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Annie Selke on Pine Cone Hill, Dash & Albert and how she manages a mountain of inspiration!

Published: 03/14/2013

Yipee! It’s Annie Selke and I at her headquarters in Pittsfield, MA. Annie is an author, designer and founder the renowned home furnishing companies of Pine Cone Hill and Dash and Albert. Pine Cone Hill features bedding, sleepware, table linens and accessories (eek! fun! scarves!) with a bright, happy and contemporary vibe. Dash and Albert features unique, durable (hello! dog lovers) and affordable indoor and outdoor rugs. (Love them!!)

One of the reasons that I wanted to interview Annie, was to really get a sense of how she “dreamt big” about her future when she was just sewing cushions in her garage.You’ll get the details in this conversation. What I was so taken with is how much creative energy she has. I realized that if she can stay inspired and completely engaged as a right brained creative and STILL know and care about every detail in her warehouse, then I had better quit making ANY excuses in my business. No more using the excuse (yes, sometimes it is an excuse) that being creative means you don’t have good business sense. Annie is a perfect example being intensely creative running lifestyle brand and running a successful business. I was surprised to learn she works in photoshop on designs every chance she gets. Are you motivated yet? Watch the video and see how she does it.

Also scroll down the page and see details to enter to win an awesome rug tote bag or the fun design book written by Annie, Fresh American Spaces.

Smart Creative Women and Annie are giving away both a tote bag to one person and a book to another person. 2 winners! Of course, if you have Las Vegas good luck, you could even win both! Just post a comment below and tell us what you thought of the interview and that will be counted as your entry. If you want another entry and you have a twitter account, give the interview a shout out on twitter using the hash tag #DunkinDog. (Hee-hee, you have to listen until the very end to see why that is the hash tag) Annie can be found on twitter @AnnieSelkeCo and I can be found at @SmartCreativeW, just in case you aren’t already a follower! You have until 10PM EST March19 to enter. Good luck!

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My thoughts about online courses, continuing education, personal growth and fun

Published: 03/12/2013

Here is a mini riff from me as I received lots of emails this last week asking me about online courses. Everyone knows that I take them and enjoy them. I am actually pretty careful about which ones I take. In this video, I give you my thoughts and some criteria that I use in my decision making process. Sometimes I need to learn a new skill, sometimes I need to challenge myself personally and sometimes I just need some inspirational fun breaking it down like that helps.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Online education in the form of e-courses are relatively new and each download, class and course ends up being SO different, it can be difficult making decisions! Be nice in the comments…I am not here to judge any courses but I do think an open dialogue about whether or not they work for you is a good one to have. I do know I have signed up for continuing ed at Rhode Island School of Design (fabulous to live so close) and then not been able to drag my behind to late night courses in the middle the winter. Ugh. Working from home has become a great thing but I also like to meet people face to face. What do you do?

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Who and What I am into this Week: Extreme Dreaming

Published: 03/08/2013

I realized something wild this week and I wanted to share it with you. Inside my crash course Smart Creative Dreaming, I present an exercise called “Extreme Dreaming.” This is where you put together a visual “road map” of where you would like to be heading. It is something I have been practicing for years. I get out a big piece of poster board, get my brain into a relaxed space and just start doodling my dreams. What I realized over the years is that the doodles on my maps are actually coming to pass! When I created the video for the course, I pointed out that just about everything on my very first board has happened!

Crazy! Brilliant! Scary!

I do know that there is something to it, especially since something on my latest board just came to pass!

I doodled that I would like to have a production team help me do interviews. I am a one man (woman) show and I was extreme dreaming about what it would be like to have “people” to help me. Fast forward to my interview Annie Selke of Pine Cone Hill and Dash and Albert, suddenly I realized that is exactly what happened when I went to her headquarters!! The company videographer, Sean, took care of everything and he was so so good at it. I was nervous doing an interview with other people, watching, ACK! Yet after watching the playback, I am thrilled with what Annie got to share about herself, her creative process and her business. I am posting it next Tuesday, so keep an eye out for it. I am doing a give away from Annie along with the interview as well!!!

So often we are unconscious of what is happening around us, we focus on what has not worked out instead of what has worked out. I was a bit uncomfortable doing this latest extreme dream board/ road map because I truly believe you get what you focus on, desire, ask for and I have been a bit unsure of where I wanted to take Smart Creative Women. I know I want to stay open, I know I want to work at bringing out the best in people but I am unsure of what that looked like. It is that uncomfortable feeling that people talk about when you are stretching yourself. It IS an odd feeling.

I had said that I would post my board inside the Smart Creative Dreaming Course but I have been uncomfortable with my OWN extreme dreaming! Inside my head, I am thinking, “Really, Monica? You think you can do that?” Time to walk the walk, right? I am going to start a private flickr group (yet to figure that out) and ask the people who have taken the course to share their boards and I will share mine (full frontal view-ha!) If you want in, download the course and get brave, be vulnerable and do some extreme dreaming along with us!

ALSO, don’t miss the episode on Tuesday and see my doodle dream come to life!

Sandra Harris on off road blogging and her own salon event!

Published: 03/07/2013

Sandra Harris is the author of the blog, Raincoast Cottage where you’ll be inspired to be a better maker and live a creative life. Whether you’re a blogger, a maker, an artist, a writer or a photographer, she is all about helping you to create the conditions to do your best work. Yipee! We love that, don’t we?

She is also on the front end on an emerging trend of hosting local events. She calls it “Off Road Blogging” and she has put together a perfect formula for her own community in Vancouver. Listen in, this could inspire you to be creative in a new way and to be an asset in your own hometown. Needless to say, I am motivated! I am have been contemplating doing some meet ups myself and this interview was just what I needed to move forward!

Be sure to watch this video for some “idea spotting!” Ask any questions and Sandra will help steer you past your fears of hosting an off line event!

Sandra’s photography

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Smart Creative Business: Your Website Checklist

Published: 03/05/2013

Today I brought my husband, Tom Henell, back on to go over your web presence and your website checklist. Websites, Monica… really? Again??? Yawn, yawn, I know but I can’t dish out snacks and not serve up some meat as well. This is only 16 minutes long and it can make or break how professional you appear, so freshen up your coffee and tune into this video. We cover lots of good info, linking off your site to e-commerce sites, your bio, your overall branding as well as how people find you online! Tom just KNOWS stuff. If you have any questions pop them into the comments we will answer you back in the comments! Thanks for tuning in!

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Smart Creative Help from around the web

Published: 03/04/2013

1) Ever wondered…Is it okay to use that photograph? What can I use from pinterest and websites? Need to know? Here is a class over at World Function and the Alt Summit gang given by professional photographers Susan and William Brinson from House of Brinson. They will discuss copyrights and usage. Bring your questions, this sounds like a class not to be missed! Until recently, I have always used my own art but time doesn’t always allow for that so I have been wondering and I want to hear about usage from professionals. P.S. The photo above is a stock image

2) Need help understanding the basics or prinicpals of WordPress? Let Linda Tieu take you on a quick guided WordPress 101 tour. She built both this website and Monica Lee Studios and she is a master at breaking things down into simple terms.

3) Still a bit overwhelmed with how to you feel about social media and what to share online? I found this great post from Kathleen Shannon at Braid Creative, who I met at ALT and instantly loved, to help you examine your own online boundaries. Read the post and download the PDF to help you sort things out.

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Who and what I am into this week: Romancing Old and New

Published: 03/01/2013

Today I am leaving lovely Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. In my travels to California this week I feel like I hit 2 different eras. All the buildings are so new in California, old means maybe 1960′s most have been torn and rebuilt. Then I headed out to the historic Cranwell Resort in the Berkshires to visit the 200,000 square foot headquarters of the Annie Selke Company. You would be amazed at how they brought this old textile mill back to life! (Before and after pics to come)

I spent the day with Annie (master creator) and Jamie (lovely PR lady) and here are just SOME of the things I was blown away by

1-The Annie Selke Companies have stood the test of time, the ecomony and 7 location moves.

2-They have a crazy talented and dedicated staff.

3-Annie has shelves and bins and books and cabinets of vintage textile inspiration from her travels. She has an absolute uncanny ability to tuck and file all this visual information in her brain. I have been around many creative women but I have never seen anything like it! I cannot WAIT bring you the interview.

Annie does an incredible job of bringing the past to new life and making it modern (she loves to play in photoshop!) I couldn’t get enough of all the colors and inspiration boards in their offices. They sent me home with this gorgeous pink paisley scarf!!

I enjoy having a foot in both the past and present world.

This week I also ran across young clothing designer Lilly Ashwell, daughter of Rachel Ashwell, and like the way she is bringing a vintage look to life. This yellow dress below reminded me of several vintage nightgowns that I have tucked in a closet somewhere! I love to see the best parts of the past brought back to life.

As much as I embrace a modern world there is something that always draws me back to appreciate prints, colors, garments beautifully tailored and cut on the bias from past eras. How about you, are you are person that romances the past?

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Smart Creative Decor: guest contributor Joy Uyeno

Published: 02/28/2013

Today’s post is from Joy Uyeno whom I met via twitter then at ALT and who it turns out, lives in MA! She has a darling blog over at Frock Files and I asked her to add some Smart Creative Decor to our mix!

Hi, Smart Creative Women! While Monica is off to the Berkshires to interview the talented Annie Selke (of Dash & Albert and Pinecone Hill), I’m stopping in to share some interior inspiration. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this gorgeous living room on Pinterest. I’m drawn to spaces that look warm and lived in, with mismatched accessories and accents. What I liked best about this room is that it looks like it’s been put together over time, the way real homes are.Despite the eclectic nature of the individual pieces, they’re joined together by the palette. Pops of bright pinks and greens are set against neutral grey and blue-grey tones. There are all kinds of interesting juxtapositions here, like the sofa in a classic, ladylike shape but done in a contemporary pattern, set before a sleek coffee table and a bright, Aztec-inspired rug. It’s sophisticated without being buttoned up.

Since spring is finally within reach, I wanted to experiment with adding more eclecticism and whimsy to my bedroom with patterns and pops of color, using this living room as inspiration. When Monica mentioned she’d be visiting Annie, I realized that I had yet another decor resource to draw from, and I ended up finding plenty of inspiration for my bedroom right away. What do you think?While it could take time for me to accumulate bits and pieces over time to get a truly layered look, I love these pieces as starting points. They bring together glam, bohemian, classic, ethnic, and cottage elements in a cohesive way that I think could lead to some very sweet dreams.

Frames / Sheets / Throw / Ottoman / Pillow / Rug