Morning World! Looks like it’s going to be a lovely day. Birds are chirping. There are still beautiful purple tulips in the garden. I’m thinking positive thoughts. I feel generous! Call or email me today and I will give you $10 off a business card order you purchase with me today! A design today means you can get your cards by the first of the week. Full color both sides, thick glossy pro cards! 276-233-3864! Offer good today only! Have a glorious day!
Maybe it’s the 17 year old girl inside me who used to dream of squirreling away in a cabin somewhere with a stack of blank paper and an old typewriter with the intent to write the great American novel, but I think I always loved the idea of my degree in English because of the paper, journals, pens and pencils that tickled my fancy so. Obviously I never published more than a few articles here and there, and most of these were produced under the creation of my own magazine designed with my mom, The Big Blue. And I never managed more than Chapter 1 of a few different romance novels. Sigh.
Okay so flash forward 20 years and my ability to write does help my web clients who need content so I guess the old BA in English was not an absolute waste! But my love for the instruments of the writing craft has burned like hot potatoes in my pockets all this time. I’m fortunate now….I have friends with prime location spaces on Main street in Galax…so I have an office on Main. It’s awfully big though for the girl who used to sit at the window seat with her laptop to work at the former Chestnut Creek Coffee Shop. (There’s a new restaurant, Scoots, opened there now–so yay, but I have not had a chance to go yet!)
So what to do with all this space!! Eureka! I must share my love of journals, papers, pens, pencils and writing materials with the rest of the world! Yes, I am opening a Stationery Store. To my knowledge, there is no other dedicated Stationery Store in Galax, so I’m doing it! I am calling all artists who wish to share their Altered Book Arts, Handmade Journals and Papers, Altered Pens and Pencils and the like in this space with me! If you are a painter and you’ve made some notecards from your work, those are welcome too….give me a call at 276-233-3864 or email me at m...@mitone.com if you are interested in showing your work here!!
I learn new things everyday and it never gets old. How exciting is it to realize I can plug all my social media accounts here into one place and take 10 minutes a day to add messages, respond to other people and even make a blog post. Check out http://hootsuite.com if you are in business for yourself. Make life easier. You don’t have to set it to auto, because you do want to make a personal impact in relating…learned that from a LinkedIn board post the other day, but have a social media management tool like HootSuite can help cut some social media time waste out of your life! Let me know if you want some help setting up your accounts to a HootSuite account!
“Hey, yous guys…check out this Plugin.”
Photo Credit: Valerie via Compfight
I sit here wearing my big “W” t-shirt. Got it at the WordCamp I attended in Raleigh in May of ’11. I am addicted to WordPress but I often wish I could do things like design Plugins! Now those guys ‘n gals totally rock. Just found a resource called Compfight, a plugin that helps me find cool creative commons photos for my blogging. Now what a great idea! I don’t have to hustle up something outside my screen here. I just click the little camera icon and voila!
I mean, how cute is this Polar Bear? What a find! Took me one minute to get him in here…
Lacy , 7, updates a website on her Nook eReader!
Today after I submitted a logo redesign to my client, Windkist Acres, and some web updates to my client Coal Creek Grading, I started work again on a pet project, the Galax Walking Tour. This is a website I voluntarily requested to make in conjunction with the 5×8 historical walking tour guidebook published by the city. I have finally gotten myself caught up somewhat and am getting back into this project. But look who is helping me! Lacy! My 7 year old. And yes, the WordPress content management system is definitely easy enough that a 7 year old can do this. If you or your organization needs a new or updated website that anyone can manage, give me a call. I am very affordable and can provide financing (although you may not need it as I don’t cost a lot!)
Today I focused on two things. 1. Getting my daughter’s Christmas gift, her NOOK color, put together, and 2. Working on the Carroll County VA farm experience website. Wow. Dad–you and Beverly picked a fantastic gift for Lacy. She loves to read. She loves to watch Netflix. She can do both with her new NOOK color. Now I can keep my laptop at work. Lacy can have her own device to manage her own stuff. She loves being in charge. Now…how do I get my own NOOK? It really is fabulous.
Today Carroll County was my main focus, with their site, http://blueridgefarmexperience.com. I added some cool functions for this site. This is only the second site I have created with a different front page…one that is focusing on different aspects of the site, magazine style. And the second design idea I am loving on this site is the use of what is called a Fat Footer. It puts all the links and social links in the bottom of the website. Kind of like a site map, although sitemap pages are a bit outdated these days. I will be adding in a definitive directory and maps to all the agricultural-tourism spots in Carroll County..awesome…which reminds me…I need to get started later this week finishing up the Galax Walking Tour website! If anyone who has a business downtown wants to advertise in it, cheap cheap, let me know!
My New Shop at
106 N Main St, Galax, VA
Okay so this morning I picked up my window signage from Spring Valley Graphics. Thanks Lesa, for a great job! I could have paid her to put the sign up for me, but I do like to save money and try things for myself. This morning when I got back to the office, I took the vinyl lettering still stuck to its papers and some tape outside. Soon my good friend Celeste showed up and started helping me figure what was even, straight and in the middle. She suggested I let it warm up a bit, as did Spring Valley. So I watched my sign on the window all day long, still stuck to the printing papers, from the comfort of my desk.
Finally at 1 pm, I got out there and ripped off the backing. I didn’t do too badly I don’t think! Within minutes, Michelle from Tech 109 across the street hollered out that it looked great. I crossed the street and saw John Nunn hanging out there. (You can sometimes find him here). And he shared his ideas. Then the lady from the Tri Area Pregnancy Center came out and complimented. Yay. I love small towns. I love downtown Galax. It is so good to be back down here in an official capacity. I love having this office. And I think my sign does look pretty good. I have already had compliments on it on Facebook. LOL.
The other thing I wanted to share today is that in partial exchange for my lovely space, I am doing some social media work for the owner, Cindy Halley, who also owns GODpillow.com. She is the Queen of social and I am learning so much already working with her on her social media program. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest and others. So one thing I am doing now is working on a real hardcore plan….with Goals and Action statements and everything. There is a lot involved in building a social media plan! Here is a good starter article for you to read.
Just sitting here stuffing envelopes with bills….I thought I’d be clever and just email invoices but after trying to do that for a year now, I see that either my clients just don’t receive these fancy emails, or maybe they dismiss them as unimportant. So while I love this Invoice WordPress plugin I have for helping me manage my invoices, I still have to take the time to print them, address envelopes, stuff the bill and mail it all off. I guess it is my way of helping the USPS as well.
The other cool thing I started using late this last year was a gadget that fits onto my android smart phone. I can swipe credit cards and accept payment for design work like that! Super fast and very convenient! Deposits straight to my checking account. Speaking of checks…does anyone ever use these old timey things anymore? I don’t even know where my checks are. Seems like you can just pick up a phone and pay over the phone with the debit card for everything these days!
Lacy gets off the bus in about 30 minutes. If only her handwriting looked a little better (who am I kidding, hers is better than mine!) she might want to address my envelopes for me!
Shwooh. It has been some time since last I wrote. Well, I have all kinds of exciting news. I decided to take the plunge again and have moved into an official office space rather than living my free-moving space/time continuum lifestyle. I now have an official office at 106 N Main St, Downtown Galax, VA. Same number: 276-233-3864 and obviously same web and email address. Hours are 9am-4pm Monday – Friday with weekend and evening hours by appointment. New office is called Website Design Gallery. And I am hanging design stuff and displaying as if it were ART! Also I have a big meeting table here and will teach classes in Social Media, WordPress website management and dev and perhaps some newsletter management classes. I am looking forward to these types of things.
But for the most part, it is quiet till Lacy gets off the bus at 3:25pm. I am going to teach her some things too. She’s a big help!
I get tired of seeing the same old thing. I just tweaked my website again. Focusing on my website design services. If you need a website, call me. Only costs $350 to get started. No monthly fees! Yay.