Tuesday, September 22, 2009

An Invitation "Outside the Box"

I am very tardy in updating my blog but with good reason. Robin E Designs closed shop for a vacation to the beach last week. And now, we are back to the work grind - designing, drawing, printing, writing and blogging.

I love the beach! But really, who doesn't love the beach? There is something inspiring about the beach. Whether it is the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, the vast openness of the deep blue sea or the gorgeous sunsets, the entire aura at the beach always gets me inspired with new ideas and fresh thoughts.

I can't share any specific ideas or thoughts, but I do have a renewed creative spirit. I feel re-energized and ready to tackle new projects. There are lot of projects I am working on that I can't wait to share soon when they are completed...

But for now, I still have the smell of ocean air and the feel of sand between the toes on the brain which reminds me of a project I did several years ago.

It was a invitation design for a Quinceanera (in Latin American culture, is a coming of age ceremony held on a girl's fifteenth). I coordinated with The Perfect Party to create it for the beach themed event. For the invitation, we used real starfish tied with natural raffia and hot pink silk dupioni ribbon. The invitation was a tri-fold printed on white linen paper with a sparkled starfish at the bottom. It was folded and wrapped in light pink tissue to be mailed in a pretty little white box. This invitation was a hard one to assemble, and to this day, I can still smell the horrible scent of the starfish when they arrived in the mail. We had to let them air out a few days and spray them with febreeze to help neutralize the odors.

Oh, what we go through to get a unique and memorable invitation!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

A "Green" Project

Green definitely seems to be the color these days. We are all finding our own avenues to "go green" and live environmentally-friendly. I have more and more clients looking for ways to look "green" or print "green." People are seeking to incorporate this into their businesses and personal lives. I believe a start is by community awareness. And that is just what the City of Franklin is doing.
I recently had the privilege to work on a logo and a Sustainability Action Plan design for the City of Franklin. This was a fun project to work on - not only because I got to work with new people - but because I am so proud of this new initiative and happy to be a part. There are many volunteers who give their time to serve on a task force committee that outlines the goals and details of this plan. It is inspiring to see so many put such a big effort towards helping their community achieve great things.

Franklin, Tennessee rocks, and I am so proud to be a member of this community. Thank you to the city officials who allowed me take part in this goal. Check out the City of Franklin website for the full Sustainability Action Plan and other details about Franklin's commitment to "going green."