festivities as a grateful volunteer. I'll post some pictures after the big event.

Speaking of work, I'm finally returning to work at Anthropologie this weekend and I'm very excited to be back on the job. While I really, really love all of the volunteering/interning I'm doing, I can't help but long for the ca-ching of a paycheck every now and then.

And lastly, I lost a great member of the family this week when we put down our beloved Wheaten Terrier, Bailey. Bays was my first great companion when we moved to Arizona, and I'll greatly miss our pool races and cuddle sessions. Unfortunately, age finally got the best of him and after fourteen great years we had to say goodbye. Unbelievably, I don't have a single picture of him on my computer (I lost them all in the great crash of '07), but here's a drawing I made of him a few summers ago:

RIP Bailey boy, I'm sure you're having a great time in doggy heaven with Rocky and Reggie.

So, that's my update for now. I'm trying to get back to work on some personal projects, one of which is staying on top of this blog so that I can keep my devoted readers entertained (that's you, Grandma Bebby). Hopefully I'll have some new artwork to post soon, and until then, enjoy one of my favorite hippo sketch studies: