Design, Wedding, & Small Business Blog, Charleston, SC, Dodeline Design
My fellow “officemate” Alesya of Alesya Bags has had a very big week this week with the launch of her much anticipated designer laptop bag / purse.
It really is such an annoyance when you dress super cute and you have to lug a big heavy laptop bag around with you, so her bag addresses the problem! It officially launched yesterday with her snazzy new website and press releases and blog posting and I’m just so excited for her. Check it out when you have a chance!
I am so excited about these booklet invitations I couldn’t even wait for the 1000x better photos that Jeni at Seastar Arts will be taking this week! It’s always so exciting when a couple thinks outside of the box, and it’s been a pleasure to work with Christina & Tim on their awesome booklet style wedding invitations. Plus, Magnolia Gardens had a fantastic map we were able to use that suits the style perfectly!
Robert always tells me I’m a marketer’s dream. We have an ongoing debate about Kleenex boxes – I just don’t understand why the store brand boxes can be just as good a product but so darn ugly.
So today I rounded up some pretty and interesting packaging for your viewing pleasure. It’s something I am constantly trying to improve for my business, and there are some big strides coming soon!
(1800′s board game, how cool is that?!)
I’m feeling very thankful today. Over the weekend, the Lowcountry Artist Market took place as you know, which of course is my very favorite event to be at. But, my dear college friend was also getting married in Augusta, and it’s very hard to be two places at once!
I’m really lucky to have two amazing parents (and little brother too, he helps at these events too!) who were willing to go with me and stay the rest of the day when I left around 12. From the sound of it, they had as good a time as I always do meeting new people and exploring the vendors! It’s very hard to trust my little business to anyone, so I’m glad that the people in my life that I trust the most are so supportive and willing to help.
So today I’m just saying thank you. I’m incredibly lucky to have such amazing people in my life!
I hope you have a great Monday :-)
It is amazing how much things can change in a year. I’m kind of busy this morning with Artist Market prep and I remembered this post and the fact that I had 0 blog readers at the time and thought I would pull it up for fun!
A lot of people probably don’t realize that my original career goal was interior design, although life had other plans. I did get to do a little bit of work for awhile though, and this was a fun (but hot lol) project. Because the project came in kind of at the last minute and the company was busy, I got to come in and design the apartment model part of the project almost by myself. It was very very exciting at the time and I’m still proud of the accomplishment!
Since I stopped working for PI last August and went out on my own full-time, I did become their web designer lol :-) I didn’t design the site, but I have updated it for them since, so there are a few more pics there.
May 11th, 2010
Last week I headed up to Indianapolis with the company for whom I work part time — Palmetto Interiors — and installed an apartment model and clubhouse job. It was a lot of fun because I actually did most of the design for the model, so it was such a treat to actually install it in person and see the finished results!
Happy Friday!
This bride has the right idea: for a July wedding in the Lowcountry, let’s give everyone fans! Wedding program fans hot off the presses :-)
How’s your week going? Wherever you are, I hope you’re cooler than we are in Charleston, 100% humidity and a heat index of 110 degrees. I have taken up residence in my freezer. :-)
I am convinced that it’s all about attitude.
I have been so very very lucky to stay in a couple very nice hotels and eat in a few really nice restaurants in my life, one of which was a few weekends ago at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island for a conference.
Whenever you’re in a place like that, everyone is just so nice. It’s normally an extremely pleasant experience. So I started to consider what it is that makes it that way. It’s not just the physical environment or the quality of the food (although both were wonderful) – it’s the quality of the employees and the service they provide.
I know you’re thinking, “well, you’re paying for that.” But I think that’s a big part of our problem these days, this idea that you have to be paid enough to be friendly and to care about your customers (whether you’re an employee or a business owner). At least that’s the vibe I get in Wal-Mart all the time (do you?).
So I think it comes from the top down. I think the employees’ attitudes come from the company’s culture.
In higher end establishments, they often make it a “rule” or at least a firm part of the corporate culture that employees greet customers, make small talk, and just generally put on a happy face. But, it’s not just the luxury companies that do it – Chic-fil-A for example has a policy that their employees always say, “My pleasure,” when a customer thanks them. I have never really gone into a Chic-fil-A and had a bad customer service experience.
I know for a fact that the employees at Chic-fil-A don’t make great money, and I really doubt the girl that put out the towels at hotel pool did either – but the companies they worked for have a culture of encouraging friendliness and customer service and ultimately accepting nothing less than that.
It’s amazing how a simple “hello” and a few lines of small talk can make such a big difference. Do you agree with me? Does that matter, and is that what customer service is about? Do you think when companies make rules about how to greet customers that it makes it fake or is a nice touch?
Usually I try to have a positive outlook on Mondays, but it’s kind of a bummer when you have a dental procedure scheduled for 8AM. Not quite sure why I did that to myself but I guess I’d rather get it over with. So here’s a sad little wave to the cupcakes that probably got me into this lol…
I hope you start your Monday out with more fun than I am! See you tomorrow for a more substantive post :-)
Moving on from the bummerness (there I go makin’ up words lol!) of last week – no more of that!
So here’s a happy thing to cheer me up & move into the weekend. A random assortment of prettiness from Pinterest. Enjoy my dears!
Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
{Glad I had pinned that one, it reminded me I must have a Funfetti cake lol!!}
Source: projectwedding.com via Sarah on Pinterest
Source: soapdelinews.com via Sarah on Pinterest
I really want that guy. A chalkboard globe – what a GREAT idea!
Happy happy weekend!
All of a sudden it seems like Food Trucks are everywhere. First my amazing client Audrey of Boston Food Finds started blogging about them, so they crept onto my radar, and then one of my favorite diners Jack’s Cosmic Dogs got an Airstream, and it seems like the next thing I knew, they were in the City Paper, the NY Times, and now the Food Network has a show about them!
So yesterday Jeni of Seastar Arts organized an impromptu visit to the mobile Food Truck Court with her neighbor Kathy, Ashley of Fraiche Event Design, and her Aunt Pat too. It was such a fun to chat with these lovely women and eat delicious food from Roti Rolls & Diggity Donuts!
And of course, the photos are from the amazing Jeni, who very nearly got run over to get a few of them – that’s dedication ;-)
