Well, hello!
It’s been a while, eh? I know, I know. It’s that old cobbler’s kids idiom, I’ve been so busy working on wonderful things for my lovely clients that I neglected my own shiz. BUT! I’m back, baby!
First though, a story.
A couple of years ago I started thinking that I wanted to start a brand new studio, close down KLC and start completely from scratch. I’d started to think that I needed to move away from having my name be part of the studio name, that if I ever decided to bring in permanent staff members it’d be confusing for clients to work with someone that wasn’t me. I also had itchy feet. I’ve been working under “Kim Lawler Creative” for around 7 years now, and I was pretty much ready for a big change in the way I presented the studio. There was also a niggling little thought in the back of my head that if I ever wanted to sell the studio at some point, having my name in there would make that pretty impossible – I have no idea why I was even thinking this, I’ve got 100% no plans to sell KLC.
I spent some time figuring out a new studio name, buying a domain, registering all my social media accounts, I even went so far as to commission some custom lettering for the logo! Then… I did nothing. Zilch. Nada. I tried to start designing the new site about this time last year and wasn’t into it. I sat on it for a further 12 months before finally (FINALLY) figuring out that this wasn’t what I wanted.
I didn’t want to move away from having my personality being a big part of my business, and I realised that a lot of the people I admire (who work in big teams!) still stick with their own name as their studio name. Part of the fun of running my business for me is that I can be entirely myself, I don’t have to tone down my potty mouth, or monitor what I say on social media. Starting a new studio would, if anything, force me to reign in the very thing that sets my current studio apart from others – me!
A little over a week ago, in the short time between turning the bedside lamp out and falling asleep, I decided that really all I wanted to do (needed to do) was rebrand Kim Lawler Creative, refocus a few of my offerings, update my portfolio, and just get my shit in a row. After I figured that out it took me around 3 days to completely redo my website and branding.
Whaaatttt? I know.
From 2 years to 3 days.
So! What can you expect from me now? Wellll, I’m gonna be back blogging, and I’m going to be making some videos about running a small creative business. I’d love to know what you’d like me to cover (leave a comment below!), I have some ideas already but I want to make this as relevant as possible for you guys. I’ve also rejigged my services a little, and have plans for some other à la carte style services which I’ll be adding later this year. The main thing is, I’m really excited about my business again and can’t wait to share more awesome shit with you!
Oh, and the studio that never was? RIP.
(awesome brush lettering by Letters by Julia)