Posts in design
(Xmas in July) Unwrap your Holiday Success

LET’S UNWRAP YOUR SUCCESS: Digitally Preparing Your Small Business for the Busy Holiday Season

While visions of sugarplums may not be dancing in your head just yet, it's never too early to start planning for the holiday season. And what better time to get a head start than Christmas in July? Let us guide you through the merry world of digital marketing and help you prepare for the bustling holiday months ahead. So grab your virtual Santa hats and let's sleigh this!

'TIS THE SEASON FOR E-COMMERCE: In today's digital age, e-commerce is the gift that keeps on giving. To ensure your online store shines brighter than Rudolph's red nose, make sure you optimize your website for mobile devices, improve loading times and streamline the checkout process. Think about your holiday deals, creating enticing gift guides and leveraging social media to spread the cheer. 'Tis the season to jingle all the way to Black Friday!

DECORATE THE HALLS: For those with brick-and-mortar stores, creating a festive shopping experience is key to attracting customers. In addition to your holiday decor, consider offering special promotions, host in-store events and launch limited-edition holiday products to entice shoppers. And remember to ramp up your social media campaigns during the season.

SOCIAL MEDIA SLEIGH RIDE: Speaking of social media, Santa Claus is coming to your feed! To connect with your audience during the holiday season, leverage the power of social media. Craft engaging content such as gift guides, holiday recipes and festive how-tos. Encourage user-generated content by running holiday-themed contests and giveaways and pick a charity to support. And don't forget to spread joy by sharing heartwarming stories and embracing the holiday spirit across all your social media platforms!

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE OPTIMIZATION: While Santa's making his list and checking it twice, it's time for you to optimize your website and content for holiday keywords. Research popular search terms like "Christmas gifts," "holiday deals," and "best stocking stuffers" to tailor your SEO strategy. Craft captivating blog posts, Holiday graphics and product descriptions that are keyword-rich and showcase your holiday offerings. With the right optimization your small business will be rockin' around the search results!

FA-LA-LA EMAIL MARKETING: Don't leave email marketing out in the cold this holiday season. Create eye-catching email campaigns with fun subject lines and offers to entice your customers to CLICK. Personalize your emails, segment your audience and use automation to ensure your messages reach the right people at the right time. And remember, a well-crafted email can be the perfect way to wrap up those last-minute sales before Santa arrives! Promote those Gift Cards.

With Christmas in July serving as your digital marketing compass, your business will be dashing through the holiday season with confidence. Whether you're an e-commerce entrepreneur or a retail rockstar, embracing the power of digital marketing will help you make this holiday season your most successful yet. So start spreading the holiday cheer, put on your digital elf hats and get ready for a season filled success and plenty of ho-ho-ho-liday sales!

Keywords: Holiday, Christmas, ChristmasinJuly, digitalmarketing, socialmedia, emailmarketing, SEO

The Yarns We Spin

I was honored to be invited to create an exterior installation for the 5th Annual Kingston Design Connection’s Showhouse. The one catch was, I couldn’t attach anything to the vinyl siding that could cause damage. Once again I found myself having to defy gravity and make magic.

I thought this project would be a great opportunity to collaborate with my long-time design partner, Buddy Valentine, who’s recent work has been creating incredible yarn patchworks. I initially took inspiration from classic window details and treatments. Translating these shapes into yarn forms for the exterior of the house. Buddy I were then worried about the long yarn strands tangling so we ended up changing the concept to smaller sized checkerboard pattern in lively colors. The colors were derived from the Ukrainian Flag, the transgender flag and since it was for October - orange for Halloween.

The secret ingredient that keeps the panel intact are siding clips used for hanging Christmas lights. The best find of my life.

Enjoy the following galleries showing the transformation form our first ideas to the finished product…


Our initial inspriation photos…

Our first design direction - more like curtains on the outside and our color pallet…

After being fearful of tangles, we moved into this direction… A checkerboard pattern. And then went into production. We had 25 total panels to make.

Next, the installation with ladders and a wonky scaffold. Did I mention I’m scared of heights?

And the final product…

Photos by Phil Mansfield

Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure

me, Susie, Heidi at the Basquiat show in NYC

I recently took a day off , headed to NYC to basked in Basquiat with Susie and Heidi, the super talented owners of Rock Scissor Paper. I really didn’t know too much about Jean-Michel Basquiat before seeing this show. I knew he briefly dated Madonna (pre-fame) and that was about it. It was incredible - He truly was AMAZING. They even recreated his Great Jones St. studio and the famous 80s club - The Palladium!!!

Go and see the Basquiat show NOW!

I even took a moment to visit Hudson Yards. The relatively new urban design mega-development on NYC’s west side.

Here’s some highlights…

With Honors

While doing some Spring Cleaning in my file cabinet, I came across this old design competition I did to redesign the Cabrini Green Public Housing Project in Chicago - Sponsored by the Chicago Tribune, circa 1993. I didn't win but got an "honorable mention!"

You can read the little blurb but essentially the idea was to turn the site into shared-land farms with markets and the derelict buildings transformed to cultural/educational institutions.

Eek, that curved street dead-ending into the Chicago River is problematic but I love the patchwork colors and can totally see the Bernard Tschumi / Parc de la Villette influence. - C'mon folie.

#designcompetition #chicago #farm #patchwork #cabrinigreen #siteplan #publichousing #zoning #masterplan

I "Hearth" You

Check out my latest and greatest Holiday store window display for Half Moon Books: a fireplace made of books.

I started with a composite “inspirational” image that I made in Photoshop and went from there. The fireplace frame and hearth are all made of books. The mantle and deer head are cardboard covered in pages from The Ugly Duckling story. And then I just packed out the display with books, books and more books! I went opposite of my usual minimalism for this edition.

Happy Holidays.

Paper Dress
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Introducing my newest window display installation for Half Moon Books in Kingston, NY. The title is “Let Them Read Books.” Very Marie Antoinette meets Vogue.

With the coming Fall / Back to School season upon us, I wanted to do something that I hadn’t ever done before. Whenever I finish a window I feel like I’ll never have another ideas and then here we are - a paper dress extravaganza. I actually got the idea from an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race where the queens had to make garments out of one of Ru’s books. I thought yes, I have to do this, but a fashion piece is really out of my “architectural” comfort zone. But if you’re not challenging yourself, you’re not growing, correct?

So, I found these images as my inspiration. I fell in love with the paper pleating: I told myself, “I can do this!”

To make the paper gown I bought some fabric costume pieces to attach the paper too. Gotta love hot glue guns and spray mount - They’re magical. And of course I had to do a pair of pumps.

But then I had a huge predicament. I had build the dress offsite in one piece - how was I going to get it to the bookstore without damaging the design - walk her across town of course. I am a “put on a show” kinda girl after all. So, off we went.

Here’s some shots of the final installation. I added a chandelier for the full fancy vibe. I hope you love it as much as I do. Check out more of my displays at Half Moon Books here.

Blowing Kisses in the Wind
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Sealed with a KISS... Inspired by Chicago's Magikist sign of lore, this collaboration with Buddy Valentine is a sweet kiss to Kingston NY (our new/old home now). Hey locals, can you find all the lips around town? Scavenger hunt alerts!!!!

Here’s the full SWAK Bike Rack collection:

#magikist #lips #magritte #surrealisam #bikerack #opositive #wallmural #painting #kiss #swak #mwah #art #installation #collaboration #inspiration

Max B
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Speaking of Fred Flare, we also launched a more sophisticated brother brand (for 5 mins)... MaxB (Modern and eXciting Building) connecting with my architectural background. Here was my masterpiece: A plexi DIY dollhouse - think Barbie's Dream House meets Wonder Woman's jet meets a Mid-century Modern glass house. It was $300 and someone actually bought it. I hope some little boy is still loving it today.

And also my foray into lighting design… The ever adorable Starlight Lamp. I should make a few more of these and try and sell them online.

#lamp #lighting #design #interiordesign #productdevelopment #fredflare #dollhouse #diy #plexi #plastic #iplaywithdolls #barbie #barbiesdreamhouse #dolls #midcenturymodern #canalplastics

Up, Up and Away
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For my latest store window display I wanted to give the client (and the customers) something colorful and fun after a year of craziness and stress. It was also a priority to keep costs down.

I found some pictures hot air balloon launched, sky photo murals and tissue paper ball clusters that I thought were beautiful and used them as my inspiration. The owner had paper lanterns so the only prop we had to buy were the sky photo murals.

Even with my full knee replacement only 2 months old… Check out the wonder that was created.

My ispirado…

Introducing Boptotottom.com
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I first met Karen from Bop to Tottom back in 2015 to talk about an e-commerce website for her Kingston NY shop. It wasn’t the right time but when the Covid 19 pandemic hit in early 2020 Karen decided it was time to take the plunge and make her beloved Bop to Tottom boutique an online / e-commerce destination.

I chose to pitch the Shopify e-commerce platform. I love their responsive product and their customer service is excellent. I was able to foster a good deal for a year account so we forged ahead.

My goal was deliver a neat and polished site. Classy, professional and easy to navigate but also ring true to her brand. I accomplished this with a fun and engaging homepage. You can learn about the 20 yr old shop but also add items to cart right away (why wait). A clear and focused About page with lots of photos is very important to me. Also a useful and well written FAQ page and Policy and Procedure pages are a must in my book.

Give it a spin and let me know that you think. boptotottom.com

Piece by Peace
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Ever since the huge success of the Circle of Books I did a few years ago, I wanted to play with books in a shape again and Jessica is always talking about the Peace symbol (we are in the Woodstock area after all)…

There was no better time than 2020 for PEACE. ☮️📚🎄

I pretty much had my heart set on giving Jessica a Peace-Shaped bookshelf for this Holiday Season. And thanks to ABunch Fabrication, it came true.

Here’s how it all happened…

 

My Design Inspiration:

 

My Amazing Sketch: Don’t laugh too much…

 
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Design Development with ABunch Fabrication:

 

The Construction Process:

 

Installation:

 

The Unveiling:

Peace Out!

Peace Out!

White Heat
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Another new Holiday Store window display complete… This one for Kingston’s very own Bop to Tottom.

The client mentioned doing a window in all white (a fresh, calm feeling for this Covid Christmas), so I ran with that motif. But as usual, I wanted to use unconventional materials and play with light. I used florescence light fixture diffusers to distort the hanging light bulbs… Like a frosty window. I also used white corrugated roofing material for a “ski slope” backdrop for the dress forms.

Now, add some snowflakes, white wrapped boxes, Christmas lights and white ribbons and you’ve got yourself a wintry scene. I also wrapped the logs from last year’s display in white paper… Created such a cool effect and a lot quicker than painting them all.

Chalk it up
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Check out the new Fall window display I just completed at Bop to Tottom in Kingston’s Historic Uptown Stockade District.

My design was to create a retro-class room vibe… Since many students would be learning online and missing the IRL experience. The client wanted to save some money on this display so I figured out some inexpensive alternatives for this window update.

Inspired by the artist Cy Twombly and chalk scribbles, I created these simple chalkboard vertical banners of 1/4” lauan wood and chalkboard paint with fun chalk scribbles. Since face masks are now top sellers, I printed photos of the owner and staff at a large size and hung them on old cork boards that were in the basement of the store - added bonus for the classroom vibe. Then I used photo murals on the back and side walls for that high impact fall colors background.

Initially, I wanted to get vintage school desks and chairs as props but they were to expensive so I just used some furniture I had lying around. And voila… Instant store window display on a dime.

Say Watt?!?
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The new window installation for Half Moon Books is all lit up… This installation is a trio of chandeliers made of books. It was challenging, as it is with books, because of their weight, but I think it turned out fab.

Just a few drill holes and some basic elec wiring and voila… Book Chandeliers!

And a huge thank you John Cox for letting me take over his workshop.

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I've got the Magic RE-touch

I am so grateful that ever since the pandemic hit, that I’ve been busy with freelance work. Marketing, Social Media, Web development and Photo Retouching.

I’ve been retouching in Photoshop for over 15 years now and am 100% self-taught. Aside from watching YouTube tutorials, I’ve never once taken a single “official” class. I started back in my Fred Flare days knocking out backgrounds and whitening model’s teeth for the website.

Well, I’ve come a long way baby… I thought I would share some of my recent successes with you. Initally, I didn’t think I could do it, but with some persistence and perseverance, I made it work.

Check out the before and after wonders…

FIREPLACE: I lit up the wall sconce and added a fire in the fireplace.

KITCHEN: I removed the clutter in the background and the box at the door.

LIVING ROOM: Brightened it up, removed the finger in the upper right and also removed the door hinge.

If you need any photo retouching, please drop me a line. I’d be happy to give you a quote.

Sweet Sue's
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Dreams came true for me in an otherwise crazy time. I got to create Sweet Sue’s new website and their first ever “official” Facebook page? After being closed for the Covid-19 pandemic, Sue Taylor, the founder, decided to reopen for Take Out and wanted some help. I was thrilled that I got the gig.

Since started her business in 1984 and being famous for the most delicious pancakes that are as big as your head, Sue really didn’t ever have to market her business… It was all just word of mouth. But now we live in different times. Small businesses need a digital footprint to remain relevant and communicate with their fans/customers.

So, she wanted a simple, one page website that communicated the new Take Out policies in addition to her reduced menu. I used a GoDaddy platform site builder to keep her costs down. And the second I made her Facebook page, it was like the flood gates opened with eager fans ready to feast.

Who knows how this pandemic will playout, but I’m happy that my Pancake Dreams got to come true! Bon appetit.

Click here to view the project gallery.

The day Sweet Sue’s reopened… 6/27/20

I Don't Search I Find
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My latest store window design installation for Kingston’s Half Moon Books is a Word Search Puzzle… There’s 5 words that are hidden in the puzzle of letters. Can you find them? See below for some spoilers.

When Jessica, the owner of Half Moon Books and I first met to discuss this window design, we wanted something fun and lite yet celebratory since this was to be her Post-Covid 19 Pandemic “reopening” Summer window. I honestly don’t recall how we landed on a giant word search puzzle, but when Jessica and I brainstorm, it’s like lightening in a bottle. Shablam!

And since it had to involve books, I thought if we opened books you could paint one letter per page. I went with a rainbow assortment of colors to make it fun, positive and happy… It’ Pride Month after all. Then I found this great website that generates Word Find Puzzles for you. The puzzle consists of 32 total books, 4 across (opened) by 8 down - essentially an 8x8 character puzzle. And voila… We had ourselves a window. I always feel like I’ll run out of window ideas but they keep coming. A reminder to believe in yourself.

The construction went so smoothly. I’m usually defying gravity, but compared to some of the other window installations, this one was pretty easy. And that’s exactly what I wanted.

Okay, can you find the following 5 words that Jessica picked: Justice (we gave you this one), Peace, Liberty, Equality and Love… There’s other ones but those are bonus!

Be safe out there. xo

SPOILER ALERTZ! Don’t go any further if you want to find the hidden words on your own.

 
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