Janette Eckert

After years of creating individual marketing pieces, Janette Eckert of Alpine Ductless Heating and Air Conditioning, took on the task of creating a new marketing packet including a presentation folder and flyers.

With consistent, cohesive design, it's a beautiful upgrade across the board.

Debra VanTuinen

National and international artist, Debra VanTuinen, recently updated her website to be mobile friendly and easily accessible to herself and her audience. Debra can now update her portfolios with ease, keeping her presentation current.

With a simple, yet elegant design, her website is easy to maintain and navigate.

Valerie Fluestch

Valerie Fluestch has been a successful event planner for years. She recently added Wedding Planning to her list of services and created a postcard/handout to help announce her newest addition.

By creating a handout, she helped define and share her newest offering.

Steve Koskella

Steve Koskella has been offering wetland, stream and forest management services for over 25 years. He had a simple, one-page website that was difficult to find and update.

By creating a new website that lists all of his services, testimonials, and projects, Steve has increased his visibility.

One week prior to contacting Amy, a friend told me about a new clothing store in town and I just had to go see for myself. Located on the outer edges of west Olympia on Harrison Ave, industrie clothiers is part of a small cluster of businesses, one being the legendary Blue Heron Bakery.

Amy is courageous and on the move. It might be her long legs or classy boots that allow Amy to take big leaps forward, but I think ultimately it's courage. Just 10 months after the grand opening of her 1,300 square foot store in Olympia, she's launched an even larger store in her second capitol-city location, Salem, Oregon, last weekend. A young mother of two beautiful children, Amy seemingly juggles it all seamlessly with big strides and confidence.

She's a big-picture girl with 17 years of experience as a department manager and buyer for a major Northwest retailer. Putting her experience to work and utilizing her relationships with suppliers, Amy offers top-quality contemporary clothing at discount prices for women, men and children.

How can she possibly do it all? I had to ask. Amy is a master at delegation and puts her trust and faith in her store managers to do a good job. When you have time, take a moment and stop by to meet Nellie Heay, manager of her Olympia location. Nellie is a vivacious, talented individual in her own right. Along with managing the Olympia industrie clothiers, she's a mother of two and a part-time photographer.

Did I forget to mention . . . it's also a fantastic clothing store – exactly what Olympia has been waiting for.

Learn more about Amy, the clothing brands she carries, and meet her staff. Give her a big 'Welcome' and like her on Facebook.

I used FotoJet, a free online art designer for creating collages, photo cards, and social media arts, to design the Amazing Amy banner.

Whether for personal or business use, everyone needs a tool or two to format or edit photos for their social media accounts.

No time to check it out today?
Bookmark it in your browser for later. You won't regret it.

What we do in the circle of our communities, whether within our families, close friends, or communities at large, has a lasting ripple effect. It can be the smallest action; a look or glance, or simply extending a hand at the right moment. We're often unaware of the impact our actions have on others until sometime later, if at all.

Rallying Support
Sometime ago a friend 'pointed me' towards the need of another close friend, Tim, who needed a web presence as a platform to offer his services to his community. I rallied the support of another close friend, Dia Sabella, a copy editor/writer, and together the three of us, Tim, myself, and Dia, strategized a plan of action. Needless to say, none of us could have done it without the other.

A fourth voice showed up in the conversation while volleying emails back and forth and asked, "Why are you calling him Timmy?"

I felt similarly, "And who are YOU in the mix and what is your role?"

Thus, entered Roger, a brain health specialist and valuable asset to our team, living nearby in Tim's community. He brought a unique perspective that none of us had. They say it takes a tribe, and indeed, it did.

Team Effort
What started as a simple, "Yes, I can help," evolved into a rich team of four, all doing their best towards a common goal. There is nothing more satisfying than 'playing ball' with a finely tuned team.

PISC
PISC, Partners in Social Change, is a publication that goes out to support the advocates in the field throughout the state of Washington.

The focus and emphasis of this issue is on creating and supporting healthy kids, empowered families, and engaged communities in helping to prevent child sexual abuse.

It's an amazing resource for those in the field and an uplifting publication – shining light in dark places.

Start the Conversation
Start the Conversation is a small booklet published in English and Spanish to help parents of young children start the conversation about child sexual abuse.

Again, it's an amazing, valuable resource for parents to help build awareness in their children – shining more light in dark places.

Playing Ball
Designing with another is an organic process; a nip or tuck, a pull or tug, in this direction or that. It's about communication and timeliness. There's a 'sweet spot' in design work when everything falls into place effortlessly. It's a combination of the right words and pic to illustrate an essence . . . but it's mostly about the synergy of 'playing ball' with my client. I know we've all experienced it from time to time and those moments are memorable. They stick with us and we yearn to re-create them again and again. Working with Matt to create his complete marketing package was just such a dance. Matt was clear, direct and ready to get 'er done from the moment we met, and that we did from start to finish.

Complete Marketing Package
A complete package contains the tools to cover all of the bases in print and web.  Whether you meet someone on the street and pass along your business card, or have a stack of rack cards to place in a display rack, it's great to have the perfect tool for the job.

Creating a sense of elegance on the web is similar to 'getting dressed for the occasion'.  You start by pooling your resources; dress, shoes, and accessories. With any luck, you're dressed to the nines when you step out the door.

On the web, it's the combination of colors, layout, messaging . . . but, most importantly, it's the quality of photos. I often say, "A website builds itself with great photos to work with."

Loren Lukens, nationally known Seattle potter, launches a new website as a online portfolio and a portal for his wholesale distributors. His websites' special features are:

• Slide show on the HOME page
• Click-through tabs for his portfolio on THE WORK page
• Password-protected page for his WHOLESALE folks

How do you bring 'fun' to your brand essence?
Starting with a good set of ingredients makes it that much easier.

I recently worked with Chris and Jennie McDonald, owners of Lifespan Construction, to update the brand for their already-successful company.  A couple of key elements that made all of the difference are:

1. Chris and Jennie are both confident, competent, fun by nature, and willing to 'push the envelope'.
   
2. Their company is up and running and already successful.