Do you feel rich in your car?

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, survived Black Friday and are in a festive state of mind. Today I have cars on my mind. First, because after 13 years of going in and out of my garage I managed to catch my passenger side mirror on the garage and the result wasn't pretty. Luckily my friends at Lewisville Motors hooked me up with a replacement. Only problem is that it is black and my car is white. Now we get to see just how good my mechanic is.

The other reason I have cars on my mind is that I am currently reading Dr. Thomas J. Stanley's latest book "Stop Acting Rich...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire". He also wrote "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind". All of his books dispel the myths the marketing gurus have sold us on how the rich live and spend. If you get a chance to read any of these it will have you looking at your neighbors very differently. You may be hanging out in millionaire circles and not know it.

One of his chapters asks whether people driving BMW's are happier than people driving Toyotas. Ok, disregard the recent issues that Toyota has had and just stay with me for a minute. In his research there was only a .05 difference between the two. This kind of got my mind thinking about all my cars over the years and if any of them made me feel more successful or prettier or tougher. Let me just state for the record that I only really see cars as a necessity of life and often a royal pain to maintain so I may not be the best person to be pondering this idea.

My first car was a '67 Cutlass when I was 16. It was definitely my door to freedom but that was about it. Almost every morning I had to open up the hood, unstick some thingy to keep it from expelling clouds of black smoke. It was a far cry from the then popular Camaros, Trans AMs (is that how it was spelled?) and Mustangs. After that was my Chevette. Ok, you can stop laughing now. It got me through college...even up mountains and I managed to get a speeding ticket going downhill. Then there was the Buick Regal. It has the distinction of being the biggest lemon I ever owned. The Bronco was the first manual car I learned to drive. It was fun. Not pretty, but fun. The Big Blue Jeep was ok, but I did really like my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Terrible on gas, but I liked driving it. The Town and Country Mini Van...petrified french fries from countless Happy Meals stuck permanently to the carpet. To it's credit, the mini van went to the great junk yard with 258,000 miles on it.

My current car is a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. I like it. It's a little sporty (anything is after you drive the mini van as long as I did) and has some "git up and go" when I need it. The CD player doesn't work which was a disappointment. There is one thing that makes me feel rich in this car though. Something I have never had in a car before. A SEAT WARMER!! It's only on the driver's side which makes me feel special. I hate cold weather. Anything below 60 degrees has me layering on sweaters. I am miserable from November to May. My life is soooooo much better when I can get in my car on a nasty cold wet winter day and turn the warmer on HIGH. What a wonderful luxury. From now on I don't care if I drive a Porsche or another Chevette, my only real requirement will be that it has a SEAT WARMER!!!

Have a great weekend and stay warm,
Christel

The Panic Point

Happy Friday!
I don't know if anyone noticed that I have not posted anything here in the past two weeks, but I haven't. The past couple of Fridays I have spent doing some research (going to an art show) and thinking (in the car while trying to deliver work on a tight deadline). I'm trying to get back on track now, but I have reached the time of year that I refer to as The Panic Point.

This happens to me every year. Same time. Right before Thanksgiving. It's the point where it hits me that we are only weeks away from Christmas and I have shopping, cleaning, cooking and decorating looming in front of me. Then there is the end of the year coming and the TAXES to get done! I am reasonably organized. That means I know where the piles of reciepts are, but they still have to be sorted. This year has me even more stressed because I have started this new business and need to figure out what can be deducted AND I am facing the dreaded FASFA forms in January so I can send Kid #1 off to college next year!!!.

Add to this craziness the fact that I am a firm believer that there should be some sort of plan in place for my business for 2011. Where do I want to take this and how am I going to get there? So, that's where the past couple of weeks of research and thinking come in. I have been working through "Guerrilla Marketing in 30 days" by Jay Levinson and Al Lautenslager. There are several of the Guerrilla Marketing books and I have read a few of them. Good info in each. This one is not just about the marketing, but digging down and deciding what you and your company are about and what you offer to your customers.

So, if you can squeeze in some thinking time while driving, cooking, tree trimming, sorting reciepts, wrapping presents and the other million things you have to do right now,
ponder the following questions and keep an notepad nearby for your answers.

1- Who are your ideal customers? How will you find more of them?
2- Why should customers do business with you? What makes your company unique?
3- How can you make your product or service more convenient or money saving for your customer?
4- What are 10 adjectives that describe your company?
5- What ways are you going to market your business this coming year? When during the year are you going to use each marketing strategy?

Whew! Have you reached your Panic Point yet? I hope I didn't make it worse.

You will probably hear from me again before Thanksgiving, but if you are taking next week off...
I wish you a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving. Your business, friendship and support are some of the things I am most thankful for this year.

Christel

Shoes and a Mission

A funny thing happened on the way to buy some shoes. I suddenly found a good start to my mission statement. Even though I don't have it all figured out yet with my new business I feel like there should always be a map of guiding principals to get you where you want to go. So, I've been pondering my mission statement and my business plan. I have several bits of paper with notes, but nothing formalized.

I work a part time retail customer service position that requires long hours of standing. No longer being in my 20's, I refuse to wear shoes that look good but feel terrible. I am quite willing to turn that around and wear ugly shoes that feel good if I must, but I still prefer at least reasonably cute shoes. Hours of shopping and trying on things is not really my idea of fun anymore either so I decided to go online. I had heard good things about Zappos.com and took a look. Now I have several pairs of shoes to choose from by brand names that have a reputation for comfort and style, but the best part of the experience so far was checking out the Zappos Family Core Values.

1 - Deliver WOW through service
2 - Embrace and drive change
3 - Create fun and a little weirdness
4 - Be adventurous, creative & open minded
5 - Pursue growth and learning
6 - Build open & honest relationships with communication
7 - Build a positive team & family spirit
8 - Do more with less
9 - Be passionate and determined
10 - Be humble

I don't think I can do any better than this. At least for the moment, I'm adopting the Zappos Family Core Values. Now, I haven't made up my mind on which shoes to get yet so the customer service hasn't been tested. I will let you know how it all goes.

Please keep my friend Bill and his family in your thoughts and prayers on the loss of his daughter. As I have this on my mind, I wish you all health, peace, love and laughter and never take a moment for granted.

Christel

Where are we going?

How are things going at your business these days? Is your job secure or is it gone already? Is the marketing you've been doing for years still working for you?

I have been in the printing industry for over 20 years now. On the news the other day I heard that it is now much more cost effective to send a Kindle (if you don't know what that is, look it up. Online, not in the dictionary) loaded with 10,000 books overseas than to actually send 10,000 books overseas. The days of actually holding a real book in your hand are disappearing. Ink on paper is disappearing. What do you do when your industry is disappearing or shrinking dramatically?

Most of you reading this are in my generation. We still like paper and ink. Now, I haven't actually tried to read a book on a Kindle so I can't say that I dislike the experience, but I do know that I love books. When I've tried to read a book on my desktop computer I found it uncomfortable and eyestraining.

So, do I continue to work in the same way I always have and wait until there is no more work available? The conversations I have had recently with my peers have us all competing for the position of Walmart Greeter in a few years. I have been listening and watching my two teenagers. Yes, that's part of my job as a parent, but I have noticed that they are watching more TV on the computer, keeping up with friends on Facebook and texting, doing all their homework research online as well as often turning in their assignments online. They do not have the attachment to ink and paper that I do, so I decided to do what I always do when I want information. I headed to the library (I love those too) and got some BOOKS!

I just finished reading "Six Pixels Of Separation" by Mitch Joel. If you are willing to be open to new ways of reaching and connecting to potential new customers, I highly recommend you read this. It is written in conversational language, not IT talk. It makes you think about where things are headed. Our kids are not becoming socially inept. The opposite is happening. They are able to reach people a world away and grow the relationships. They do it differently than we do, but remember when our parents didn't like (understand) our generation? Do you really want to admit that you have become your parents?

Here is your first lesson on connecting online. Below is a place for comments. Please contribute your thoughts. I would love to hear them and I suspect so would others. An economist I heard speak yesterday doesn't hold out much optimisim for the economy to turn around in the next two years. We need to help each other not only stay afloat, but to grow and thrive.

Have a great week,
Christel

Save your files, money and hair.

This week I would like to share some information to save you money and hair. Printing companies don't really want you to know this, but I keep hearing enough complaints that I think it's time you start doing this if you are not already.

Any files that are used to have printing, advertising, t-shirts, etc. done, YOU need to keep a copy of! Vector files of the company logo are especially important. Yes, I understand that most of you cannot open those files on your computer. Don't worry about it. Just do it!

Printing companies are closing left and right these days. Depending on the circumstances, you may find yourself without any files to take to a new printer and then incur more art charges to recreate them. When you get a final proof of a new business card, brochure, or even labels please, please save that proof to a file called "Art Files". That is all you have to do. Those of us in the printing business can take your file and use it even if it needs corrections. A small correction is much less expensive than totally recreating a brochure.

Now, here is the tricky part. If you have files with your printer that you do not have a copy of then go request a CD of all your files. You have already paid for this artwork. The only thing it should cost you is the price of the CD to be burned. That should not be more than $10. Printers don't want to part with your precious files because it would be very easy for you to switch to a competitor. For that reason, I have heard horror stories over the years. One company was charged several THOUSAND dollars to get their film (ok, we don't use film anymore, so it's been awhile). They had already paid for all this. TOTAL rip off. I have heard of printers who will give the files back to the customer but with photos or fonts missing. That creates a major headache for the next printer and once again incurs more cost on your part. When you get your file take the time to have someone (designer or printer) check that everything is there that you need.

Now, backup everything on the computer before you put the CD into a file and forget where it is when the boss wants embroidered shirts for the golf tournament. That would be those vector files again.

I will be shunned at the next printing convention for exposing this to you, but my loyalty lies with my customers. Save your art and you will thank me one day as well as avoid pulling your hair out in frustration.

Have a great week,
Christel

A New Direction

Most people have done at least some planning before they start a new business. Maybe in the depths of my brain there was a sketch of a plan for Bloomtown, but for the most part, life circumstances have given me the opportunity to jump in with both feet and plan as I go. For this reason I have decided to use this blog instead of a conventional website for now. This allows me to keep in touch with you and let you know what exactly I'm doing to improve Bloomtown Studio and how it can help you.

I have been asked about the name "Bloomtown Studio". Bloomtown is the name of the road I grew up on. The Studio part originally was used to promote my artwork. You can check out my earlier two blogs. My sister has Bloomtown Acres, which is a farm. Since the business name was already registered it just took a mind switch to change the direction of the business.

My goal is to continue to offer to meet your company's printing needs as I have for many years now. The new opportunity is that I am no longer tied to one company and have the ability to find the best quality and pricing I possibly can for you. For awhile the estimating time may take a little longer as I work out the details.

At the moment I am concentrating on the business cards, brochures, envelopes, etc. as well as advertising promotional items such as pens, cups, and magnets. Bloomtown Studio can also handle your t-shirt printing and I'm working on adding embroidery soon.

My past experience has included working on marketing strategy which I intend to branch into more as Bloomtown Studio matures. My business card also mentions writing as a service. There are many opportunities for websites and printed materials to be updated since everyone seems to be overworked and these things get left behind.

My brain has ideas going off like popcorn right now so I will let you know as new things happen. Please feel free to contact me, give me your input and to find out if I can help with ideas you have for your business.

As always, I appreciate your business, friendship and the support you have given me over the years.

Christel Williams

Art in the Bathroom

Art doesn't alway go on a canvas. At least mine doesn't.

My house has been trying to recover from the 80's. It's been a long process, hampered by either lack of time or money. My master bath was one of the worst offenders. Something about that carpet (yes, in the bathroom) and those weird shell light fixures made me want to get in and get out of that room as fast as possible.

It has taken awhile, but my bathroom is now referred to by my daughter's best friend as "the pretty bathroom". Ok, I have two more bathrooms to work on, but that's on down the list.
The art happened on the mirror. One of those huge wall-to-wall mirrors that I did not want to try and take out. So I started gluing pieces of glass on it. You can see what happened. I'm pretty sure there's not another one out there like it.

I should have taken a before picture, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. The walls were all white, the cabinets brown, the old carpet tan and those dangly shell light fixtures were just depressing. The room now has a light laminate floor, soft green paint and freshly painted white cabinets. The mirror mosaic is made of bits of glass and mirror. The glass has a mixture of textures and colors, mainly in greens, blues, whites and golds. I love it! My personal little spa. I even have a new toliet paper hanger. The first one in that bathroom for the 12 years I've lived there. It's the little things that make me happy.




You can see the lovely old fixtures in the photo to the left. I was soooo happy to have those go away. Below is a detail of the mosaic.













Anyway, it may not be for everyone, but I have been very pleased with the way it all turned out.

A New Adventure

Inspired by my sister, Sharon, I have decided to try this blogging thing as a way to send my artwork out into the world. I'm sure my parents must wonder where they went wrong. My sister took the title "writer" and I took the title "artist" somewhere along the way many years ago. My guess is that my parents would have preferred "nurse", "teacher", "engineer" to the ones we chose. "Attorney" really wasn't an issue as my Dad would have refused to add another lawyer to the world. The interesting thing is, as we get older, we cross over. Sharon has begun playing with art and I have been bringing out my hidden writer.

Anyway, if you are looking for the next Bob Timberlake, go ahead and close this blog now. My vision of the world tends to be a little more abstract and more symbolic. For years I have analyzed, fretted over, painted over and thrown away more artwork than I can count because of someone else's opinion. I'm done with that.

I have read and studied the process of creativity for years. From what I have gathered, whether the creativity is in art, science, teaching, etc., the final step is releasing it out into the world. It doesn't matter what other people think. The work is just supposed to leave home. It's not easy. It's very similar to the process of raising your children and then sending them off on their own. You really, really hope they do ok.

So, here I go. A few at a time, I will be pushing my babies out of the nest. When appropriate, I will try to explain what they are all about. Sometimes you will just have to get to know them on your own terms. There is no chronological order. This is not an autobiography. It will be about which bird is ready to go at the same time I am ready for it to leave.

Bear with me for a while. I am saving up for a new camera so the photos aren't great. Titles for my work also give me some issues. If there isn't a title listed...I'm open to suggestions.



This is one of my favorites. Underneath the white is the original painting which was alot of dark colors. I finished the original while I was an emotional mess. Later, when the world righted itself I couldn't stand the first painting so I gessoed over it. It's hard to see in the photo, but there are different textures all over the canvases. Since I'm all about recycling and reusing when I can, the leaves are made of old metal printing plates. I use the plates often because they are just the right weight to hold a shape and not be too heavy. The stems and blooms are wire wrapped in strips of old magazine pages that have been painted. It gives the stems a nice texture. Recurring themes in my work are growth and rebirth and nature.

Check out the link to my sister's blog "Thoughts from the Farm" and the Bloomtown Farm link. Warning: If you read hers and mine you might get an idea of what our parents go through!