If you build it, they will come! Right?

Yes, photo by moi.

Sometimes it's weird how things work, Kids. So yesterday, as I mused over where I am in my life, I made mention of some sources of inspiration to which I've been turning. One of them is Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Non-Conformity. I've been following Chris for some time and have been consistently impressed with his straightforward manner and all that he's managed to accomplish for himself in his life. A short time back, Chris put together and launched his "Empire Building Kit" - case studies (including actual monetary figures) of people running successful small businesses, while also receiving one email a day (365 total) that will help you build a business destined for "world domination" in at least one year. It was available for one day... I passed. The second time around... one day release? I jumped. Well, sorta. I hemmed and hawed for a while, reading over the details, so on and so forth... a little more hemming and hawing and then, deep breath, "Go!" Anyhoozles... I thought, nothing in life is without some risk and Chris had certainly earned a level of trust in me that I thought it was worth the leap. So far? I haven't been disappointed. I'm early in the game, sure (baby steps, people), but it's creating both a reminder and a sense of accountability to what I envision for myself at some point down the road. It's the power-packed, yet gentle, kick in the tukhus that I'm needing lest I slide back down my rabbit hole. Plus, I'm getting lots of information and perspectives from lots of different people. In short, I'm pretty pleased with my investment thus far. (Plus, 10% of all UnconventionalGuides revenue is donated to a charity project to bring clean water to Ethiopia. (Chris worked in Africa for years.) So, that just helped my decision that much more, y'know?) Weeeeelllll... now, Chris is finally releasing the "EBK" for good on his site... today! (See? Weird.)

I don't know where you may be at this point in your own life, Kids. But, if you think something like this may help you on your own path I can tell you it's at least worth a look and some consideration. Is it for everyone? Probably not. Outside of water, I'm not sure anything is for everyone! But me and the "Empire Building Kit" seem to be making a pretty good fit these days.

I'm also going to tell you, Kids, just so we're all clear and on the level, that I have joined Chris's affliate program so, yeah, if you should purchase one of the "Empire Building Kits" via "The Bedlam" I do get a monetary kickback. That said, I hope y'all know that I'm not just going to throw anything at you for the sake of a buck. I joined as an affiliate because I really appreciate what Chris is doing and providing. Hey, I've been in the blogging game a long time and turn away "sponsors" a lot of the time... most of the time... almost all of the time. I'm not anti-advertising per se, but somehow seeing some button or link from a "Diamond Importer" on "The Bedlam" makes me wanna take a "Silkwood" kind of shower... y'know? Eew. If I'm going to advertise it's going to be for things or people that I like or think you might like. And you'll always know when there's money involved. That's how I roll... got it? Good. I got yer backs, Kids.

Now, go plot your "world domination" or at least have a lovely Wednesday! Be well, Kids!

A couple of other UnconventionalGuides that I'm currently enjoying:

Ink & Sweet

There were so many photo ops and inspirations abounding and I took full advantage. Most of the photos are sized to make for a great (if I do say so myself) desktop pic!

While putzing around Portland I was beyond thrilled that we stumbled upon Pam's new venture, Ink & Peat. I've been anticipating the chance to see her shop in person as she always displayed the most amazing photos of her floral artistry and design inspirations on her blog Housemartin. Ink & Peat did not disappoint...and nor did Pam!

As you can see the light was incredible...as was the shop!

Kids, this shop is so lovely filled with lots of bits, baubles, buds. Home decor, gifts, art, and other loveliness all interspersed with a subtle multitude of floral bouquets. (I scored the sweetest set of cups one can possibly imagine!) And the warmth of Ink & Peat (complimented by all the streaming sunlight!) was only enhanced by Pam herself as she couldn't have been sweeter! (Pam...you know we're all gonna have to dinner it up next time, right?)

So if you happen to be in Portland this is a must-see stop! And, if you're lucky, you might just get to ask Pam for an autograph. She'll be sweet and humble and think me ridiculous for saying so but, Kids, I know a star when I see one...and Miss Pam is a shiny one indeed!

Green Acres

So here are some images from the fabtastilicious Barn House that I went to over the past weekend. I love country style...but not too country...know what I'm sayin'? I like a balanced mix...and eclectic mix, but a balanced one. Barn House was a perfect mix of country charm and urban chic so you know your Uncle will be going again and again. Like some kinda glam Green Acres! Enjoy!

The genius behind Barn House...Joe and Jermonne.

That's all she wrote! (Do you really need descriptive text with these photos? I didn't think so.) I'll see ya's tomorrow, Kids!

PS - So, all is well in Computerville now! It was some kind of booting glitch...??? Nothing lost thank goodness. Thanks for being patient, Kids!

Who's The Boss

Wednesday night was another installment of The Lab at Velocity. Kristine and I worked our way over to check out Lauren Bacon & Emira Mears who graciously made the trip down from fab Vancouver, B.C. to talk about their book "The Boss of You".

(Lauren & Emira layin' down the law and the Lab. It's good that this shot doesn't show the shoes the ladies were wearing...LOVELY...to the point of distraction! ;) So now that I sound like some shoe perv...I know that Lauren's choice looked something like this (and that's where they came from).)

After saddling up to a lil' Pinot Grigio (Thanks, John!), and perusing the tasty delights provided by Megan from Spot On Culinary Craft, I got a chance to catch up with Miss Mary and Seth (who, along with partner Jonathan, is now selling wares at Velocity! Congrats, Guys!). Finally got to meet Salty, Not Martha, Dottie, and Schmancy! And the truth here, "workin' it" and "workin' a room" are two entirely different things. I am terrible at working a room! So it might typically take several months of repetitive minglings in a single room before I might actually get to say "hi" to someone. Otherwise, I feel all smarmy...like, "Hi, I'm ME! And you are? Oops! Gotta run!" Eew. If I ever come across that way, Kids...just wash yourselves vigorously and gimme another chance.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway......

I always appreciate hearing input and information about other people's experiences in entrepreneurship. Becoming a business owner is absolutely not a "one size fits all" proposition as there are always vast variations in different people's approaches, outcomes, and lessons learned. A couple of hours is certainly not enough time for Lauren & Emira to cover all the insights of being your own boss. But, I gleaned some good information that got me to thinking. And, really...isn't that why there were copies of the book there? Did I buy one? Um...it's a business book for women! Yeah I bought one! You think I'm gonna let a few nouns and pronouns get in my way?! Please!

Who's the boss now?! Holla!

The Lab & The Lazy

Okay...I confess I am being a REALLY lazy blogger right now. But going to see "the movie" over in Seattle and gotta catch a ferry boat in, like, minutes! But here are some links to information about the evening's event from Mary and Megan. (Thanks, Ladies!) I'll be back tomorrow with some updates about what I thought and learned. One thing I learned...I have a crap camera! But it is what it is...y'know?

The delightful Mr. John Tusher starting off the evening singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". Ok, kidding...he's just warming up the crowd...which isn't hard to do 'cause the man's dna is just downright hospitable!

That's Erin from Apartment34 talking about the upcoming Make Mine A Million event. (The coat and her shoes? Sarah Jessica would have approved!)

The lovely and informative panel. Paola, Elaine, Mary, & Megan.
They were wonderful! (Sorry about the awkward shot, ladies.)


Megan, Mary, & Tula.
(This...being the best shot of the bunch is from Mary's camera...not mine!)

Designers...make it work!

I posted about this a short little while ago and now it's happening! All you Seattle-area designer/crafter/artist/entrepreneurs are invited tomorrow night (Wednesday April 16th) to the Seattle creative meet up from 6pm- 8pm at Velocity's South Lake Union showroom on Yale Avenue, featuring special guest artist Matte Stephens.

"The events will go by the name of The Lab - we are hoping that they will become a place to experiment with new ideas, foster creative thinking and provide us all with plenty of opportunities for networking and inspiration. Please feel free to invite anyone you think would like to come and remember that The Lab is open to both men and women."

And many, many thanks to Paola for helping to organize all of this. As well as thanks to John Tusher and the fine folks at Velocity for hosting and sponsoring and, of course, Matte Stephens, guest speaker extraordinaire! Thanks, Kids!

Also... it's supposed to be raining tomorrow so there are no more excuses for not attending! As if rain would ever be allowed as an excuse in Seattle! See you there! Designers, make it work!

Seattle Design Meet-up

Many of you may already be well aware of Grace's ingenious Biz-Lady Meet-ups that take place all over the country. Well, after her recent visits to Portland & Seattle, Paola from MirrorMirror took hold of the reins to put together a local Seattle group. And Grace kindly filled me in that this would allow boys in too (hooray!). The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th at Velocity Art & Design's new South Lake Union location with the fantastic Matte Stephens presiding as first guest speaker!

If you are a Puget Sound artist, designer, creative, /entrepreneur this should be the perfect means to take hold of your own reins and help guide your career. Let Paola know if you'd like to be added to the address list! (You can click the "email" link below or visit Mirror Mirror.) Hope to see you there!

(This is from Paola's first announcement....)

"After the Biz Lady meet up in Seattle, I left my email addy on Design*Sponge to see if anyone wanted to continue meeting up.

And lo and behold, one of the people who responded was John Tusher of Velocity, who wanted to keep the inspiration going and was offering the new Velocity store as a location!

So on Monday I had tea with John to have a chat about the format such meetings could take.

We thought that it would be good to aim for monthly meetings and we would get a guest speaker or panel of speakers for each one (John's obviously got some great contacts he can tap). We also wanted to set aside a bit more time for socializing and networking afterwards.

We thought it would have more of a general design focus rather than just a business focus, though we might touch on small business-related topics at some point. Oh and given John's involvement, and the general design focus, we thought it would be odd if it were exclusively for women, though it would probably have a preponderance of women attending given what it has sprung from.

So I really just wanted to open this up to get people's thoughts and ideas on the above. I've sort of ended up doing this by default and am keen to create something that everyone feels a part of and will enjoy.

All ideas, comments and suggestions are hugely welcome - either via email or in the comments below. We'd particularly love to hear from you if you've got good ideas for a great name; know someone who would be a good guest speaker; can point us in the direction of wine/cheese/bakery sponsors; or want to get involved in any way. If you're a Seattle-based blogger and think your readers might be interested it would be immensely helpful if you could point them in this direction.

Most importantly, email me if you would like to attend the first meet-up, which we're aiming to have organised for mid-April."