Yesterday I was putting together a shop game plan for the remainder of the year. I came to a realization. We are a mere 4.5 months away from 2011. Now let’s get the “WTF, OMG, say it isn’t so?, where did the year go?” responses out of the way, trust me, it ran immediately through my head too along with my Twitter buddies when I tweeted my realization.

We always hear (or proclaim it ourselves) the saying “time is flying” and boy, saying it yesterday was one HUGE wake up call. I had big goals for 2010. I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say those goals were derailed with an unexpected hiatus amongst other life events. I’ll also admit that I’ve dropped the ball and lacked in my follow through countless times. There’s no denying it.

While it would be easy for me to sit here and rue the facts (and believe me, here and there I will) all I can promise myself over the next 4.5 months is to give it my everything. To walk new paths and venture outside of my comfort zone. It’s pointless for me to look back on 2010 so far and see it as a failure. I don’t talk about every aspect of my life here and what can’t be shown on paper, or in sales and revenue is the life-changing events that have occurred. Thankfully mostly for the better.

Whenever I’d go quiet over here or throughout my break, I’d always bemoan the fact that I wasn’t sharing everything with you guys. I felt this need to justify why it appeared as though I was doing absolutely nothing while in the background things were often changing faster than I could comprehend. I’ve come (need!) to accept the most of 2010 wasn’t meant to be about modernemotive directly but more the centre of it – me. So, I can’t chastise myself for taking the time to recoup from it all. Truth be told, I was still regrouping from much of 2009s events too as well as other things. It’s typical of me to push any aftermath aside and keep chugging on. Eventually it all catches up to you but at some point you have to let it all go. Eventually you have to say goodbye to the “what ifs” and regrets. We have no choice.

As I’ve already said, it’s time to put everything I have into this. To put it mildly, I gotta kick some ass! When I used to work agency-side, no matter where I went, I was always known as the go-to girl to get things done with the key being I’d get it done fast with great results. There’s some slight irony that I take forever to get my self-assigned work complete, but with no bosses breathing down my neck, it’s easy to do. Very easy! So, I need to find that girl again and squeeze every drop of possibility out of the next 4.5 months. I’m ready.

What’s your take on 2010 so far? On track with your goals? And if not, what are your next steps to rev yourself up?

Photo Credit: .Mallory Beth.

Some of you may of seen my moodboard for my main living area. First of all, yes, it still hasn’t been started BUT I promise you, it’s been slated for September. No ifs or buts. Anyways, let’s forget about my lack of following through for now… I mentioned back then I was going to purchase the Toronto Ork Poster in black and white. I still am and I’ve decided to build a whole photo gallery wall around it.

Rather than talk my way through it I figured I’d give you some context. So, below is where I am thinking of going. The photos shown aren’t necessarily the ones I’ll use but at least it gives you an idea (please ignore the scale of the images within the frame too!). I wanted to add a small burst of color to it but not something that would compete with the photography. Of course, finding frames/images that will work with the symmetry I’m hoping for may not be possible, but I’ll adapt if need be.

As I hope for the wall to be full of great memories and things near and dear to me, I wanted any artwork on there to be my own too. I want the wall to be a story all of it’s own. So, as I love quotes and lean on them often when I need a bit of motivation, I took two I discovered recently and turned them into prints which are now available in my shop. I adore how they look in white frames and I hope that you do too. I’m already sending this one out in gray to a customer so I’m excited to see how others place these within their homes as well. I currently have them at an introductory price of $8 but they will go up to $12 as of July 30th!

Eye Chart Albert Einstein Print

Eye Chart Elbert Hubbard Print

What do you think?  Do you have any home renovation projects going on?

I’m also experimenting with new backgrounds. Shooting products on a white background is quite frankly hell and you don’t even want to know how much time I waste. What do you think about the new background?

Herringbone Birthday Cards

Pebbles Birthday Cards

Retro Zig Zag Thank You Cards

I’ll be back with more updates next week and hopefully back to blogging. I’ve had a case of writers block as of late. Of course, now that I’d said that openly, I’ll suddenly do nothing but talk, talk, talk. Funny how that happens. Shame is doesn’t work when I have a creative block huh?

In the meantime, what do you think of the new cards?

Thanks Molly!

My first release in new products is as you can see – NOTEPADS! Welcome to the shift in the modernemotive product line. I have been wanting to change the direction of my product offering for a long time, but as my in-house production was limited, it just wasn’t feasible. Now, thanks to a wonderful printing partner, I’m thrilled I’m now able to turn my ideas into something tangible. Something truly functional!

Deep down I knew modernemotive had to be more than just pretty cards and stationery. Though I love pretty paper, I also love and need function. And so, with a propensity to procrastinate, whether in work or life, not only did these notepads naturally grow from own personal needs but also from a need to take modernemotive to the next level. With the release of these notepads, I feel like I’m on my way and I am so excited for what’s to come. Rest assured, this is only the beginning. I’ve chosen to stagger the introduction of my products to ensure they are the best they can be. So, expect even more in a few weeks!

And with that, please check out my new shop and let me know what you think. I am so proud of this release and I truly hope that you like it too. I decided to set up shop on Big Cartel for a bit more flexibility, so if you encounter any issues (I basically re-skinned my shop in 24 hours), please let me know. Go on, go take a look. Now! But erm, read the last paragraph first okay?

I cannot end this post without saying a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that has supported me these past few months. You’ve seen some of highs and most certainly some of my lows and words cannot express how appreciative I am you were all there whether it be here, on Twitter or via email. Those few sentences don’t do my appreciation any justice but thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m back folks and this time, I ain’t going nowhere but forward!

Adele xo

P.S. Prices are in $CAD.

My new products are here and I am beyond ecstatic at how they turned out. I could not of wished for more. I’m officially opening up the shop again Monday/Tuesday of next week. So, make sure you are following me on Twitter or via my blog feed to learn more. I cannot wait!

Operation Shop Relaunch is in full effect over here. I’m so freaking excited. I’m going to be really mean and keep everything under lock and key for now but I’ll offer up some sneak peeks soon. Here are some the responses I’ve gotten from friends I’ve shared them with:

“LOVE, WANT, please make, I will pre-order. Love.”

“LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT”

“OH my god, seriously Adele! Those are awesome!! Woweeeee! Look out, these are going to be amazing. I can see them now in stores. Love love love. Well done!“

The only clue I’ll give you is they are functional, will keep you organized and make your desk pretty. I’m meeting with a printer next week to go over options/specs and I’m hoping we’ll be in production within 2 weeks. No definite date on the relaunch but soon friends, soon! If you want to be one the first to see what I have up my sleeve, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

Now, while I have you here I have a question. What products would you like to see? I’m going to be slightly redirecting my product line (I’ll write up another post about this soon) so welcome any wants/desires you have. I’m open to anything.

As for the sneak peek comments, I can’t tell you enough how grateful I’ve become to the amazing friends I’ve made online. I’ve made it no secret that I often feel quite lonely working at home, but by reaching out to others I’ve made myself an amazing group of “co-workers”, albeit virtual ones. Thank you ladies. You know who you are! This gratitude also extends to those that read this blog, chat with me on Twitter and send me the most amazing emails. You all rock!

Photo Credit: Matthieu A.

The incorporation of the icon has already begun. Check out the new blog header.

I wanted to stay true to the simplicity of my blog layout so the new update is nothing major, but I think it works.

Do you?

Here’s a sneak peak at the new modernemotive icon. I’ve wanted to introduce a icon for a while and I can now finally strike it off my to-do list. I’m still deciding when and where it will be used but I plan on getting labels printed so that it can be applied to product packaging, mailings etc.

What do you think?