AIGA Studio Tour: Duquesne Design & Press; Miller Group

I always enjoy getting a behind the scenes look into the design studios of Pittsburgh. It never ceases to amaze me how many creative firms call Pittsburgh home and how much the work, company cultures and working environments vary.

Several times a year, AIGA Pgh selects 3 design/design-related spots in a neighborhood for a walking tour. Last night, we toured Duquesne University's Design Dept. & Press and Miller Group.

Now that I am an in-house designer again with my full-time gig at Northwood, it was particularly great to meet the team at Duquesne and to see their work, workflow and working environment. The design team works closely with their in-house Press Dept. which we also met with and toured their facilities. As a whole, the group seems to work well and have a good time together while producing great, creative work and maintaining/policing the Duquesne brand.

Sadly, I was too beat by the end of the tour to attend the wrap-up at Souper Bowl to talk more shop with the studios and other tour participants. However, I'm excited to have the time/energy again to participate in the design community through AIGA Pgh and other professional association events and activities.

Upcoming AIGA events in May that I am attending/volunteering at include:

• The Fellow Awards, honoring Rick Landesberg and Dennis Moran on Thurs, May 6th at 6:30pm
  http://pittsburgh.aiga.org/registration/?event_id=43542569
  
  
• Adobe CS5 Workshop on Thurs, May 13th (all day)
  http://pittsburgh.aiga.org/events/

eDG (Eco Designers Guild) is the other local group that I hope to reconnect with this summer: http://ecodesignersguild.ning.com/

More details/posts to come on the happens of the local design community. Until then, Happy Friday!

Back in Business (After a Season of Evaluation/Redirection)

It's been a wild ride these last few months. Things didn't go according to plan -- as they tend not to do -- and a long period of inactivity/nothingness/hibernation was followed by massive changes as I refocused on my design career and things began clicking together. As difficult as the last 6 months have been, I value the time as a necessary season of reflection, evaluation and redirection for my career/life. I could not have learned what I did or gained the perspective that I did without going through what I did.

Having said all that, I'm thrilled to share that I have accepted the position of Marketing Coordinator for Northwood Realty Services in Wexford, PA. I began a few weeks ago and now that I'm settled in, it's proving to be a great place to apply all my design/marketing, project management and event experience.

Northwood is also very supportive of my professional development goals -- my AIGA membership is once again in active status -- and of my freelance design business, On The Vine. With the freedom from stress/anxiety that a steady full-time income provides, I plan to utilize On The Vine as a creative outlet and to specifically support the organizations/initiatives that I am passionate about with my design talents and experience on a per-project basis.

I'm having a few lunch meetings this week to line up projects for On The Vine and I look forward to posting details/progress as things solidify.

In short, I'm glad to be back... and back in business!

Business Networking in Pgh

I've found the following extremely useful for new business, referrals, inspiration, encouragement and camaraderie during this transition into self-employment.

• WBN (Women's Business Network)
  http://www.wbninc.com/
  
  
• WSBA (Women's Small Business Association)
  http://www.meetup.com/Womens-Small-Business-Association/
  
  
• Meetup.com
  http://www.meetup.com/
  Groups I belong to/recommend:
  - http://www.meetup.com/Success-In-Networking-Group/
  - http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Small-Business/
  - http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/58/
  - http://www.meetup.com/pittsburgh-freelance/
  - http://businessnetwork.meetup.com/1001/
  - http://www.meetup.com/GreensburgEntrepreneurs/
  
  

Some are free to attend -- though your meal is on you -- while others have reasonable membership dues (plus your meals). Some are category exclusive (only one member per industry category) and others are open to all. Some have meetings over lunch and others are before or after working hours.

I recommend trying a few and seeing how you fit within the dynamic of the group, the time/cost ratio, etc. I don't intend on staying a member of all of these listed -- unless I don't intend to have time to work on any new business generated by these groups.

As the ol' clique goes: Time is money; since it's a super valuable and rare commodity, make the most of it by being picky/choosy about which ways you acquire new business leads and moral support.

Week 2: Adventures in Self-Employment

It's amazing to me how busy the self-employed life can be. I'm recognizing the need for balance, but have yet to strike one between work, life, friends, new business networking, Mary Kay, ACAC/YAM, volunteer work, and me -- probably because the list itself is too long, but that's my personality:)

Something that I am instituting next week as a way to create more balance is a simple (easy to remember) rule for booking appts:

For each day, only one appt. per catagory
(max of 2 catagories per day).

That should help to give me a little down time between running around (and burning gas) to get things done.

In a separate post -- that I have to resend due to internet difficulties yesterday... grrr -- I'll share some of the local networking resources that I've found to be exceptionally helpful and encouraging during this transitional time.

The Value of LinkedIn

It's interesting the things that I've discovered so far on this 'starting my own business' journey. One simple yet impactful one is the usefulness of LinkedIn.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/srexroth

As a creative professional that's no stranger to networking in the industry, I really never understood why I needed a LinkedIn account. Mind you, I had one, but never saw the value. The main reason being that most of my professional LinkedIn connections are also my Facebook friends. I spend waaaay more time on Facebook keeping up with folks than LinkedIn — particularly since both have similar news feed/status updating capabilities.

Discussing the purpose of this professional social network with friends, colleagues and clients, I've come to realize the value of LinkedIn is not to connect you with your friends/acquaintances (Facebook does a better job of keeping people in touch, in my opinion), but to connect you with potential clients who are connected to your friends/clients/acquaintances/etc.

It's a safe way and convenient way for potential clients to see your living resumé/portfolio — following where you've been professionally and what you're doing right now by reading your blog through a LinkedIn app. They can get a much better sense of your personality and capabilities than one could ever get from a one-page static resumé (which you can also post on your LinkedIn page for those die-hard HR individuals).

It's the little realizations and epiphanies that are making this transitional time of my life so enjoyable and interesting.

Panelist: Creative Careers Seminar

http://sites.google.com/site/creativecareersseminar/Home

I (Stephie) will be a panelist this Friday at the Creative Careers Seminar at CMU. I'll be sharing my experience in the field while at Bally Design and also talking about the transition to the freelance world to promote On The Vine.

Click for more information and hope to see you there!

Support Upcoming Events

It's seriously been crazy working three jobs — finishing up at Bally, getting On The Vine off the ground; and maintaining my Mary Kay biz as well — but I'm optimistic about the future as the next chapter of my life begins.

I wanted to share a few upcoming events that I am also involved in extracurricularly:

Kenya Benefit Concert is tonight (10/29) at 7 pm
New Hazlett Theater (Allegheny Center, North Side)
Music by Greg and Rebecca Sparks
The special community concert will benefit the children at the Kenduiwo Orphanage in Kenya. The musical event is part of an effort to raise $25,000 for a new girls dorm for children who currently have insufficient shelter and housing. More info: http://www.sharingmalezi.com/events.html
I'm coordinating volunteers at the event and have a few extra tickets... let me know if you can make it!


BHHC: 1st Annual Fundraiser Gala
THE HEARTFELT EVENT
Friday, December 4th 2009 7-10 PM
4863 Ellsworth Av., Pittsburgh, PA 15213
$25 suggested donation $10 minimum donation
benefits BHHC + chinese and silent auction

HEALTH PROVOKING TESTIMONIALS (7-8 PM)
SOUL INSPIRING ENTERTAINMENT (8-10 PM) featuring Earth Rhythm, InterPlay, Amethyst Bellydance Group and DJ Eric Justin.
www.balancedheart.org
More details to come... save the date!