A New Logo for Organized Artistry!

When I started my business twelve years ago, I designed my own logo. I have a BA in Art/Graphic design so I knew I could put typography together and not offend anyone. I didn't have the proper computer programs to create it so I took advantage of the computers at Kinko's and created my logo there.

My old logo:

I liked the openness of the 'Artistry' font (Caslon Open Face) and that it contrasted well with the font I selected for 'Organized.'

The above logo has gotten a ton of compliments over the years which always made me feel happy and that my design skills had not gone to waste. But, after 12 years in business, it was time for a change. I hired the talented Kate McMillan of Outbox Online Design to move my company, brand and logo forward into 2014.

I was nervous--what ideas would Kate come up with? Would I like them? Change isn't easy--even for Professional organizers!

My new Logo:

I have Logo Love...

Most of all, I love that scribble. When I first saw it, I knew this was the logo for me. To me, the scribble represents chaos--any type of chaos, whether it's an overcrowded closet or a mile-high stack of papers leading to that state of being 'Organized.' It's 'Chaos' turning into 'Organized Artistry.'

Here's the vertical design...

Love that one, too. The scribble isn't attached but it still resonates.

By the way, Kate is also redesigning my website. Wait until you see it...

Yard Sale Tips

It's Spring! And after weeks of Spring Cleaning, de-cluttering and purging, you may be ready to host a yard sale.

When my husband I got married and joined households years ago, we had a yard sale. It was a fun and exhausting 2-day event that took weeks of preparation. We had a lot of stuff! We made enough money to buy a eight-person patio set for our backyard and anything that didn't sell was donated to the Vietnam Veterans Association.

A few months ago some of my yard sale tips were featured in an article on SheKnows.com called 'Tips for Holding a Successful Yard Sale.' The article offers good advice and ideas on how to price, market, display and negotiate. If you're thinking of hosting a yard sale, I suggest you take a few moments to read it--you just may pick up a few tips to make your yard sale not just successful--but profitable, too.

I'm Back from the NAPO 2012 Conference!

I have returned from the NAPO 2012 Conference in Baltimore, Maryland!

It was non-stop learning, networking, note-taking--very little rest. Like I said in my pre-conference blog post, 'this was no vacation.'  But despite the brain overload and the seven hours of driving I did in three days, I am energized and motivated to put in place the wealth of information I learned.

Our view from the Baltimore Hilton--so close to Camden Yards!

Not only did I learn a ton, I also collected a tote bag full of information (and samples!) from our Product EXPO.  Large companies such as Rubbermaid, Smead, 3M and Staples as well as smaller companies such as NACKit! and The Tote Buddy were represented. (I did something with Smead that I'll be blogging about soon...) Besides collecting information, I saw demos of different products and learned how to install and remove a Command hook without ripping off a layer of paint or wallpaper.

The workshops I took will be instrumental in moving my business forward in the coming year. Besides being good for my business, the ideas of the 'Clearing Clutter the 'Fun' Shui' Way' class I took are already being put to work in my own home. Before I started writing this post, I took a block of time and did some de-cluttering in my home office which has become a repository for items having nothing to do with my business.  The instructor told us that "Clutter blocks the flow of prosperity." I'll be doing some more de-cluttering after lunch...

I'm looking to move forward with the social media part of my business so I took workshops on YouTube and Blogging. I learned how a presentation is like a hamburger in a public speaking workshop and discovered the 'ABC's' of organizing photos.

But the BIG news is about the local NAPO chapter I belong to--NAPO-Northern New Jersey. This year NAPO National partnered with Soles4Souls--an organization that collects new and used shoes to distribute to those in need. They offered all NAPO chapters a challenge--who could collect the most pairs of shoes? Nationwide, over 100,000 pair of shoes were collected by over 30 local chapters. But who won the competition? NAPO-Northern New Jersey--collecting a whopping 24,561 and beating out chapters double in size!

NAPO-NNJ showing off awards at the NAPO 2012 Conference in Baltimore

Our 'Queen of Sole,' Diane Thomson (2nd from left above) collected 10,000 pair of shoes! She collected the most shoes out of any other NAPO member (and there are over 4,000 of us). All of her hard work earned her a trip to Haiti to help distribute shoes. We are so proud of her extraordinary accomplishment!

I could go on and on about this amazing conference--the people I met, the fun I had, but it's time to go back to de-cluttering my home office the 'Fun Shui' way. Gotta let that prosperity flow...

Me, My Labelmaker, and Some Great Press

This Sunday I'll be speaking at the second annual Queen Esther Tea at the YM-TWHA of Union County, NJ, hosted by the Women's Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. The topic is: 'Organize Your Space...Organize Your Life.'

I was pleased to be approached by a writer from New Jersey Jewish News who was covering the event. She gave Organized Artistry some great publicity (Thanks, Elaine!) and gave the paper's readership a good bit of knowledge on getting ready for the upcoming Passover holiday and the topic of disorganization.

To read the article and see a picture of me with my trusty labelmaker (still working after eight years in the biz!) click on:

http://njjewishnews.com/article/central/experts-pre-pesach-tips-on-wrangling-stuff/

More on 'Organize Your Space...Organize Your Life' to come!