Retro Redo: A #Brand New Space for Evolve Media Austin

At The Vintage Laundry we believe in being aggressively colorful.  We know that the colors we choose to surround ourselves with reflect our style and kind of become a signature of sorts.  We firmly believe that color can affect our emotions.  So, when choosing a color palette, we think about the mood that we want to create … Do we want to feel reflective and peaceful?  Or do we want to feel energized and happy?  

During our collaboration with evolve media on their interior design branding, we decided to choose not only a representative corporate color palette but a collection of patterns that speak for their company, as well.  As evolve media has worked with me to rebrand my existing website, I have been impressed by many things, but a few of their most arresting characteristics are how creative, ambitious, and spectacularly focused these young women are on increasing my company's visibility online.  Their knowledge of social marketing and branding accompanied by metric tons of enthusiastic energy is, I'm happy to report, contagious!  The branded decor path that we have chosen for evolve media has resulted in  an interior design aesthetics that has broken out into stripes and chevrons with spots of gold!

The only prescription we can think of is to make two Pinterest posts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram and make sure to get plenty of tweets and share our designs on tumblr.

Retro Redo: Mid Century Credenza

Recently, I had the pleasure of hiring the marvelously talented women of Evolve Media in Austin to help me brand my website, boost my social media marketing, and increase my search engine visibility.  Evolve Media's principal, Morgan Avary, and her marketing director, Shelley Schmidt, have analyzed my existing website, researched my niche in the vintage and antique industry, and have developed a two-part branding plan that will be implemented and launched within the next couple of weeks.  "Excited" really doesn't fully cover my enthusiasm and anticipation for this "strategies implementation!"  And, as if that wasn't enough, my company and I have had the added bonus of working together with Evolve Media in an interior design collaboration that will, in essense, brand Evolve Media from the inside out! This finished project is to serve as an example of how they create brand identities for their clients.  The plan is to take their company's color palette and implement it within their interior design.  This will further cement their corporate identity and serve as an example of just how far a business can take its branding strategies.

So, without further adieu, it's time for a little show and tell from the last few days of our collaboration. We started with a mid-century credenza that Miss Avary purchased from The Vintage Laundry's Prime Time Custom Collection. As it happens, my client is crazy for turquoise, and as a matter of fact, it is one of the hues in her company's corporate identity color scheme . . . so, of course, we had to use it on the credenza.

Some paint, a smooth surface roller, a drop cloth, an hour and a couple of creative minds, and Voila!, a stunning, totally reworked vintage credenza, ready to serve as their coffee bar in their common room.

Make sure and check back frequently to see the progress we are making on this venture!

My Very Own Marathon Man

 Me and my boy at a birthday party in 1996, all dressed

 up like hippies.  What a cutie!

All of us, at one time or another, have had to overcome adversity, and I'm here to tell ya I'm no exception.  Over the past year my little family, my son specifically, has been challenged with a personal trauma.  And in a rare display of restraint, I will give him his privacy and not disclose what that has been, but proudly tell you that he has worked diligently and triumphed in his struggle.

My son is a good and noble man and I am and always have been so very proud of all he is, has done and aspires to do.  So, to have witnessed his world being brought down around him these past twelve months has shattered my sense of reality.   I've watched as he was pummeled by a debilitating condition and stood by proudly astonished as he has picked up the pieces and once again found his greatness.  He has exhibited and I've witnessed the marathon of inner fortitude it has required for him to overcome his trials and tribulations.  

Words fail me when it comes to expressing my pride and admiration, so, I've decided to train for and complete a marathon.  I want it to be a symbol for this past year that my son has had … kind of dedicating the run to him and all of the hard work he has done this past year getting through to the other side of his tribulations.

His suffering has helped the whole family learn how to cope with adversity and rise above it. And because I'm me and I have to make a story or document everything in this blog, here are some things that my son has taught me . . . things that I think I can physically express and learn from through running a marathon:

A. He was willing to change himself. Marathon training will require a new schedule, new priorities, new diet, and a new way of looking at life. His survival through this trauma required that he not only be open to change but that he celebrate that change.  I'll try my best Noey! 

B. His recovery happened one step at a time. I cannot become a marathon runner overnight. It will take patience, time and a step-wise process to train my body to perform and run 26.2 miles.  There was no instant gratification for you, Noey, and there will be none for me.  

C. No guarantees.  Training for a marathon, like surviving diversity, is never a sure thing. There are no guarantees that I will make it all the way to the race or be able to finish it after starting, but Noey has taught me that the possibility of failure should not be a deterrent. Noah has been able to stay true to his goal, even when there was no certainty of getting to the other side, all habits that I will take with me into the training process . . . 

D. Noah's comfort was revoked by his commitment.  I may have to endure injuries or failure on my path toward completion of this run but I will learn from my son's example that success requires discipline and focus.   I've been doing a lot of research on this topic and have read that marathon training is all about learning how to manage suffering to enhance strength and endurance.  Again I will draw on my son's example of not running away from suffering.

When this event fell upon our family,  it was difficult for us to take in the larger picture, to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but somehow we've survived. I would have thought that this event in my son's life would have crushed him, but, in the end, it has brought out the strength and sweetness that he has always carried inside.  I'm so grateful to all of our dear friends and family for all of the support and love that you have shown us through this terrible time . . . may God bless you all. 

So, like the grapes that make up a fine wine, Noah has accepted the crushing force that entered his life a year ago, allowed himself to be broken, and emerged from the process a new man, stronger and more marvelous than he was before.  

I applaud you my darlin' boy and I dedicate this venture into a marathon run to you and all of the hard work you have done . . . I love you more than words can say.