Minted: Save the Date Challenge

I am WAY behind on updating lately, but I want to take a minute to share a few designs I entered this week in the Minted Save the Date Challenge.  I had fun creating these designs and would love your support in voting.  You have until Thursday to place your vote and all you have to do is create a login at Minted and click the links below.

Modern Garland

Future Mr. and Mrs.

Damask Frame

Buy Stationery = Help Sandy Victims

Through the Minted community, I have been connected with the most amazing group of designers.  They are encouraging, helpful, and all share the same passion for paper and design.  Several of the designers were effected by Hurricane Sandy, and one in particular decided to pull all of us together to help.

The etsy store, "Designers Care" will give 100% of the proceeds raised to the American Red Cross.  The designs will be stamped onto calling cards or greeting cards and shipped to you.  Most of the designs are meant to be uplifting and inspire.

I'm so happy that I could be a part of this effort.  My art card, "Lean on Me" can be purchased along with several other amazing designs.  Our goal is to raise $2,000 for the American Red Cross, it would be awesome if we could do more.

Below is my design, and here is the link for you to go make a purchase and a difference:  http://DesignersCare.etsy.com

Inspiration

These last few weeks I have been working tirelessly on Goldenberry Paper's first launch of stationery notecards.  A friend that I met through Junior League was kind enough to let me test out the market by selling my stationery in her shop at our upcoming Hollydays Art & Gift Market.  This opportunity has been perfect for setting a deadline to launch my first product line.

One thing that I struggled with was what would the overall look and feel of this stationery collection look like?  I decided to turn to Pinterest to collect photos of my favorite things.  Once I placed these images into an inspiration board, it was easy to see what colors and things inspire me and make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  A lot of the designs for the upcoming line have been tweaked and tweaked again and again, and I am so excited for the finished products.

For now, take a sneak peak into what inspired me for this first stationery line:

Images courtesy of Pinterest and Design Seeds

Finding the RIGHT name

Well, you might notice the blog looks a bit different today.  It's only been one month since making this business official, and I'm already changing things up!  Naming your business has to be one of the single most difficult things to do, and as you can see I had a bit of a time figuring it out.

I recently hired a business consultant to assist me in writing a business plan.  Our first call was last week and she asked me why I chose B.Kay Designs?  I said honestly, because it is my name and it won't change.  But, as I was telling her this, I noticed that I wasn't even excited about the name.

I had originally wanted to name this business after the Kentucky state flower, the Goldenrod.  But, the "rod' part of the word makes it sound too harsh.   So, over a glass of wine with a friend, I decided to start brainstorming again.  I visited the Kentucky state symbols web page to notice that our state fruit is the blackberry.  Obviously, my first thought was blackberry cell phones so that wouldn't work.  Then, I thought maybe I could combine the state flower with the state fruit, for Goldenberry.  I love the way it sounds, I love the colors it represents, and I knew I could do a lot graphically with the logo.

So, after much anguish, I am thrilled to announce my official shop name is Goldenberry Paper.  I designed the first thing that popped into my head and think the logo fits "me"!

I am really excited to continue on through the business planning process.  Stay tuned for more updates related to this!

Research Research Research

I know it's been a few weeks since my last post, but believe me when I say I have been working non-stop on this business.  Not necessarily in the form of designing, but research.

There are SO many things that go into opening a stationery business.  Luckily, there are plenty of designers who have walked this walk before, and I have found some amazing resources and websites that are helping me things out.  Here are just a few things I have been pondering:

- Will I outsource all of my work, or print some of it in-house?
-  If I outsource, who will be my primary printer?
-  Where will I order envelopes, paper, packaging, shipping boxes, etc?
-  Who will I use to ship my products?
-  What accounting system will I use to keep track of sales, taxes, and expenses?
-  How will I get good photography shots of my product line once it's finished?
-  If I print in-house, I need a good paper trimmer, which one is the best for my needs?
-  What will I charge for my final pieces, once all of these things are taken into consideration?

As you can see, this just touches the iceberg of all the things stirring around in my head.  If you have any suggestions for me, please share.

In the meantime, I will continue to research and order product samples.

Happy Monday, hope you have a great week!
Brittany

Invitation Design: DZ Sorority

A coworker of mine recently approached me about designing her sorority's upcoming Founders' Day invitation.  This year was extra special because they were celebrating the new National President who happens to come from our local Louisville Chapter.

For this design, I mostly followed the brand guidelines laid out by the Delta Zeta Sorority which encompasses their logo and rose emblem.  I decided to frame the invitation with a classic frame.  The light pink lightens the heaviness since this is an event that will take place during the day.

Thanks Jenn for asking me to help, looking forward to working on many more fun projects such as this.

How I got here

I didn't always think of myself as a Type A person, totally in control of where I wanted to go in life.  In fact, I very clearly remember a friend telling me they thought I was a bi&*h in high school, because I NEVER talked.  Somewhere between finding the courage to tryout for the high school dance team, dancing at the University of Louisville in front of thousands, graduating in four years, coaching, and getting a full-time job the month I graduated, I've realized this is EXACTLY who I am.

In June, my sister and I were chatting over Gmail chat as we often did.  She was in Denver where she attended college and currently lived.  Both of us had found our way into corporate America, working 8-5 everyday mostly feeling fulfilled.  Until...Kristina decided she'd had enough.

She wrote me over chat, "you know what I really want to do.  I want to teach."  And so, she got online, found a school in Honduras that was in need of teachers, quit her job, and is currently living there fulfilling her dream.  At the exact same moment, something inside of me decided to send a chat to her stating exactly what I wanted to.  "You know what I really want to do?  Open a stationery shop, and attend the Stationery Academy in 2013."  I was THAT specific.

That was the moment when I knew this is what I was supposed to do.  My sister is a very rare person.  Not everyone can say what they WANT to do one minute, and literally make it happen the next.  For some reason, the decision to begin a path of entrepreneurship was always inside of me, but it took my sister and her ambition for me to really step outside of my comfort zone and live it.

For those interested in following my sisters journey, you can tune in here:  http://inthis-wonderful-life.blogspot.com

On a positive note, I FINALLY connected our printer at home to my MacBook, which means I can start testing and printing some design samples.  More fun to come!

Goals

While I'm currently spending my free time with new ideas for fun stationery, I had to take a moment to really think about what my goals are for this up and coming business.  In order to be successful, you have to have well thought out goals and a plan.  I really have never written a full business plan, but thought I would at least write down my mission and my current and five year goals.

Here is goes:

Mission:  To create elegant, tangible keepsakes for life's important moments such as birthdays, wedding, and births.

Current Year & 2013 Goals:

1. Create a full portfolio of 30 designs
2. Open up an Etsy Shop
3. Attend the Stationery Academy in 2013
4. Make $500/month in revenue by August 2012.

5 Year Goals:

1. Create and Launch a wedding invitation line
2. Have an e-commerce website and blog 
3. Sell my creations on other websites and look into retail outlets
4. Have winning designs for sale on Minted
5. Quit my day job

Some of these may be off, but at least I have strong intentions of making them happen.  When was the last time you sat down and wrote out your goals and dreams?  It's often hard to be honest with yourself, but I truly believe anything can happen if you believe in yourself and make a plan to achieve!

Happy Monday!

Brittany

Minted: Wedding Challenge

For the past few weeks, I have been working on some wedding invitation submissions for Minted's current challenge.  I love the thought of designing something special for someone's perfect day.  Although there are SO many color options and fonts to choose from, I found myself being drawn to softer colors with still a traditional feel.  Here are the two designs I have submitted so far:

Nectarine Dream

Twist on Classic

Once these designs enter the voting stage, I will let you know so that you can vote for them.  

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather!!

It's Official

Well, I officially took the plunge today.  I registered my business with the State of Kentucky and the IRS for a tax-ID.  If you are just starting out, this is the absolute first step.  In order for me to open a bank account to keep business separate from personal, you have to get a Tax ID.

So, no turning back now.  Although I was back and forth on what to name my business, I decided to stick with what I know won't change, my name.  B. Kay Designs is my first initial "B", my middle name "Kay", and Designs because this does not limit me with what final products I might produce in the future.  Although I will eventually hire someone to develop a website, blog, and branding for me, I have to make some $$ before any of this can happen.  So, I'm working on some concepts for branding in the interim.

My husband and dog are out of town this weekend, which means LOTS of alone design time for me, yay!  I am still working on developing my portfolio, so it will be sometime before I fully launch an ETSY shop.  Tonight, I am meeting with another local online business owner that I met through the Junior League.  I'm helping her with re branding her logo, and in return she is going to share with me her own business insights.

For those friends that have been supportive about my new adventure, THANK YOU!  It takes confidence and courage to pull the trigger on something like this, and you have allowed me to do it!

Happy Friday!

Portfolio

I have spent many nights the last month on my MAC designing and practicing with type, color, and graphics. It's very difficult to not let your mind go crazy with ideas and to stick to one theme or concept.  Part of my current struggle is to really refine who I am as an artist.  What is my look?  Are my designs cohesive or all over the place?  I think it's going to take me some time to really figure this out, but all I can do is plug away and improve and hope that my style shines through over time.

My cousin recently had a baby so I jumped at the opportunity to design her baby announcement.  Luckily the photographs were amazing (courtesy of Katie at Exhale Photography).  I really like the way it turned out:

Photo credit:  Exhale Photography


I've also been really starting to work on a portfolio of pieces to eventually sell in my Etsy shop.  I really liked the below phrase that my sister sent to me and thought it was perfect for a Save the Date card.  Since, I only got to make one Save the Date for my wedding, I thought I would use one of our engagement photos for this design. (courtesy of Lang Thomas Photography).

Photo credit: Lang Thomas Photography

I can't believe summer is almost over, but I'm so ready for football, bonfires, and cooler weather!
Happy Designing!
Brittany

Minted

I have been a huge fan of Minted.com for about a year now.  But, what I didn't realize what how they came up the designs that are sold on their site.  As it turns out, Minted is based on design competitions where graphic designers from all over the country can submit designs.  The Minted Community then votes, and designs are chosen to be sold.  The best part is, the winning designs get a commission on those sold!

So, what better way to learn and grow in graphic design than to enter into their contests.  The current contest going on now is a Stationery Contest.  Below is the design I submitted.  My training in Illustrator is going well, but I still have a lot to learn.  I created the below design using some of the new skills I've developed over the last few weeks.  Once voting is opened up for this design, I will let you know so you can vote for me!

Illustrator

After doing more research, I've decided to start at the basics and that is to perfect my design skills and abilities.  Since I don't have a graphic design degree, most of what I have learned has been self-taught or through brief stints in training.  I am very well versed with Adobe InDesign, somewhat good with Adobe Photoshop, and I have NEVER used Adobe Illustrator.  The design world only focuses on Illustrator for creating vector images, therefore this is where I need to spend my time.

I downloaded a 30-day trial so that I can start playing around with the program.  Luckily, I am already familiar with some of its tools, but there are so many more things that I can do with this program.  I am most likely going to sign-up for an online class to kick start my training.

I have made a personal goal to design something everyday using the program.  It will be fun to just create without deadlines or pressure.  Hopefully I can build a solid portfolio in the next few months or so.

Putting thoughts on paper

It's been about 6 months now that my brain has been consumed with the idea of starting my own company. Somewhere between helping friends design and print wedding invitations, scrapbooking, and designing cupcake toppers I realized that I really enjoy creating for people who don't have the time, talent or know how to do so. So, how do I start my own company and what in the world is my product?

I've been brewing for months over this question, and my type-a personality will not allow me to start anything until there is a proper vision, plan, and demand for the product. So, that lead me to pouring over blogs of creative talents all over the country, mostly stationery entrepreneurs. It seemed that time and time again I found myself fascinated with the designs, texture, and process of letterpress. I only could wish that my own invitations for my wedding could have been created with this oldest known form of print. I started researching and reading the business of letterpress, and it has been fascinating.

Before I can even decide if this is the proper route for me and my vision, I decided to invest in the most studied book on letterpress:

The Practice of Printing: Letterpress and Offset by Ralph & Edwin Polk (1964) HC.

This book is hard to find and usually retails for around $50. So, when I came across an old version selling on ebay for $28.99 I jumped on the opportunity to have it.  Once I educate myself on all things letterpress, I will likely take a workshop course to decide if this art form is where I want to invest my time, efforts, and money.  

In the short term, I view this as a hobby to eventually launch into a business.  I find that if you don't write things down, thoughts are just simply thoughts and may never turn into actions.  So, I'm starting this blog as a means to keep myself accountable on this journey to finding the real plan behind the urge within me.

To reading and finding vision.

Brittany