On Slowing Down
Recently I posted that I would be sending out my first email newsletter soon. I wrote the email more than a week ago, but I haven't sent it. Part of the reason for sending the newsletter was to announce a new service, but lately I've found myself wanting to pare down. While I'm excited about the specific service I planned to announce, I am also considering the services I currently offer and what I (and my clients) can do without. As I enter the third trimester in pregnancy, my design work has geared up, but my body is telling me to slow down. I love what I do but I'm more tired lately, and my nesting urge finds me rearranging the spaces in our home, hunkering down with my daughter and watching as her imagination and curiosity grows. As my family increases in size, I feel the need more than ever to simplify and focus on the the things that challenge and inspire me, and that allow our family life to flourish, as well as my own creative interests and pursuits.
After my baby is born in late August or early September, I'll be taking a break from client work to allow life to find its new rhythm. During that time I'll be considering what I want to take on when I'm ready to resume. I look forward to new creative challenges that allow me to do what I enjoy most and fit seamlessly into my life.
I really resonated with this post from my friend Julie Fiandt on the In Tandem Blog, which begins with lines from Walt Whitman: "To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough." This I am rich in. Always questioning, what is enough? Probably less than we think.
In the meantime, the client work I have left for the summer is all very fun and rewarding. The inspiration board below is for a writer and traveler about to take her second trip to India. She has very bright tastes and eclectic interests, so the inspiration board reflects that. I'm excited to work with some new colors and styles, and to create something visually rich for her.
Image sources from left to right and top to bottom: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
For her website, this client wants something that evokes the spiritual, something warm, open, and light. She plans to blog about her travels as well as share her short stories and published writing. I'm excited to get to work!
