Brand Design Photography & Styling Clarity Consulting

Lesson Learned: We're all faking it

What a whirlwind of a weekend. I just got back from a trip to Palm Springs where I attended a designer retreat with 50 other creative like-minded women. I’ll be honest and say that the trip was really exhausting, mostly mentally. For me, I felt like I had to constantly be networking to make use of the opportunity in front of me… this meant I was basically talking with new people for 4 days straight. Whew!

This trip was extremely helpful in making me realize something REALLY important. I found out through honest conversations that all of us ladies felt like we were faking it. We all had really no idea what we were doing with our creative careers and that we are all flying by the seat of our pants. After making this realization there was this wave of comfort that covered the entire room of participants.

Whether you are just starting out in the freelance world, creating a business from the ground up, or chugging through your day job…we’re all faking it. Knowing this equals the playing field and gave me a new sense of confidence to keep going…to keep figuring things out as I go and pursuing my dreams.

I’ll be back to talk about more tactical things I learned at the retreat, but the biggest and most comforting take away is that we are all faking it!

Studio Hours: My Childhood Rock Collection





Hello lovelies! While I’m away in Palm Springs, I thought I’d share something near and dear to my heart – my childhood rock collection. When I went “home” (back to Indiana) to visit family this past August, I was tasked to go through my childhood room and clear out anything valuable because my parents were selling the house. Because I didn’t want to lose anything to my dad “the hurricane throw-awayer”, I did just that.

As a kid, I was ALWAYS picking up rocks and couldn’t leave the store, Natural Wonders in the mall, without a new rock to add to the collection. I’d also frequently snag some glowing stars for my ceiling, a constellation lamp, or a tube of candy bubbles. That store was magical and I’ll always cherish my memories in that store. Maybe I was an Geologist in my past life…or maybe my next. And one thing I know for a fact is that I was supposed to be a storm chaser in this life. 😉

 (more from my studio)

Veda News: Off To Palm Springs (DesignerVACA)

Today I’m packing my bags and flying (on a super early flight) to Palm Springs to spend the weekend with 50 other designers, bloggers & creative females at the lovely Ace Hotel. Whoa!!! Last year’s event (only 20 girls) was such a success that the entire event has been re-structed to accommodate more people. The idea is exciting.

The event is structured like this –> meet great people over shared meals, connect over shared experiences, lay around by the pool, attend really laid back Q&A sessions, explore palm springs, hang out on the Ace Hotel grounds and much more.

I’m not going to lie. I remember coming back from the event last year feeling 100% overwhelmed by the amount of information I had gathered. I was comparing my successes to all the other girls and the pressure was on. At that point in my career I hadn’t left the agency life yet and was feeling frustrated and feeling stuck. This year (now fully engaged with freelance life) I have a new sense of adventure and determination to gather information.

Like I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago called Business Travel, I really don’t like the whole traveling process. Fortunately I’ll have a really awesome pool and palm trees waiting for me and not to mention miss Jane Riley waiting for me in the Phoenix airport 🙂

(read up on DesignerVaca)

Recent Work: Veda House Portfolio Update



Wahoo! It’s finally complete.

You know…Portfolio updates are a bit overwhelming and usually get pushed to the side or to the bottom of the list until you feel absolutely awful. That’s what happened. It had been a good 1.5 years since I even logged into Cargo Collective (where my portfolio is hosted), and now I’ve got a whole new space for you to browse.

Yes, the updating process was daunting and took me about an entire day, but luckily Cargo Collective is a SUPER user-friendly interface to use. If you know a little bit about editing CSS, your possibilities are nearly endless. I’d suggest this platform for anyone looking for an easy to update – easy on the eyes way to display your work.

If you’re looking for a designer, shoot me an email. You can learn a little more about me —> here

(view Portfolio now)

Inspired By: Adaism Shop Mobiles

The Caligrafica Mobiles by Adaism shop are really lovely. I love how delicate they are and how natural textures/colors are incorporated. The DIY side of me wants to see if I can make one myself with some images and textures that are currently inspiring me. Wouldn’t it be neat to have one of these in your home office. It’s like a 3D mood board!

(shop mobiles)

Notables No. 31

Wow! What a whirlwind of a week last week. I’m crossing my fingers for a little slower week this week and ending the week in Palm Springs, California for a designer retreat with some really talented gals (more on that later). I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends!

Notables This Week:

1.  Something about this photo
2.  A beautiful Mediterranean home
3.  Lovely large-scale pottery
4.  Concept store in Amsterdam
5.  Awesome table styling

6.  Aren’t these chairs amazing!
7.  Stack and stacks of beautiful dishes
8.  Inside Jessica Comingore’s home
9.  A maker series via Bleubird Vintage

Inspired By: Tanks @ Zara (Fall 2013)



With the changing seasons, I find myself thinking about fashion in ways that I don’t usually do DURING the season. When the “I need some new clothes” bug hits me, I usually stop by Zara Online first. There are lot more information about fashion trends available at UrbanBurger.

I love the simplicity of the site and everything I’ve ever gotten from there has been well constructed and made of fine materials. I also love how they present each item. Each item is shown on & off the model in unique ways. Well kinlyeyebeauty can guide you more about this to have a  good dressing style. Nothing is over posed and nothing feels forced. You can follow Butterfly Releases to know latest trends.

Do you guys have changing seasons shopping tendencies? Wouldn’t these little strappy tanks be perfect for laying in cooler weather!

(Shop ZARA online)

Lesson Learned: The Power of Getting Knocked Down

Today, I’m going to jabber on about the “power” of getting knocked down. There will inevitably be times in your personal life and career where you feel like all the forces of the universe are working against you. Everything tends to snowball into a confusing mess and a solution seems to be nowhere in sight. I think I just got through one of “those” periods of time (again), or at least I’m making my way out.

When you lose your job, a favorite client, or an exciting project, it can feel like a REALLY big deal. It can feel like you’ve failed big time and recovering might just be harder than wallowing forever.

Here’s the thing that I’ve learned and am still trying to grasp. Losing something that you have grown attached to and really comfortable with is one of the best things that can happen to you. You’ll be forced to step outside your little bubble and look at the bigger picture. You’ll be forced to sit down, breath and actually refocus your energy. And quite possibly…you’ll have a regained freedom that you never had before. Maybe losing that job, that client, that project is exactly what you needed to grow. It’s almost like you now have permission to keep exploring!

( sculpture photo )

Inspired By: DIY Projects To Try


I wanted to thank everyone for the sincere comments yesterday. You guys made “launch day” really special, so Thanks!

On another note, I’ve always been a big DIY-er, especially when I find myself with a little extra down time. I’d always prefer to try and make something rather than spending the money on it. I’ve got a whole Pinterest board dedicated to a few DIYs I’d like to try in the future.

The DIY projects above are a few I’ve been eyeing recently. I love how simple each one is, but how much of an impact you get with the result. Most of them use very limited materials, so I’m assuming the cost to complete them is minimal.

Have you guys been thinking about tackling any DIYs recently. I’d love to see what you have in mind!

(project 1, project 2, project 3)

Recent Work: Veda House Facelift + Business Cards


Oh boy! This has been a LONG time coming. It was exactly a year ago that I was sitting at my computer pinning images to use as inspiration for a brand redesign for Veda House. At that point, Veda House was 2.5 years old and steadily growing. I felt the need to spice things up with a whole new look and feel, but had no idea what that meant visually.

One whole year later…and a lot of soul searching for my brand, I’ve been able to establish a look that is 100% me and what I do with Veda House. I feel like this was a real test in my patience, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. I’m excited to finally have a fresh space to share ideas in and connect with my loyal readers. Getting to know you guys has been a truly rewarding experience.

With the help of Melinda R, I’ve been able to bring this new design to life. Melinda was searching for an opportunity to grow her knowledge base about WordPress specific websites/blogs and I was looking for a developer who was eager to help me. I also worked with Breanna Rose to fine tune a lot of the smaller details. Big thanks to both ladies!

For Melinda’s rates & availability —> hello@melindarubaniuk.com
For Breanna’s rates & availability —> imbreannarose@gmail.com

(view MOO site, watch how they make them)

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