I have mentioned in the past how I am the reluctant blogger, I despise the term it sounds like a blase jogger–blah-ger, (you must read that like a bored teenager), but since I have yet to coin a more clever term, I do suppose it would be the most relevant descriptive of what it is I do here. When I was working on this re-design I knew I wanted the site/blog to have more functionality. I also knew that I wanted it to become a resource/destination/repository for creative information. I don’t usually visit blogs on a regular basis (I am already prone to procrastination), I say my ‘hello’s’, ‘how are you’s’ and ‘don’t you look pretty today’ via Instagram and Twitter. When I am on line I am looking something up that I want to learn (which is always a laundry list long). For inspiration I will head on over to Pinterest or Flickr, if I am having a particularly sleepless night I will use my Stumble Upon plug-in which will ensure hours of more sleeplessness. So, what I realized is I really wanted to create a space that I would want to visit where I could learn something new, where it would be easy for me to find what it is I am looking for instead of searching through hundreds of archived posts. I have created The Directory | An A-Z Compendium of Creative Resources which will enable you to (hopefully) easily find supplies I mention (like nibs, brushes, camera equipment, props, etc.) books, classes/workshops, designers and much more. I am still working on it so it will be a work in progress. I will always be open to suggestions so feel free to let me know if you think I should be adding something. Downloads are now available in a gallery format and soon the DIY + Tutorials will be too. I know in the past I have sort of been working on the ‘junk drawer of blogs’ methodology wherein I have just put in anything and everything and call it a post. I am hoping that this year I can make it more organized here for both you and myself. I have narrowed down some topics that I want to cover on a regular basis, you can find them under ‘features’ both below my shop graphic and in the top navigation drop down. I will continue to do giveaways which will fall under Bestow (thanks to Jen for that sweet name), Hand Lettering will be interviews + introductions with lettering artists, tips + tricks, and of course my continued commentary on my journey with this endeavor. The Curator will be my feature on Pinterest Curators that I admire and hopefully get a chance to introduce you to for the first time (so I don’t have to be deep in my Pin addiction alone). I do plan to do a once a month ‘week of” which I am tentatively calling ‘Theme’ because see the first sentence, I am obviously not great at coining words. I think Foto, DIY and Tutorials are pretty much self explanatory. I plan to try to rev up the beauty quips here as my obsession has hit a fever pitch. Unlike most creative individuals I do very well with a little structure in my life, the more ‘loosey goosey’ (technical term) my process is the more apt I am to procrastinate, so my hope is that this newly organized plan makes for a spot on the interwebs that is the equivalent of finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow on beams of sunshine and butterfly wings (or something like that).
And lastly, my ultimate goal is to feel like I am having a conversation with you while you are here instead of me sitting up here flapping your eyeballs off or talking to myself. So what do you think? Does it sound like a good plan? Is the site easy for you to navigate? Any suggestions to improve it? Or are you in a tizzy because I changed?
P.S. I have photographs of Gus the Polar Bear (by moi) up today in honor of my stats which denotes the most searched word to find this here (new) blog is–Polar bear. Random? Indeed…
Author / Miss Tristan B
Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She loves (like wants to marry) Photoshop and also enjoys taking a photo or two. She recently moved from the city to the country with her husband and two pups.
I am sure a lot of you that are calligraphy/lettering enthusiasts are aware of Maybelle Imasa-Stuklus. In this niche world of lettering she is considered the ‘creme de la creme‘ of lettering artists. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Sunset magazine, Victoria magazine, too many blogs to list and she’s even had her own beautiful project with Chronicle Books. I have had the immense pleasure to get to know Maybelle a little bit over the past month and I can attest that she is as kind as she is talented. It’s very refreshing to ‘meet’ someone (albeit virtually) that is as great as you have imagined they might be. I am hoping that Maybelle will be inclined to let me interview her for a future post so if you have specific questions you want me to ask her, you may want to leave them in the comments (I know I have a boat load I want to ask her). I wanted to feature Maybelle today for all the lucky people that are on the West Coast, specifically Northern California as Maybelle is teaching at the newly launched Makeshift Society a course she developed called Calligraphy in the 21st Century. If you have been wanting to dabble in this discipline and you are in the area then I highly suggest you jump at this unique opportunity. Oh, how I wish that I could be there!
