Start Something

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My friend April has opened up shop in an old country store in Bem, Missouri.

She sells antiques, handmade soap, local honey and my sister’s pottery. She has a knack for putting together displays, draping burlap across shelves, whitewashing old bureaus and generally making things look like pictures in a home magazine.




She raises sheep and cows and ducks and chickens. She can pull herself together in a simple white dress, put on some lipstick and select wines and cheeses from the menu at a nice restaurant and then go rock out at an Eddie Vedder concert.

I think she is the epitome of coolness.

When we visit the store my kids play with April’s daughter, balancing ostrich feathers, which they’ve pulled from a vase, on their noses and running from room to room, their foot steps echoing off the wooden floors.

Up until a few months ago the old store had been sitting vacant, full of memories, waiting for someone with some know-how to come and give it some attention. Waiting for someone to start something. Now it is full of laughter and taking on again a life of its own.

People come in to look around. They walk through the rooms and admire the ceiling which has been opened to expose the rafters. They have one of April’s cinnamon rolls and then they have another. They buy squares of lavender soap and jars of honey.

They bring their stories, their memories triggered by the sight of the long counter and the bottles of soda displayed in white washpans. They used to come here as kids and drink cool soda pops in the shade of front porch.

They are glad April started something here again.

Posted in Life, Women Entrepreneurs

Lessons from my first month of full-time blogging

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In February I decided to challenge myself to blog every weekday in March.

No excuses. I had to post every weekday.

I did this to get myself unstuck and over my fear of blogging. Today I’ve accomplished my goal!

The first week was torture. I second guessed myself at every turn. Hated my editorial calendar. Wanted to quit.

But I didn’t quit. Here are a few reasons why:

1>  I found accountability partners.

I announced my goal to two people who would help keep me accountable, my husband, Jamie and my good friend, Jenn Morgan. We didn’t have any formal agreement for them to check up on me. But I did not want to come back to them today and say that I hadn’t finished my goal. I did not want to let them, or myself, down.

2> I gave blogging “important” status.

I started treating my blogging project with the same emphasis and attention that I give to my client work. My client work gets done. Period. No excuses. On time. I gave blogging equal weight in my list of priorities. At the end of February, I blocked out time on my schedule everyday for writing blog posts.

3> I made it fun.

I spent time crafting posts, selecting fonts, editing photos, thinking up funny titles. All the stuff that I like to do. I made it a creative endeavor instead of a chore to check off.

4> I made an editorial calendar.

I like to write whatever is on my mind each day. But on those days when the muse doesn’t show up, the editorial calendar was key to getting something posted.

5> I gave myself permission to be a writer.

I started to accept how much I love to write and to embrace that part of me. Writing this month gave me the push I needed to sign up for a writing conference.

Here’s a roundup of my posts for March. I hope you find something here to inspire you to think about design and writing as a tool to tell your business’s story

March Blog Post Roundup

Talking About Design

I Love Fonts And So Can You

Look Ma, I’m a Writer

Taking Care of Business

Life in Photos

Life in Words

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Blog, Graphic Design, Life, Writing