One Green Butterfly

Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking up ideas for non-existent companies. It's a strange thing, I know... Inspired by the Toymaker in my previous post I have decided to start trying to find these ideas a home.

One Green Butterfly is an idea I have for an eco company. The background behind the name & logo goes to the Butterfly Theory that suggests movements as small as the flapping of a butterfly's wings can create momentum that eventually builds up enough force to change the weather patterns around the world.

One Green Butterfly is the idea that small changes we make ecologically can make a big impact over time. I created this logo and have the URL onegreenbutterfly.com to go with it. It'd be a great logo & url combo for an eco or green blog, market, magazine, gift shop, etc...

The butterfly icon is made from a 1, g, & b... can you see it? The icon and the typography is clean, simple, and fresh... just the way an eco company should be, right?

I am GIVING away this logo and URL to someone who would like to use it. If you know anyone who has wanted to start a business such as suggested, pass this info on. If you are interested in obtaining this logo and url combo, please leave a comment below. If there ends up being more than one interested party, I'll use random.org to pick a winner. If no one is interested, c'est la vie... moving on to the next idea.

I've decided to do this on a regular basis. I have LOTS of unused ideas... So, if you want to be informed of these giveaways and other freebies, sign up for my RSS feed. Please sign up for my mailing list in the sidebar below, too. I'll be sending out advance notice to the mailing list before I put them on the blog as well as giving extra freebies to the list from time to time.

UPDATE: I'll pick a winner on Friday, Feb. 6, 2009. If no one has entered by then, it'll be the next Friday and so on after that- doing the giveaways in weekly intervals. Thanks!

Get Some Ganas

I came across an inspiring ezine today. Get a Life! published by Pamela Stewart of Ganas Consulting. FYI - ganas is a spanish word meaning an intense drive to do something, inner motivation, exuberance, drive... There is a great interview there with Marilyn Scott-Waters, The Toymaker. If you've never been to the Toymaker site, you are in for a treat. You can download and print hundreds of toy patterns to make with paper. I found the interview with Marilyn really inspiring.


To summarize, Marilyn decided to use her Ganas for good and started up the Toymaker site. Success has followed more abundantly than when she was trying to fit into a mold not created for her. She gives these tips to finding your path:

1. Tap into creative work that you adore. Are you doing something because everyone else does? Offering or not offering a service because of others beliefs? What would you do if you could do anything?
2. Beware of "shadow careers" -careers that are close to what you should or want to be doing but just are not there yet. Like being an art dealer instead of an artist yourself or working in a publishing house instead of writing.
3. Test out your products or services by offering them for free for awhile. She has had success with this on her Toymaker site.
4. Create a clear intention and make it happen. Write a mantra that you repeat over and over to yourself. Work on goals to put your plan into action.
5. Start small and rely on social marketing. She started by sending out a few emails with links to friends.

Great tips on finding what you love and then making it successful. To read the whole article click [HERE].

What in the CPSIA?

Remember the big lead paint scare on toys last year? Congress passed a law in August 2008 to protect us. However, now every item made for children under 12 years old has to undergo strict and expensive testing, labeling, and other things in order to pass safety regulations.

Why isn't this a good thing? Because of the expense and rules of the testing, large companies will be able to absorb the costs of these new regulations and pass them on to the end user. But individual crafters, artists, and shop owners most likely won't be able to afford the testing and will have to close up shop.

Say goodbye to local & handmade goods. Thrift shops, libraries, consignments stores... all included. Goodbye cool and unique stuff for kids. Goodbye vintage. Goodbye MONEY. This has ALREADY passed and goes into effect Feb. 10th 2009.

If you want to find out more and read what you can do, Sarah Jane has posted a comprehensive list on her blog. You can read it [HERE].

UPDATE: Just learned today 1/30/09 that the CPSIA has been suspended for a year! Yeah!

Just goes to show you

Do you know what these pretty beads are made of? The insides of security envelopes! Just goes to show you beauty can be found in unexpected places. Love it! I'm inspired. I think I'll have to start looking at envelopes a little closer.

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Fifty People One Question

Want a glimpse into the lives of strangers? I love these short films by Crush + Lovely. Check out this one filmed in New York. For more questions and locations visit the website [HERE]. You can leave your own response to the question on their site.

Briar Press

 

Did you know Briar Press has free ornaments for download? Free for personal use, I can see some valentines projects in my future...

Font Squirrel: hand picked free fonts

 

Font Squirrel is a new free font site. All the fonts featured are hand selected for quality & free for commercial use--so. cool. Check them out [HERE].


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The Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a carefully worded & short description of your business. Something you'd give to someone in the time it takes to ride the elevator- although you'll use it a lot more places! This is important to create because if forces you to get down to the basics of your business plan and be able to describe it to anyone.

Want to learn how to write one? Check out this [article] for extra help.

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The Logo Test

What makes a great logo? Here are three things to consider when designing a logo. Put your logo to the test, how does it hold up?

1. Simple- Can you photocopy your logo in black and white and still read it correctly? Can you make a black only version and have it still work? Is it adaptable to all types of applications- print, web, embroidery even?

2.  Scalable- How does your logo look really small and really big? How about upside down? Check all angles to avoid embarrassing secondary images that may come across. 

3.  Unique- Does your logo stand apart from a page of text? Is it memorable? Does it portray your company in it's best light? Is your logo relevant but not obvious? My favorite logos are the ones that keep you coming back for more.  For my non-designer friends, check out the FedEx logo... do you see the arrow in between the E and X- the arrow representing movement & direction- cool,  huh?

So how'd your logo do?


FedEx logo designed by Lindon Leader.

And the winner is...

Yeah, you win the mushroom cardset! Thanks for entering! Email me your address and I'll get them in the mail.

Alltop

Have you heard about Alltop? A cool service that finds the top websites and blogs on just about every subject you could be interested in. It gives you the last five headlines for each site and if you hover over the title, a synopsis of the story. Watch the video and check it out!

Retro Cardset Giveaway

 

Not sure what "Velvetone screen printing" is, and how it's different from regular screen printing, but these two sets of notecards are printed this way.  They are originally from a company here in SLC called Pembroke Co. I assume these were printed sometime in the sixties or seventies? They remind me of a canister set my mom owned.

The orginal price tag is still on the box and says 1.25. They come with the original envelopes & have about 10 cards per set. If you want these beauties, just enter a comment. I'll pick a winner on Monday.

3 Lessons from a Startup that Moved on

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to open my own online retail shop. With my sister-in-law as my partner in crime, we put in three years of hard work trying to grow the business- a home decor & gift shop. We recently passed it on to someone else to run. It's changed so much, it's really now a different company than the one we set out to create.

We made a lot of mistakes but we did some things right too. I call it my business school 101. Here are the top three lessons I took away from that experience:

1. Start Small: I didn't realize it at the time, but we started out way too big. We bought inventory we didn't have room to store, bought services we didn't need, and tried to be all things to all people. We tried to make our company sound and look bigger than it was with only the two of us running it. It was too much. My advice to anyone is start as small as you can. Look for the smallest level of online service you need such as Etsy, Ecrater, Artfire, Big Cartel, or other selling hosts. Paypal even has a feature to put a Buy Now button on your blog. Let your customers know who you are- don't try to be a big corporation when it's just you. Keep your operations simple.

2. Start Smart: Take the time to do the background work. Research your business model, write a plan, read books, do market research. Take the time to get your legal stuff squared away before you start. As my dad always says, "split the watermelon patch before you plant the seeds." In other words, be really clear and open with all parties involved. Make sure everyone is in agreement and on the same page with everything before the first sale is ever made. Make sure all the agreements and documents have been signed & filed. Get involved with the business community and find out if there are resources that you could access. Check out Startup Princess for some great information (and fun events).

3. Start Right: Don't just start a business, create a brand. If that sounds like it contradicts number one, it doesn't. I think you can start small but still have a killer image. Make sure you've got a great name, effective & memorable logo, and that you extend your brand message into all areas that will effect your customers. I recently ordered a sketch book from another designer Cathe Holden. The way the order came was consistant with her brand and made a great impression. She could have just put the book in a mailer, sent it off, and called it a day. But she took the extra effort to make sure that her custom stamp was on the package, her business card attached, and a hand written note inside. It's the extras that really stand out and make a difference.

I'd recommend starting a company to anyone, just for the education involved if nothing else. It opened my eyes to possiblities I hadn't even considered. I am a different person because of this experience. Even though the store wasn't a grand success, it wasn't a horrible failure either. I am not afraid to try things in business or get involved where I wouldn't have before. Good luck to anyone thinking of starting something on your own. I'll be cheering for you! As for me, I'm taking my own advice and continuing on this entrepreneurial journey.

iDesign Thinking

I found the iDesign Thinking site when doing a mini design school for my son's 5th grade class. Although it's intended for children, I think it's great info for all ages. Check it out [HERE].

Inkscape & Cricut

Vector art uses points, lines, and curves to create the image, while raster art uses pixels to display the image. Illustrator is a vector application while Photoshop is a raster application.

I use Illustrator 80% of the time when designing logos and other graphics. So for those of you without Illustrator, try Inkscape. Inkscape is a free vector drawing program available [HERE].

Try creating some vector art for your Cricut. I don't have one, but I've heard you can create your own vector files and use software called "Sure cuts a lot" to bring it into Cricut allowing you to create and then cut your own designs. I might have to get a Cricut just for that. . . sounds DIY cool.

Come on, try a reader?

This may be old news for some of you but for those of you know don't know. . . feed readers or are awesome! Why? Any blog or website with an feed can be imported into the reader. So instead of keeping a blog roll or bookmarks and clicking from blog to blog to see who's blogged and read their posts, it all comes to one place- your reader account. Since my reader is web based, I can read all your lovely blogs from anywhere- even my phone.

I use Google Reader and I love it but there are a lot of other versions. Click [HERE] for a list. In the Google reader, there are a lot of shortcut keystrokes that you can use to move from post to post without scrolling, mark the post in a favorites files, share and email the post. . . check it out!

UPDATE: Here's a few great tips for starting out w/ google reader from Google.  Check out their tutorial page [HERE].