Welcome. Give us some background about yourself and your business.
I am a graphic designer and illustrator, but only recently have I been able to call myself that. After working as a contemporary dancer in Toronto, Canada, I decided to go back to school to pursue my other interest, graphic design. Transitioning from a life of dancing into the world of kerning type, spending hours in front of a Mac and staying up way too late working on projects was completely exhilarating. I loved being in school and learning new things that were so different from what I had spent my life up to that point studying, dance. I was just about to complete my first year at school when my boyfriend (now fiancé) was offered a position in Vienna, Austria. Of course, an opportunity to move to Europe could not be passed up, and at the end of my school year I joined him in Vienna. We have lived in Vienna for almost three years now, and during that time, instead of letting my graphic design fingers grow old and cobwebby I decided to start my design company, English Muffin.

I have worked with children for the past ten years, teaching dance in Toronto and now, teaching English in Vienna. English Muffin is the place where my passion for design and education meet. Although still in its infancy, I have great hopes for my company and the wonderful things it can do. I recently wrote a manifesto for English Muffin on my blog, if you’d like to read it you can see it here.

The decision to take the self-employment route is not always an easy one. What gave you the confidence to take that leap?
To be honest, the decision to leap into the self-employed life came about quite organically. I was in a new country, barely spoke the language and needed an outlet for my creativity. Both my fiancé and my mom were incredibly encouraging towards the idea of starting a company and things just grew from there.

Self employment can mean long hours, irregular income and other unpredictable stresses. How you do you handle it?
think I handle all of those stresses pretty well. I’ve never worked a normal 9 – 5 job. My work has always been closely connected to who I am and what I believe in, so the idea of switching off at the end of the day is not something I am used to. Currently, I am working three days a week teaching English to students, and spending the other four days (yep, I work on weekends) on English Muffin. My fiancé is completing his PhD at the moment, so between him and his stacks of papers, and me attached to my laptop, we have been known to be a bit hermit-ish at times. In terms of money, yes, there are times when English Muffin is bringing in a nice little sum of money and times during the year when it’s not. I am incredibly lucky to have a partner with a steady income and a generous heart. In general neither one of us spend money easily, so I am confident that as I transition into working for myself full-time over the next few months we will be financially sound.

What’s a typical day like for you? How did you keep yourself organized to avoid procrastination and other distractions?
7:30 am: wake-up, get dressed, take our dog out for his morning stroll
8:30-9:30: eat breakfast, take care of emails and Etsy convos. My inbox is usually pretty full in the morning from stuff that came in     overnight from Canada and the US.
9:30-12:00: work on whatever project is on my desk. This could be Custom Names Designs or other custom orders from the shop, freelance work, web design work, or new designs for English Muffin.
12:00-12:30: lunch time. I usually watch a TED talk or one of my other favourite video podcasts while eating my favourite sandwich
12:30-1:30: work on that day’s blog post. This is when I really appreciate the time difference between North America and Europe.
1:30-5:00: continue working on the day’s projects
5:00-8:00: walk the dog, eat dinner, hang out with my better half

The rest of the night I usually prep for the next day, tie up any loose ends or immerse myself in the blogosphere

Do your work from home? Or offsite?
At home, in a sunny corner of our apartment.

It can get lonely working for yourself. Do you find yourself missing the companionship of a bustling office? How do you make sure you get social interaction throughout the day/week?
I’ve always been good at working on my own. I like the quiet and calm, and I could never get lonely with my trusty companion by my side (our dog Tyke). I often listen to podcasts to add a little noise to the background. I usually go out for dinner with friends once a week. I get outside for a walk at least twice a day (thanks, Tyke!) and on weekends we really enjoy visiting the neighbourhood markets and exploring our city.

Finding a work/life balance can be difficult with any job, perhaps more so with self-employment. Do you think you’ve found that balance?
I think I have a lot of room to improve in this area but compared to my last career, I’m much better. There is a lot more freedom working for yourself, so I can take off the morning and go out to brunch if I like or continue working well into the evening if I’m on a roll. What we loose in salary and benefits as self-employed artists and designers we certainly gain in time, freedom and overall quality of life.

What valuable lessons did you learn within your first year. Let’s start with the worst.
Hmmmm… Don’t go ahead and print a large order before the customer has paid you. But, if that happens find a creative way to re-use those products so you don’t lose out completely. When confronted with grumpy emails, write your witty and biting reply in your head but never send it. Instead, always meet grumpiness with extreme politeness and solutions to the grumpy person’s problems.

And now the best.
The online community is a real community and a great place to find friends and like minded individuals to keep you inspired and moving forward with your own goals. There is no magic potion, there are no chosen ones, there is only hard work and dedication to what you are striving for. You have to ask for what you want.

Lastly, what advice would you give to others that are thinking about quitting their 9-5 job to pursue self-employment?
I don’t know if I really feel qualified to give advice since I myself have yet to make the full-time self-employment leap. But here’s what I tell myself when the seeds of doubt creep in: After dipping your toe into the pool of design, you can objectively say that people are interested in and like your work. You have made a good number of sales with minimal advertising and marketing and have received positive feedback from your clients and customers. You have both a business plan and a financial plan about how to grow your business in the future. You love what you’re doing and have new and exciting ideas for the future of your company. So, what are you waiting for?

ENGLISH MUFFIN ELSEWHERE
Website | Shop | Blog | Twitter | Flickr

… Guitar Hero! We’re only a few weeks into the partnership but we’ve been having a blast.

Allow me to boost my own wee ego too and say I’m pretty damn good as well. It’s the perfect distraction when I need to break up the day, have a creative block or otherwise. Hmm… I wonder if I can write it off as a business expense?

I love this thing!

What fun things to do throughout the day to help you break through creative blocks or give yourself a wee break from the norm?

Since sharing I was going to start meal planning again, nothing much changed and it was another week of so-so food and last minute dashes to just make something. So much for putting things out there to make myself accountable huh?

Over the last few years, I really haven’t taken care of myself physically which let’s face it, also feeds your emotional state too. It’s really starting to show. More than ever, I’m constantly feeling tired, distracted and blah about myself. So on Friday, James and I made a pact. Enough talk about how we used to be, let’s just do it and quit talking about how fit we were in our 20s.

By doing it, that means freshly cooked meals every night plus going to the gym. Seems pretty obvious I know, but let’s face it, once we fall into particular ruts, we sometimes sit down there for a while. Would you believe I’ve lived in my condo for almost 2 years and I’ve gone to the gym maybe 10 times. It’s on MY floor… OPPOSITE my condo. Yah, I suck.

It all started yesterday with stocking up the freezer with lean meats, the fridge with a whack of fresh vegetables, and heck, even buying decaf coffee in place of our regular grind (we’ll see how this one goes).

Sans meal plan (give it time), I went through some of the recipes I’d previously bookmarked and came across this one – Not Your Aunt’s Creamy Potato Salad from Vegan Visitor. I’m a meat and potato girl at heart, but I think I’ve had my fill of mashed potatoes this year so gave it go. I’m so glad I did. The creaminess of the avocado was surprisingly delicious with the potato. If you’re looking for a healthy side for your next barbecue, it makes a great substitute over the typical mayo filled one.

For the fresh herbs, I used cilantro.

I served it with roasted garlic asparagus and chicken breasts. It was delicious!

What about you? Are you in a rut you need to get out of? Tell me I’m not the only one!

P.S. Please excuse the overload of photos. Potatoes and avocado only look so interesting I know. But hey, I haven’t used my camera in a little while and it made me happy. After this mini photo session, I might actually start up my Project 365 again. You never know…

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I still write up my to-do lists on paper (I carry my favorite notebooks – Moleskins – everywhere!). I’ve tried the digital route before, added the apps to my iPhone and signed up for online services such as TeuxDeux but they all remain untouched. While I think they are all fantastic ideas, for me, I feel as though so much of my life is already digitized, that some things, such as the simple to-do list, need to remain just that – simple. I don’t want to navigate to a site or fire up an app, have to remember passwords or otherwise… for me, taking a pen and striking it off is all that’s needed.

What about you? Are you a paper or digital to-do lister? For the paper folk like myself, do you buy your to-do lists in notepad form?

P.S. For some reason, yesterday’s post didn’t show up in Google Reader (hopefully this one does!). Sorry about that. For all of those that aren’t following me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have missed my first ever free printable PDF – The Tick Off Already List. Go get yours!

Photo Credit: Johan Larsson

I don’t know about you, but I’ll always reach for pen and paper when it comes to making my to-do lists. Something about striking off a done item (even better if done with a highlighter) way beats hitting a checkbox on something digital. Don’t you agree?

As I haven’t been too good about making to-do lists lately, I decided to make myself some pretty ones to get myself back into the habit. And because you are all amazing readers – I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all your support this year – I wanted to give them to you too. Oh, and big thanks to my good friend, Michelle of Holley & Gill, for helping me come up with the title.

Available in either pink, orange or green. Please let me know if you experience any issues with print quality. I rasterized all the artwork to protect it but it should still print high quality.

And with that… get cracking on your to-do lists people. Enjoy.

© 2010 modernemotive. All rights reserved.
PLEASE USE RESPONSIBLY: For personal use only. Not to be used for commercial use.

My long term goals for modernemotive always extended beyond just paper goods. So, as I sit here at somewhat of a crossroads with my company, I’ve been exploring what avenues are currently viable (from a financial and experience perspective) and I began to realize that my innocent little tagline – ecofriendly paper goods – was pigeon holing me. Perhaps more so as requests are coming in for design services beyond what I currently offer. As a result, I’m rethinking my tagline. It’s still important for me to include the ecofriendly aspect. Even though my services will be expanding (more on this another day), I will still be incorporating the eco factor in there when possible.

So, here’s what I’ve come up with so far. I’m inclined to go with the first option.

What are your thoughts? Any other suggestions?

UPDATE: A Twitter friend, Sabine of La Marquise des Anges, suggested the last tagline which I’m kind of liking. I can’t decide!

Friends, please welcome my online buddy – Erin Vale – to my blog. After reading her interview, it’s clear this girl has the knowledge, focus and determination to go far – I’m in awe! Oh and if you’re just getting into freelancing or perhaps considering it, be sure to check out her FREELANCE 101 series.

Welcome. Give us some background about yourself and your business.
Thanks for inviting me! My name is Erin Vale. I am the owner/designer of Vale Design, a freelance design company specializing in package design and branding. I have six years of Chicago corporate design experience and I have been self-employed working both onsite and offsite for the past four years. In 2008, I started erinvaledesign.com, a website to showcase my work and passions to the design community. In 2009, I started an online product based company, finch&hawk, which combines my love for patterns and three dimension in budget-friendly, favor packaging printables and paper goods.

The decision to take the self-employment route is not always an easy one. What gave you the confidence to take that leap?
Honestly, frustration gave me the confidence to freelance. I quit a job that was making me unhappy and that was not the right fit for me. I intended to take a four month hiatus, but after three weeks, a couple of clients from past jobs found out that I was working for myself and starting emailing me with freelance opportunities. I accepted every one and never looked back. In my opinion, my work has never looked better and I have never been happier. In the beginning, I was scared at every turn, but I just knew in my gut that I could do this.

Self employment can mean long hours, irregular income and other unpredictable stresses. How you do you handle it?
I am blessed to be able to do what I love for a living, but I would be lying if I said that freelancing was all roses and sunshine. It can be stressful. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I just stop working. I give myself time off. I give myself permission to go out for a walk or grab a coffee. Sometimes, inspiration comes back after an hour and sometimes I just surrender and start fresh the next day. I do my best work when I am inspired, not when I am forcing myself to sit down and just design something.

What’s a typical day like for you? How did you keep yourself organized to avoid procrastination and other distractions?
I wake up and get ready between 7 and 8 am. I get the house organized from the night before and deal with our high maintenance allergy dog, medicine, walk, etc. I check my favorite blogs while I have my morning coffee and I am working by 9 am. I work on a variety of projects for clients {packaging concepts, dielines, logos, front end web design, business cards}, work on research and posts for erinvaledesign.com and prep any shipments and new designs for finch&hawk. Somewhere in all of that, I eat lunch for about an hour while watching any black and white movie that is on TCM. Then, I am back to work until about 6 pm when my husband comes home. We eat dinner together and hang out for about 2 hours. I get back on the computer to finish up until about 9 or 10 pm. I typically try to read from 10 to 11 to “shut the design floodgates.” I am not a procrastinator by nature. I do not have a problem with distractions because I schedule them in. I will write in my iCal, laundry, dry cleaner, Office Depot etc. Then they are just items to cross off my daily to do list.

Do your work from home? Or offsite?
I work both on-site {for clients in Chicago} and offsite in my home office. When we moved back to Indiana 3 years ago, we specifically bought a house that had an empty front room. We had a wall built with french doors and large built-in bookcases to close in the the room. It was originally going to be my husband’s office, but the dog and I took it over!

It can get lonely working for yourself. Do you find yourself missing the companionship of a bustling office? How do you make sure you get social interaction throughout the day/week?
I think I have the best of both worlds. Some days I work on-site in my client’s office and other days I am able to work by myself at home. I do miss turning around and asking the designer behind me, “what do you think of this design, violator, logo, etc?” With the upswing in social networking, I have met a handful of designers, whose work I admire, and I will ask them vague hypothetical questions about my design dilemmas. Seems to fill that void quite well and I have made some wonderful new friends.

Finding a work/life balance can be difficult with any job, perhaps more so with self-employment. Do you think you’ve found that balance?
Finding the work/life balance is what I struggle with the most. I love my clients and I love designing. Having a home office blurs that line of when to stop working. Bored. Go to the office and work. Husband napping. Go to the office and work. Can’t sleep. Go to the office and work. Within the past year, I have started to research Indy more and have started to plan outings for myself, husband and friends. This gets me out of the house, into the fresh air and learning new things. I have noticed that this has also helped my design work. The fresh air clears out the cobwebs and the research adds more information to my visual arsenal.

What valuable lessons did you learn within your first year. Let’s start with the worst.
I learned to remove “me” from my work. If a client is not happy with a concept, that is not them saying “I think you are a bad designer.” It just means that maybe they did not like the logo in red!

And now the best.
The most valuable lesson I learned from my first year, was to trust my voice and knowledge. I think all designers have design self-esteem issues at some point. Is my work good enough? Who is going to like this? How is that designer better than me? I have learned that my clients hire me for my past experience and my passion to provide them with the best deliverable I can. There is work out there for everyone. Worrying is a waste of time and energy.

Lastly, what advice would you give to others that are thinking about quitting their 9-5 job to pursue self-employment?
My advice for anyone contemplating freelancing:

1. Be ready to work and work hard!
2. Be financially prepared. Have money set aside for the start-up expenses.
3. Experience. Put in your time and learn. Then you will be better prepared to lead.
4. Find a good small business accountant. I feel that this step is crucial.
5. Trust your voice. It can be intimidating to step out from behind the big bosses. This is where experience and past mistakes will help you.
6. Check your web-self. Clients and design firms like to google nowadays. Be professional in every web interaction you have. Twitter, Facebook, etc. They are watching you. Amazes me that some designers still do not understand this.

ERIN VALE ELSEWHERE
Website | Shop | Twitter | Facebook

I’m sure many of you have seen and heard of Ork Posters. Well, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of their Toronto neighborhoods poster. Though I have a love/hate relationship with this city, I’d still proudly hang this beauty on my wall.

What are you crushing on right now?

Artwork Copyright: Ork Inc.

I used to love cooking. I used to love baking (especially pastries) too. I became pretty good at both. Then, somewhere along the way, cooking just became a necessity rather than the pleasure it can be. The result? Serious food rut syndrome.

For months now, James and I have been turning to the same old recipes and we’re both kind of over them. Of course, we say we’re going to try new things, but well, it doesn’t always happen. We’ve gotten into this habit of grocery shopping daily too which tends to happen at around 6pm when we’ve just figured out what to eat. Not good healthwise for both the body and bank account.

In an effort to get my life (and eating habits) back on track, I’m going back to weekly meal planning. I used to do it years ago and it made a huge difference. No scrambling to put something on the table at dinner time. No waste in the form of produce lurking in the back of the fridge in a less than stellar condition. Plus, now that I work from home, I can prep and sometimes prepare dinner way in advance. So, what the heck am I waiting for people? Seriously. Geez.

My recent discovery of the delightfully visual TasteSpotting (via the Sweet Fine Day blogroll) could not of come at a better time. I’ll also point you to another favorite – FoodGawker. Yum!

What are your favorite sources for recipes? Made anything great lately?

Photo Credit: limonada

I don’t know about you, but whenever I enter into new seasons – especially Spring and Fall – I get this overwhelming urge to change my look. I’ll admit, I haven’t followed through with this urge in a while and have stuck with my wardrobe as is. However, I suspect something is going to give in Spring 2010 as I am seriously bored with my wardrobe and overall appearance. I feel as though I’ve been carrying around the same look (a very casual look) for years. As much as I love my jeans and chucks, it’s time for something a little different. Admittedly, I’m also carrying around some baggage from a less then stellar winter, so yah, a makeover is due – in more ways than one. Anyone know where you can buy attitudes?

Much like my home – which needs a make-over too – I’ve no clue where to start. If asked what my personal aesthetic is in terms of fashion or home interiors, I’ll likely respond with a big old “huh?”. To start, I guess I’ll just purge my closet which has the typical “will never fit you again” culprits among the “never worn” stuff and I’ll go from there to see what I need and where I want to go. Surely after that, a fabulous fashionista will emerge right?

What about you? Is the arrival of Spring making you crave change?

Photo Credit: squeakypeach4