desk – $350 from a flea market.  Don’t you love the industrial / farm chic-ness of this?  The bottom is made of metal pipes.
deer antlers – $50 for 3 sets. Flea market.  I love, love, love these and was going to spray paint them white but decided that we liked them au natural.
So this is the first post from my new office.  Well, what should have been my new office until the New Jerseyite’s job went virtual and now it’s OUR new office.  I didn’t handle the news terribly maturely.  …

Confession:  I love hearing about people’s morning routines, particularly artist and writer morning routines but basically I just love hearing how people spend their morning.  It’s such an intimate and creative time so I think what you do with it says a lot about you.
The Unclutterer organizes his morning routine around drinking coffee.  Architect Robert Venturi says he takes notes in the middle of the night so his morning routine is to organize those notes.  Here’s a whole site about morning routines.
When I stumbled on Sarah Wilson’s article about morning …

“Maybe this is a stupid idea”
I’ve been meeting a lot of new business owners lately.  Through groups, some that I’ve helped to start, some online, they seem to be everywhere.  When I sit down with them they are stressed out, worried, excited.  Some have business cards already, some have a client, some have just an idea.  I am not always sure what they want to talk about but invariably they will say “maybe this is a really stupid idea”.
I usually respond that the “stupid idea” feeling doesn’t go away.  Ever.  …

A few months ago the New Jerseyite and I turned to each other and agreed on something without any argument: our apartment was way too small.   I had felt that it was too small the moment I moved in because I couldn’t fit most of my books in a place where I could SEE them all.  I actually sat on a stool in the kitchen and cried about it (not my finest moment).   So now, we are smack in the middle of moving to an apartment that is not only …

photo by Nigel Peake
I have been harping on the “creativity in the workplace” thing for a while now.  Sort of because it would really help me if got popular (I once completed a chemistry exam in high school with all illustration answers.  Got a D) but also because it’s becoming more and more necessary to come up with creative solutions to marketing.  The template is out there and it’s Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. until everyone has one and being creative suddenly means the difference between people caring about your brand …

I was in Mineral Point this Saturday showing some relatives around Wisconsin and I always try to show people that Wisconsin is more than a big beer and cheese factory (not easy when our state is, in fact, kind of a beer and cheese factory).  The difference between Mineral Point and many art centered areas is that it’s more than galleries.  All of the artists live there and you can also go through and see many of their studios and workshops.
When we walked into Bruce Howdle’s gallery he shouted “Oh!  …

A few weeks ago I attended a happy hour for young professionals.  It was the usual array of business owners, marketing people, and tech folks and I was having some great conversations until one lady asked me what I do.
“Social Media strategy” I answered to which she said “oh.  I KNOW how to update Twitter.”  This happens a lot, and it’s ok, but it does bring up a really good point about social media expertise and who businesses should be hiring to complete it. To me, there’s a really distinct …

photo from The Small Object
I have been talking with a lot of bloggers lately that are interested in working with brands but aren’t so sure about how to go about it. Since I come from the other side and help brands find partners online (bloggers, communities, events, etc) I have some good tips for you when you are ready to actually ask a someone to work with you. Here they come:
1) Make a list of people you’d want to work with. This can and should be your dream list. …

(This is part of a series for Realtors)
I’ve been talking with a lot of Realtors lately which is odd since I’m in no way looking to buy a house or anything… they just sort of suddenly were there in my circle of people.  I met a realtor at a networking event and the next thing I knew I was at a young professional realtor event.   The first thing I noticed about them is that real estate folks, as a group, are DRAMATICALLY better looking than most groups as a …

So, I’m sitting in my favorite coffeeshop and it’s one of those days when I’m trying to get something done and I’m totally distracted by two women sitting next to me having an honest to god conversation about how many grocery stores they shop at.  I’m not trying to be judgemental but in a moment of smugness I give them a look.  Which one of them catches.“I’m sorry,  we’re in your office aren’t we?”  Instantly, I feel bad,  it’s a coffeeshop!  I don’t own this place, it’s not my office, …