Lots of great things are happening these days! I got my passport, which I have been wanting for years. If you feel like getting hitched in Jamaica or you want portraits in the Canadian Rockies, I can do that now. Also in this section of entrepreneurial trail, got a new organization tool from House of Flynn that my business has been needing for a long time, and I'm singing the praises of my friend Jill Belgarde.
PASSPORT TO EVERYWHERE
YES! I got my passport. I was surprised at how quickly it came. I applied for it on March 2 and it showed up on the 18th. I didn't even have it expedited. The great thing this means for clients, is that I can now do destination weddings outside of the US. I was first asked to shoot a destination wedding in 2013 in Cabo San Lucas, and started making plans to get my passport. Unfortunately, the couple did not end up marrying, but I was not about to miss that. Today, if someone asked me to shoot a wedding in Cabo (or Cancun, or Jamaica, or Scotland, or South Africa), I would happily sign that contract. Let's go!!
PRODUCT I RECOMMEND
So House of Flynn was introduced to me by Grace Troutman and Kara Vorwald, and I just fell hard in love with this travel wallet. I love the color, and it is big enough for me to store all of my necessities for times when I need to travel on business. Last year, traveling to Design Camp and keeping track of my receipts got to be such a hassle. There is plenty of room for things like important contacts, identification, checkbook, payment cards, cash, passport, etc. It's also thick enough to carry my Moleskine notebook where I take notes on 1 Million Cups presentations and keep track of things I need to do for my business. It also has a small pouch for change, cash, let's be honest. I don't know what it's for, but I store a short stash of business cards in it so I don't have to carry my hard case. We'll see how that works. I'm so glad I made the purchase because I think having such a great tool of physical organization will really help me keep my head on straight.
As an entrepreneur, it's way too important to stay organized. I've struggled with keeping all of my important business things together and trying to keep things separate from my personal stuff, and eventually, I realized that I just need something that is physically separate from my personal finances. If you are organized because you have to be or you'll lose everything short of your mind, House of Flynn has some excellent travel wallets for keeping organized. Their stuff isn't cheap, but pick out an item that you want and wait for it to go on sale. My wallet was originally something like $80, but I got it for $48.
ARTIST I'M CELEBRATING THIS WEEK
Jill Belgarde is a fellow wedding photographer, and I had the chance to meet her through a local photographer's group. Two things stand out to me about Jill's work. First, it's very clean and authentic. Even her posed shots, you can tell the subjects are enjoying themselves. Second is her use of color. She has an eye for true-to-life color and works well with what she's given. Not only is she a talented photographer, but she is an asset to Des Moines' creative community. I love how genuine she is and how considerate she is of other people. She's very kind and humble. Jill is someone I look up to in this regard because I sometimes feel insecure about where I am in my business and then feel like I have to self-promote all the time. Having Jill in my community reminds me that we, as creatives, are all on the same team, and we all need her brand of humility. She reminds me that I want to celebrate and encourage my community, not always trying to get ahead of it. As UK coach John Calipari says, "Play for the name on the front of the jersey and the world will know the name on the back." You can (and should) enjoy her work at jillbelgardephotography.com.
I really don't have much this week. I could mope for a paragraph about Kentucky's loss to K-State and rant about how the refs are ruining college basketball, but that's sort of irrelevant for this medium.
happy trails, and even though they lost, GO CATS!
—emma