Courses > amy a la mode

Vintage Store Branding

Posted by Amy on February 21st, 2011

Happy Monday, everyone!

The giant Stitches West convention was in town over the weekend, and between going to the convention to check out the yarn and working extra long hours at our busy shop over the weekend, I’m pooped!

So, to entertain you this Monday morning, I thought I’d show you the most recent homework assignment from my graphic design class. We had to make up some kind of store, give it a name, make up a logo, and then design business cards, letterhead, and envelope.

I made up a vintage shop called ReStore. I had a lot of fun working on this corporate identity and giving it a really retro vibe!

My Apparent Addiction to PNCA

Posted by Amy on February 16th, 2011

Guess what, my blog friends? It’s Summer of Making time again at PNCA! And this time, it’s a block printing, stenciling, and screenprinting extravaganza with Lizzie House.

You better believe I signed up for this class! This is an early start to the Summer of Making, because this class is March 25-27.

The first year of the Summer of Making I took the Improvisational Patchwork class with Denyse Schmidt. Last year, I took the Fabric Design class with Heather Ross.

I find these classes really fabulous and inspirational. It’s wonderful to immerse yourself completely in a creative endeavor for three days with no worries about anything else. And you meet some great and fabulous people in these small classes. This one promises to be filled with all kinds of fabulously messy, hands-on art-making! And on top of that, PNCA is located in the heart of Portland, which is a fabulous and inspirational place to be!

I didn’t manage to talk anyone I knew into showing up with me last year, but I’m not above trying again. So, anyone else out there tempted??? Register here!

Logo Design

Posted by Amy on February 7th, 2011

Our latest assignment for the graphic design class I’m taking was to design a logo, with both black & white and color versions.

We could choose any real business we wanted. I had a real urge to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what a good choice might be, and then decided that, hey, in the real world you don’t usually get to choose!

So, I picked the Bobbin’s Nest where I work. Not because I think we need a new logo, but because it came to mind readily and wasn’t like trying to redo one of the best logos ever created, like the FedEx logo (so say all the graphic design books — have you seen the arrow between the “E” and the “x”? I never saw it until it was mentioned in one of my design classes).

So, without further ado, here’s what I came up with.

Whatta ya think?

Magazine Layouts for Graphic Design

Posted by Amy on January 26th, 2011

My graphic design class this quarter is going swimmingly so far. We spent the first couple of weeks working on magazine layouts.

I chose San Francisco magazine (which I’m guessing most of you have never seen unless you live in the Bay Area!). And I decided that I wanted to do a layout on Fort Point*. For the assignment we had to do three two-page spreads — one “formal”, one “playful”, and one “edgy”.

Formal

Playful

Edgy

And I’m very excited that the instructor has recommended my initial thumbnail sketches for the layouts to the rest of the students in the class as an example of excellent work! Woot!

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be working on a logo design assignment, which sounds like it’s going to be pretty fun as well. I’m definitely enjoying this class so far!

* Incidentally, if you haven’t been to Fort Point, I highly recommend it. It’s in such a cool spot just under city side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Posted by Amy on January 6th, 2011

It’s a new year here at amy a la mode. And I’m guessing it’s a new year for you as well, wherever you are.

The new year always creates an urge in me to clear out all the stuff lying around. The stuff in the closets. The stuff in the pantry. The stuff in my brain.

You know that stuff.

It’s that stuff that weighs us down and keeps us from making forward progress. Which is why I’m choosing not to do any kind of retrospective this year on the blog. No looking back at the projects I’ve undertaken or the new skills I’ve learned. No counting off my accomplishments (or failures).

I’m looking forward to what’s ahead, instead of looking behind me.

I’m going to be trying some new things for my business in 2011. After sitting down and running some numbers (now that I have some numbers I can run), I’ve decided that the main focus of my business can not be selling quilts. I would still love to sell quilts. But the current business model is not going to pay any bills around here.

While I do still plan to make quilts, I’m planning a shift in my focus that will hopefully be more lucrative and more productive.

1. Quilt patterns

I’ve had some inquiries about my quilts and whether I would consider making patterns. You know what? I think I will. More about this soon.

2. Small quilts

I’m planning to try out some smaller quilts that will come in at a lower price point to see if there is a better market for these.

3. Web design

Did I tell you that I created a web site in December? Check out Yellow Dog Pet Care. I’d like to come up with a business model for doing web design for small businesses at affordable prices. I think there is a real market need for that out there.

4. Fabric design

I have been really wanting to get back to this since the Heather Ross class last summer in Portland, and I got a Wacom Intuos4 tablet for Christmas, so now’s the time to think about working on that some more.

5. Teaching

I’ve always loved teaching, and I’m thinking about ways I might be able to do some teaching in more places than just at Bobbin’s Nest. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Plus, I’m only taking one course this quarter (Graphic Design Studio II) in hopes that I don’t feel like so much of my spare time is sucked up by homework.

Last, but not least…

…I would love for my blog to be more of a place of inspiration for both you and me, and less of a record of the projects I’ve completed (though I’ll definitely still be showing you these!).

So, I’ll continue pondering how I’m going to achieve all of these things, and in the meantime, I hope all of your new years are getting off to a good start.

As for me, I started it off by sending my father’s quilt for hand quilting by a lovely Amish woman. Though I would have loved to have done it myself, I am content knowing that I have realistically assessed the situation and that it will be quilted beautifully. I’ll be satisfied with doing the binding.