My whole family is coming into town this year for Christmas (drawn to what I wonder?) and like many of you I’ll be taking off work to spend time with family.  For that I’ll be unavailable from December 24th – January 1st.

I’ll then jump right back in and be happy to help you finish up some projects and make sure everything is running smoothly.  I will then be taking another break to recharge, work on some personal projects, look at my business over the past 2.5 years, and plan for times ahead.  For that I will be unavailable from January 14th – 20th.

After that I look forward to providing you with more great design service that connects you to your clients!

I hope you have a relaxing and restful holiday break as well.  (Don’t ignore it – You Need a Break)

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From their materials:

More than 5000 people from Wasilla to Walla Walla, have attended the 90 Minute Marketing Workshops and walked away with practical, common sense strategies to help grow their business or organization. In just 90 minutes (that’s a promise) you will learn the basics for writing your own easy-to-use marketing plan and dozens of proven tactics you can take back and put to work immediately. This fast paced, real-world, hands-on  workshop was created especially for small, local businesses and nonprofit organizations that are the backbone of our local economies and communties. For more information and testimonials, please visit www.90minutemarketing.com.

Staying on top of your company’s marketing is more critical now than in times of a booming economy (though you should remember to continue marketing even when things are going well).  With many years in the marketing industry under their belts, the Hokes are sure to present a program to help you find the best ways to promote your company or organization.  You can find more registration information on the Chamber’s website.  I hope to see you at the seminar!

Or, read one of these:

1. A New Site for Apt
2. The 2011 Apt Design Ebook – Creating Work/Life Balance
3. Apt Nominated for Business of the Year

On another note, following my rereading of Cameron Moll‘s old but good post at A List Apart (Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign), I am making some slight updates to the site.  You may notice a higher-contrast color scheme and a new menu that emphasizes the pages my visitors come for most.  If you have any feedback, leave a comment.

See you on Twitter!

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my Passion Project is a community-written blog that allows visitors to share with the world what they love to do – quickly, easily and for free!

A Passion Project is what you spend your extra time, money and effort on.  Something you love to do.  It may be a hobby, a collection, or a creation, but whatever it is you absolutely love doing it.  Sharing it with the world on myPassionProject.com can be rewarding, empowering and fun.

I have been working on my Passion Project for the past few months, incubating it from concept to fully-formed idea to an actual website.  I have had a blast designing it, developing it, and dreaming of its future possibilities.  It has certainly become my Passion Project and I’m happy to finally let everyone see it.

There are already some amazing posts over on the site, so go check it out and be sure to leave some comments or submit something yourself!

Or, read one of these:

1. New Project Ahead

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Or, if your tastes tend towards the dark and fiery, there’s this one:

Or, read one of these:

1. Ornamental Wallpaper
2. Forgiveness Desktop Wallpaper

In the design industry, as in more and more professions these days, geography is no longer a limiting factor in working with clients. Apt has already worked with clients across the country and around the world, but now we are trying something a little different. For the past week we have relocated the office to Northwest Arkansas, part vacation, part experiment in working from anywhere. With a laptop and cell phone, neither we nor any of our clients can tell much of a difference.

This is an increasingly popular way to do business. Freelancer designer and writer Skellie has a blog devoted to this entire issue.  Her website Anywired shares stories and gives advice to those looking to have a completely mobile office.

The office of now

Why not try something different today? Get out of the office, take your laptop to a coffee shop or a park, and enjoy the freedom of working from anywhere. If you can’t necessarily move your workspace, find a way to get creative and do things a little different. Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

Or, read one of these:

1. Working with a Team

we’re finishing up a few projects and starting some cool new stuff as well. there is ongoing work that’s keeping us busy, and there is the ever-present challenge to make sure we’re getting maintaining a healthy work/life balance and getting enough time outdoors.

so keep checking back for looks at completed projects, word on apt design’s new target market, and information about how to make your business better.

until then we lift a cup of coffee in your direction and say, “carry on.”

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let us know: have you seen an impact on your business due to being in a publication?

Or, read one of these:

1. Apt Design Co-Sponsors Seminar
2. gee whiz: a movie premiere
3. New Projects: Wenatchee Valley Chamber and AP College Football

Spending a little time on creativity is almost never bad, and today we’ve spent some time creating (from scratch) this wallpaper for you desktop’s background. Go ahead, download and enjoy! A{readmore}nd don’t say we never gave you anything.

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Or, read one of these:

1. Creativity Wallpaper
2. Forgiveness Desktop Wallpaper
3. How to Easily Create Your own Stunning Desktop

1. the 24″ imac with 2 GB of RAM has arrived, and its bigger than you would even think. inside is adobe creative suite 3 – the latest industry standard for all graphic and web design work. this mac flows along with incredible speed and looks absolutely gorgeous.
2. out in front, a 9″ x 12″ wacom tablet. i write and draw left handed and this tool has become indespensable to my creative work. it seriously doubles effeciency and aids in everything from file management to illustration.
3. a full-color brother laser printer. though this is definitely necessary for full color proofs and some letters, i’ve been amazed at how little paper i have used so far. very close to a paperless office.
4. speakers for one of the most important parts of good design – great music. working from home gives you the great opportunity to crank up the music and zone into a project.
5. a creative wall for inspiration.
6. a better view than i’ve had at any other job. currently watching apples in the orchard ripen. watch for more ‘views out the office window’.

over in the corner – my companion throughout the work day (though she mostly just sleeps and makes me do all the work) – mocha. she is always ready to go out for a game of catch.

so, now “This battleship is fully operational,” and the option of commenting on my blog posts exists, so let me know – what do you think?

Or, read one of these:

1. Working from Anywhere