Working from home: the good & the bad
The idea of working from home sounds great, when you’re stuck in an office and working to make profit for someone else. I used to be one of those people sitting at a desk, in front of a computer, wanting more out of life and the thoughts of making profit for myself! 5 months on and that’s what I’m doing.
I had already spent 2 years working for myself on a part-time basis but the balance between that and being employed became too difficult. It annoyed me when I couldn’t respond directly to my own clients on the days when I was working elsewhere. Clients used to phone me on a Monday – the day I wasn’t at my own desk, in my own office space, on my time. Anytime spent away from my own work was frustrating and felt like a waste. So I left! I began working for myself and from home on a full-time basis, which I enjoy.
What’s on my iPod
I’m just sitting at my desk on a rainy Tuesday, bopping away to the tunes on my iPod. This is one of the big advantage of working from home – cranking up the volume, singing to the top of your voice and listening to what you want!
My current playlist includes:
Katy Perry - California Girls
Kylie Minogue – All The Lovers
Black Eyed Peas – Meet Me Halfway
Kids In Glass Houses – Matters At All
Little Boots – Remedy
The Low Stars – Calling All Friends
Fireflies – Owl City
The Script – Before The Worst
Taylor Swift – Love Story
30 Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Mika – Happy Ending
Ke$ha – TiK ToK
Jack Johnson – Better Together
Calvin Harris – Flashback
Robbie Williams – You Know Me
Timberland – Apologize
Will Young – Leave Right Now
So, what’s on your playlist?
Making Smoke Trails
A while ago, I experimented with smoke trails and came up with some interesting and exciting results. To be honest, I’m not one for sitting down and writing tutorials but thought it may be fun to share my guide on how to create these colourful smoke trails. You’ll need a camera (I know… that’s obvious!), a tripod, a small lamp, black card (or a black background) and incense sticks. Before starting, remember to open a window or use a well ventilated room to avoid a headache. The smell from incense sticks can get overpowering!
Eating pizza in a car, waiting for sunset
Tuesday was a glorious day. It was warm, the sun was shining and there was just enough cloud in the sky to promise a good sunset. With sunset currently occurring just after 8pm, the decision was were to go. Somewhere not too far but somewhere that would make a great sunset. Loch Ard! We’d pick up dinner on the way… mmm… Dominos Pizza and their Two for Tuesdays offer! By the way… pizza in a car… not easy!!!
My creative block with logo design
Lately I seem to be doing a lot of logo design, which is weird for me. I’m usually working on things like brochures, leaflets, flyers, adverts and websites. Logos… not so much, so it’s been exciting to be able to do this kind of thing and I’ve been thrilled with the results. But now I’ve hit a creative block and am sitting at my desk trying to come up with inspiration for a logo which I’m currently working on. What font to use, can I make an interesting icon or draw some sort of illustration? It’s frustrating for a creative person to hit that creative wall.
What to write about
When I originally set up my blog, my aim was to write about graphic design and photography – after all that’s what I know and what I do. It would be so appropriate to write a blog based on my knowledge of the creative industry offering advice, tips, tutorials and keeping up with current trends. However; there’s many blogs already out there doing that, so is there really a need for me to do one? And to be honest… I don’t have the patience to put tutorials together. So! What to write about?