At my age, almost every female I know has given birth, is on the way to giving birth to a second OR third child, or has a baby bun in the oven. I’ve never really been a part of that clique’, but I’ve truly enjoyed many a friends “littles” running around-preferably in a park or at the beach, and not in my formal dining room around my Swarovski crystal candle holders, or my fresh peonie centerpiece that I arranged/rearranged 500 times to get just right. I’ve always wondered what it was like to care, incubate, love and nourish another being, another form -to watch and feel it grow from a tiny little spec, into something that you could never imagine would get that big. YOU are it’s only source of life to give life. How and what and when all matters. Timing, time spent, time put in, blood, sweat, tears, love, anger, sadness, fear, insecurity, happiness, excitement, overwhelming shock, anxiety, mind racing thoughts, pushing through, feeling like “I just want it out already!”…some of these things sound very familiar to what my dear friends have shared with me over pickles and ice cream ( and a glass of Champs for me of course!) The more I spoke to them, the more I realized ..we’ll damm..I’m having a baby too!! I mean obviously I was still the same size, barely sliding into my Herv Leger bandage dress ( uhhh..that dang charcuterie)- but I mean all of those same emotions, the crazy rollercoaster – I was on it too, but my “bun in the oven”  was a “brand in the oven,” – a company, a new breath of fresh air into the only baby I’ve ever know or wanted..my business. My due date came and went, I was told many many things to speed things up. So many friends and family kept asking ” when’s it coming, where is it, aren’t you overdue?” I wanted to “give birth”  I really really did, but I was scared. Did i do it all right? Did I forget something? Will it be great or a total mess? Did I nourish it with all of the tools for a new brand to find it’s way, get it’s feet on the ground, open it’s eyes, have a beating heart, take a breath and just say “hello world I’ve arrived!?”

Well- it happened..I let go, stopped making myself crazy, and thanks to my amazing “mid-wife”- the incomparable, uber talented, one of a kind web/brand designer extrodinaire…Fifty Shades of Planning gave birth to the most beautiful, one of a kind, female empowered, timeless, new brands and one of the most extraordinary- NOT ordinary- sites I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t be a more proud mama. Blood, sweat and tears got her here-and she’s just…well just perfect!

She’s the essence of a feeling in print. She’s the feeling of an emotion in digital, and she’s an emotion that I know all fellow creatives alike can relate to.

This brand and custom website has been a year in the making. I’m sure it could have been done in 9 months (making parallels here) but I just wanted more personal time with her in “the nest.” Every thought, vision, (oh and believe me there were hundreds!) random side notes, editing, changes galore, go back, reconfigure, make bigger, “no it’s not this at all” to the “yes it’s perfect” or the “what the hell was I thinking?” -made it’s way down this year of discovery. From a broad mood board, to a stylized font, from copy that went on and on, to not the right color of gold- like EVER-we went through it all. We were in the thick of it all year! I’m not kidding, there wasn’t one day that my designer and I were not communicating, besides the random flu, snow blizzard (yes even in LONDON- global warming ekkk!) or loss of a pet. It was non stop and it was beautiful. The entire process unfolded right in front of me, right inside of me. We started with a thought and a feeling and it just grew and transformed over and over. It just kept evolving and getting better and better. There were times when I looked at our workspace (Shout out to Basecamp- great collaboration working site) and thought..how is it even possible? Five bazillion things swirling, “yes” and “no’s” everywhere,  comments of “not sure” or “not at all”..and it just kept rising to  the top. I guess in a way Louise Ross better known as The Autumn Rabbit, was not just my mid-wife. No, no- she deserves a much bigger title than that…she was my partner in this birth. As the saying goes, it takes two- and I never would have been able to create all of it without her. She was my other half, my better half. The ying to my yang.

Ayyyy, I could go on and on all about it, the brand, the new site,  The Autumn Rabbit,- but for now I’ll leave you with this..

Invest in yourself, your dreams, your passions, and what you always knew was your calling. Go down that path with someone amazing who will teach you more about yourself and what you want for you “baby” more than you could have ever imagined. Someone who will stick with you through thick and thin, your raves and your rants, your tantrums and your joy- cause’ it’s special, and not many people can do and make you even stronger in the end of this extraordinary process. I’ve never known myself more, my company, our vibe, our mission, my love for the business, and the limits and barriers I will push through to always make it the best I know it can be- than after going through this process.

 

And I’ll leave you with this birth quote because this blog is  “about birth”- and it applies…

“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers strong , competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength”– Barbara Katz Rothman, PhD

 

Don’t forget to check out the lady boss herself The Autumn Rabbit –  call her and get to makin’ that BABY!

Ps – Check out our  process below, it’s pretty amazing 🙂

 

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Beginning stages of building a logo

THE MOOD BOARD

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THE LOGO BRANDING BOARD (S)

 

 

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And of course…

THE FINAL PRODUCT,

the beauty of it all..we have this. It’s all I could have dreamed of..

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The Site Design

I can’t tell you how many times we went back and forth on just the intro. I loved all of the designs, it was about figuring which one was the right fit for what the brand was trying to look and convey. First impressions are everything!

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot tell you how many weeks we went back and forth on the right shade of “gold!” So many of the details mattered, but The Autumn Rabbit knew just how to handle my mind swirling..”Let’s come back to it”…which for me was difficult because I’m an “in order” type of personality. She was right..we left it, and when we picked it back up- we found the perfect one!

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This was our amazing workspace – Basecamp! I recommend this site to any creative working with other design professionals. It kept us organized, on timing point, and was filled with checklists- a must for a planner!

 

 

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Another fantastic resource that my designer let me in on – Unsplash, for beautiful high quality free images to insert into certain spaces for the build of the site

 

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Love love LOVE this site as well. Creative Market served as a visual backdrop to many of the backgrounds you see on the site. I bought them in bundles, which gave me so many options to choose from. AND, I can keep using them for different things that span way beyond the site- like marketing materials, trade show backdrops, business cards..the list goes on and on. You have to check them out!

 

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There are many sides to this brand, and so it was important that my logo/logos showed all of that. This is a version of the chic, high end, fashionable, sexy feel of the company.

I love it!

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

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