Before I talk about the makeover, I need to share how I got here. My wonderful friend, former youth group student and web/brand designer, Laura Dreyer, was the one who encouraged me to start a blog. When I started my business a couple of years ago, she was one of the first people I called for help. I asked if she would design a website, logo, business cards, marketing materials, all of it, for me. She has been in school studying graphic design, so I was a perfect guinea pig for her. She drew all of my illustrated buttons and created my entire marketing look. I love her and her work.
Laura is an amazing artist and even illustrated children's books right out of high school. Here are a couple of her illustrations.
Amazing, right?
Well, this little blog she suggested I start has turned into a big deal and I've needed more and more special attention, which has become too much for a senior in college (who's still learning the technical aspect to this business.) I knew it was time to hire a professional blog designer.
I love the look Laura created for me, so I needed to work with someone who would work with that existing look. I also wanted to work with someone who had a good reputation, a diverse portfolio and an artistic eye. This brought me to the doorstep of Marina from Penny Lane Designs.
Other than constantly confusing our names (Marian/Marina) while I was typing, she was a dream to work with. I sent her sketches of what I envisioned and gave her this huge list of things I love, things I don't love, things that are important to me, what kind of feel I wanted, etc. This is what I sent her to explain the kind of wrapper I wanted...
Poor girl. I felt so high maintenance, but she assured me I wasn't. (By the way, she saved me from the bow idea by kindly telling me it just wasn't going to work.) Don't you think she did an amazing job at capturing "me"?
Not only does this blog have a new look, but it also allows me to post larger pictures and it gives you easier access to content and information through my navigation bar and social networking buttons.
I want to thank both of my designers, Laura and Marina for their amazing work and for helping me market myself and my style in a beautiful and professional way.