Summer's Over?? WTF!?!...

Where has the time gone? Summer's done and the oldest is back to school...well technically summer has three weeks left to go but the time has come for me to start getting serious about designing again. Having spent the last few months working in a pub kitchen has taught me that I don't want to be there next summer....not unless I can get daytime hours! When that patio is full....it's like being at the gym for 6 hours. But I work hard and I get along with everyone, so the odds are in my favour.

I've had a couple of major art projects on the go the last few months too...gifts for family. Now that they're done I've moved on to designing my family history website...it will be secured just like my other family site but eventually I will also make that template available on C2Kstudios.com.

I've also been seeing more and more discount and crowdsourcing options, sites like Fiverr and Odesk...and it's starting to make me rethink my business model. I just now drastically slashed the pricing on C2Kstudios.com, and I've got to start busting out some simple HTML5 templates to sell for $5 a pop...also little logos to go along with them too, maybe. I'll let the idea percolate in my head while I get my new subdomain ready to launch.

And I suppose I should try and update this blog more often too...although to be honest I'm not much of a blogger...but of course I need to be able to say that I know what I'm doing, right? That's why I opted for teaching myself how to write HTML5 and CSS3 and how to manipulate Java and PSP scripts (perhaps one day I'll learn to code those from scratch too), instead of going the WordPress route. Again, eventually, I'll want to check it out just to be able to say that I know how to do it, enough people use it or at least know what it is that I can't really avoid it forever...like Facebook. And knowing all that stuff will just make WP that much simpler to master. Besides; I like designing my own sites. I know that I'll never be a coding guru but as I get more comfortable with it, the designs will begin to flourish.

Gearing up for Summer!

This past month has been pretty crazy...getting back into working again, finishing up my first major corporate contract, starting on some a couple personal projects, and getting the place ready for summer. The kids have been a handful lately, too...everyone's energy seems to pick up this time of year, but mine not as much as theirs!

I also just dropped my co.cc domains...well actually, I have them forwarding now to the subdomains I set up for them from the main site at C2Kstudios.com. Apparently my host doesn't like it when you get no hits in a month... the family site hasn't been updated in a while.

So ya, I took a job in the kitchen at the local pub...some nice mindless work that gets me out of the house and around some other adults for a few hours a week...the extra money doesn't hurt, either! Mindless as in auto pilot...being back in the back of the house is like slipping on an old pair of really comfortable shoes. 0 learning curve is what I'm all about right now...so I can save my brain power for getting back into coding again once I get these other projects out of thew way...they're secret (gifts) so I can't say too much about them before they're done but I'm going to try and stick with the whole "one-thing-at-a-time" idea that is the reason I've come as far as I have with things so far this year...not bogging myself down with too many projects at once is a very good thing. Although in the summer...who wants to be inside all the time? So there's that. Time will be at a premium, at least for the next little while. But as soon as I find the right groove, it'll be all good.

Been Busy Busy!

The last month has been ridiculous. What with the way of the world today, things just started costing twice as much, and so I had to go out and find a part-time job...I fell into something pretty sweet too, (which is usually how it works for me - I just seems to find myself in the right place at the right time when it comes to stuff like that), so the pressure is off, there.

Around the same time I got a call from my Uncle Mark. He took over my grandfather's business about a year ago, and now he wants me to help redesign his packaging and promo material for the international market. My first "corporate" design job! Very exciting. He had this idea that he wanted whipped up for a trade show in China next month, but soon came to realize that you can't just bang out an international marketing campaign in a fortnight...especially considering the fact that everything has to be done via email...unless he wants to fly me out to Vancouver for a week or something, which I wouldn't be adverse to at all... ;) ...it's been too long since I've been back 'home'.

Anyway, so the initial concept got shelved for the time being, but not before I was able to collect this:

 

Which felt so f*ing awesome! So then I went ahead and re-did the poster, without the mascots he wants to have created for his future campaign, and came up with this design for his China conference:

At full size, it's 3'x6', and because it's going to be positioned behind a table, he had me move everything up on the page as high as possible.

What are Colo-Majic flushable liners, you ask? Well, back in the 90's my grandfather had a colostomy, and subsequently invented a disposable liner for the pouch that ostomates have to wear. Now, Papa is in his 80s, and has decided it's time to pass the reigns. I'm sure he still has plenty of input into this new direction my uncle seems to be taking the business in...and probably will for a while yet; knowing that side of the family, he's got another 20 years in him, easy.

A New Look and a New Beginning!

Welcome to the spiffy new C2Kstudios Blog! I am right now just a couple of hours off soft-launching the 3rd edition of C2Kstudios.com, followed by a day or two of field testing before the official roll-out, either Monday or Tuesday. I was originally aiming for March 20, the vernal equinox this year; but I hit a couple of snags and so ended up a few days late. Oh well. Not like I'm getting paid for this!

First, my old host, 0000free, called it quits. So that was a couple days worth of frantic re-deployment. It actually went a lot more smoothly than I was expecting, though, so it all worked out OK. And I think I probably could and should have gone with these guys in the first place, but anyway, hats off to my new host, 2freehosting.com!

Then, circumstances decided to arrange themselves in a way that necessitated my needing to seek some part-time employment; and to start a mad push to try and generate some local business. I produced a brochure that I intend to deliver door to door in the neibourhood, and I'm hoping to get a night gig somewhere soon.

And then, Spring came to Ottawa. I mean, the equinox is one thing; but 23C in March is like a magnet that pulls you away from anything that isn't outside. Especially with the kids; forget it. I though she was going to want to nap out there under a tree.

Well; gotta get back to it...see you in a few hours!

C2Kstudios.com

We're all excited about the new C2Kstudios.com!

New Site Coming Soon!

So I've been busy busy, plugging away at the new edition of C2Kstudios.com. I just finished the main template. I've decided to forgo the major seasonal changes. Version 3 will be around for a while...version 3.0...who knows. 3.1 will most likely be a Christmas edition at this point. The new edition should be up soon; I wanted to have it done for the 1st of Spring but I don't think I'm going to make it...perhaps I should stop blogging and start coding!

C2Kstudios.com

Crisis Averted

So I guess I was being a little dramatic there before...it actually took me less than 24hrs to find a new free host and get the site back up again...C2Kstudios has now made it's new home at 2freehosting.com. The family site and the Beta Studio will be up and running in the next couple of days...I can only add one site to my account a day, which makes sense, otherwise all those spammers that ruined the co.cc domain for the rest of us would be choking their servers as they all start jumping ship from 0000free like I did. I hope I don't have to go through this again any time soon!

C2Kstudios.com

A Sad Day

Well, it looks like 0000free is done...shouldn't have opened my big mouth!! Things seem to be conspiring against me lately. I suppose my next first priority is to find myself another host. Stay tuned for that... :'(