albiedesigns

One of the first things I had my husband build me was this flower box, and I will dearly miss it.

There’s been a lot of talk lately around my house about “full potential”,  now when my 6 yr old is talking about it, he’s most commonly referring to a Ninjago episode. When my husband and I are talking about “full potential” we are most likely referencing the new house we just purchased.  Exciting as the prospect is, we definitely took on a project. It’s an older colonial that needs a lot of work. However, we are no strangers to fixing up homes, in fact every house we’ve owned, we’ve tried to leave  better than when we found it.  Our house we currently live in  is no exception. When we bought the house it had been sitting on the market for a while, passed over by many who probably saw a dark, dingy, choppy, old ranch. Not us, for some reason after about 2 minutes in the house, I knew that we were going to buy it and make it better. The same could be said for this new home, sitting on the market for a bit, it had been overlooked by many for cosmetic reasons.  Not for my husband and I though, the uglier the better. So, as we look forward to the task ahead and backwards at what we’ve done, I often think about one of my favorite childhood stories, The Little House– a story about a house that was neglected for years as the city built up around it. Eventually it was reclaimed by a family member, and moved back to the country where it was made beautiful once again.

I will do my  best to blog about this journey as we attempt to help this home  see ” its full potential”……

Here are just a few before and after pictures of our current home that we are sad to leave, but hopefully it will be passed on to another family that will love it as much as we have!

Images by Lindsey Lyons
http://www.lindseylyonsphotography.com

Had a friend over last night for dinner who made this bread dough, and I finished baking it off early this morning after it had a chance to rise properly. It’s actually a recipe from another good  friend of ours.  And as I cut in to my first slice I was filled with warm and loving memories of both of my dear friends. Here’s to starting out your day right….

XO, Kim

Inevitably every summer I have a deep yearning to return to Europe. Even know it’s been ages since I backpacked across it with my girlfriends, I can still remember the smells and sights like it was yesterday. One place that I didn’t get to visit, but I desperately wanted to, is Venice. Hopefully someday!!  I can’t imagine that it would disappoint, but for now I’ll have to settle for how Venice looks in my dreams.

I am so excited to share this new series of watercolor prints that I’ve just added to my shop. They are a complete departure from my cityscapes both in content and medium. My city prints are primarily drawn digitally in Illustrator, and these are done using good old fashion paper and paint. As an artist both mediums are challenging, but working digitally can obviously be more forgiving. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily easier to produce a strong piece. In my opinion the same principles apply when working digitally as do with a brush. In fact, when I am working in Illustrator (right or wrong) I hold my self to a different standard when it comes to design elements such as space, color, line and form. I am not terribly proficient (like a graphic designer) in Illustrator, I truly do use the mouse as my pen. So, all those fancy tricks that illustrator can perform are kind of wasted on me anyway.

All that being said though, if you’ve ever painted there’s nothing quite like it. It’s a truly soul filling exhilarating experience. There is a thrilling kind of freedom that working with paint (particularly watercolor) allows, although you have to learn to temper it or else it can easily all turn to crap.  Although, I think what I love most of all about painting though is that with every new piece of paper there is the potential and promise, that is all too often broken at some point, but every once in a while if you paint enough your promise is fulfilled.

Nothing quite like it….

All these are now available at my shop.

Thanks for listening and looking!

Kim

Do you have a favorite movie quote that plays in your head on occasion? I have a couple, mine lately has been from the movie TOP GUN when Cougar says, ” Sir, I’m holding on too tight, I’ve lost the edge.”  This week, especially, it played over and over in my head on a constant loop.

To understand we have to rewind about 6 days when the lovely blog, Young House Love, hosted a Giveaway for Albiedesigns.  A few months ago I signed on  to do one with them hoping to bring people to my site. However, I had NO idea just how many people it would send my way. Over a period of 5 days I had upward of 50,000 visitors browse my little shop. Amazing, YES!! However, I was unprepared for the volume that comes with that kind of exposure. It drove home the fact that my little hobby job, is no longer just a hobby or part-time. Honestly, It’s been like that for the past 6 mths, but I’ve continued to wear a”part-time” windbreaker, when I need to be wearing a full-time parka. While business has certainly ebbed and flowed, and will continue to, it’s been the reason why I have been reluctant to get help. I guess I was waiting for the right time, and now it seems that time has come.

I also had an epiphany this week, that made me feel a little less crazy.  It hit me like a freight train, the reason why these past few years (since starting Albiedesigns) have been such a wild ride of emotions, it’s because both of my jobs are so extremely personal.  My jobs as mommy and artist literally run though my blood, and I am consumed with passion for both. Making that roller coaster (which we all ride with our jobs) that much more thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I do realize that all parents experience that kind of crazy passion for their kids. The difference for me has more to do with being an artist.  When I worked as a recruiter, my job did not come from a place deep down in my core. I was of course driven to succeed, but that’s b/c I wanted to do well. Now, as an artist with every print that I sign, pack and ship I literally feel a little piece of me going out the door. I know, cheesy and a bit dramatic, but it’s the way I honestly feel. So you can imagine it was a huge relief to finally piece together why I am holding on so tightly, and fighting a constant feeling that I could lose it at any point.

To that end please allow me to share with you some personal takeaways from this week in both words and paint:

1. Find help, ask for help, and accept help.

2. Let go, enjoy your success as it comes, and don’t let your losses (big and small) consume you or take away from your wins.

3. The paintings above are more of the children’s gauche/watercolors that I have been working on.

Thanks for listening and looking!

–Kim

When I first opened up my Etsy shop I had a series of children’s prints that were digitally drawn inspired by some of the  littles in my life.  Recently though I have been working on some watercolor/gauche versions of those prints that I love.  I am hoping to get the series completed soon and have originals and prints available at Etsy my shop soon. Ideally I will be able to do custom portraits, but unfortunately time doesn’t allow for it now. Someday .. ….  

What city did you fall in love in? Mine was Eugene, OR.  Not the most romantic of cities really, but I imagine most people’s love story starts somewhere far less glamorous than a Paris or Florence. The funny thing is I  bet that the majority, if asked, could tell you everything about the city where they fell in love. Like the place where they first met, or had their first date and/or kiss. So many times when I am drawing a city I can’t help but think of those things. I suppose that’s what makes a city special, it’s the people and their stories that ultimately connects them to a place. My next two cities, Sydney and Richmond, may be far apart on the map, but I am sure share a common bond of amazing love stories.

Also, in honor of romance I will be re-releasing my Champs Elysees print for a short bit, as it reminds me of the time in my life when I first fell in love with my husband.

Happy 2013 to you! As my family leaves 2012 with a heavy heart, I wanted to open the New Year’s up with a lighter heart….

On our back porch sits a wall of glass jars and bottles (pictured above) awaiting use.  My husband has had a long-standing passion for canning, pickling, fermenting and a general love for manipulating food. I suppose that’s what you get when you mix a Bio major, Foodee, and a small % old world preservation into one man. So, b/c of this love he received the Art of Fermentation book from his sis for Christmas- (side note) she is the best gift giver ever, always gifting such personal and insightful treats. Anyway, as we embark upon another year, I am so excited to see what my husband is going to fill each jar with. Ironically, I am generally not a fan of most pickled or canned foods, but I do LOVE the idea of preserving and curing our food. It’s an art form that was seemingly lost somewhere between Walmart and McDonald’s drive -throughs. Although I have seen a resurgence –especially amongst our friends & family–my hope is that he’ll pass this love on to our children, and that it will become more of the norm once again, rather than something that their great grandparents did so long ago.

Cheers to preserving our future…..

In all of this season’s craziness I almost forgot about XMAS cards, until we got our first few last week which turned up the pressure cooker.  It’s funny b/c the past few years I’ve sworn I wasn’t going to send any, but every year I cave.  I decided not to mess with the entire dreaded process of dressing my kids up and forcing them to look merry & bright, even if it’s raining and miserably cold…all to get the perfect Christmas card shot. So, this year my people are getting a little family portrait illustrated by yours truly.

When we got married I made this plate for my husband as a wedding gift. Sadly it broke when we moved back from SF, but I still love it. It’s fun to look back at and see how our little family has

grown!

Happy & Safe Holidays to you!

XO

Kim

I have been reluctant to share a ton of personal info on this site, as I want to keep it  as a sort of journal primarily showcasing my artwork and/or design related ideas.  I also want to use this site as a vehicle to provide insights in to my inspiration and creative process, and really what’s more personal than that? So while maybe I’m not always divulging intimate details of my life, I am still putting my heart and soul out there in every print I draw and  highlight.

Also, after my last petty “woes me post” I wanted to share a bit about someone in my life who is a true source of inspiration.  My dear friend, who I have known and loved since college was diagnosed earlier this year with cancer. It’s a very aggressive cancer and one where that the odds are very much against her.  I know you are always hearing about how important it is for people with cancer to have a fighting spirit in order to beat it, and honestly as a daughter of an Oncologist, I tend to be more jaded and a non-believer. However, through all my tears & fears I have been beyond amazed and inspired by her courage and spirit. She’s never once pulled a “woes me” or let her sickness have the upper hand. Throughout her month’s of chemo she continued to live life. And when I say “live life” she traveled, exercised, dined out, did life plus some. The funny part is, it wasn’t like she did all this as a kind of “bucket list” type of thing, it was more because that’s who she is and she wasn’t going to let cancer stop her from doing any of it. I aways knew she was a fighter,  in fact, after college I lived with her and our other best friend who was a teacher.  And as a first year teacher, our friend, was ALWAYS getting sick and then getting me sick, but not her!  So we jokingly nicknamed her “Unbreakable” after the Bruce Willis movie b/c she never caught anything!  Really, until she got cancer she pretty much never got sick. Unfortunately, when she finally did it was one of the worst kinds. True to form though she fought it hard and won! After finishing her chemo treatment last month, her diagnosis is “CANCER FREE”. Her doc said she’s one of the 10% of survivors, which is nothing short of a miracle. Although in this case I can’t  (and won’t) give the miracle full credit, b/c that would take away from my dear friend’s “UNBREAKABLE SPIRIT”. Love you, BG!

**  The picture above is the two of us this past weekend at her Remission Celebration , where a bunch of us rented a double decker bus and wine tasted in style!