Silver & Gold

For some reason, being suddenly and violently cast into adulthood has made everything from childhood way more awesome and cool than I thought even as an over-excited ten year old. Call it nostalgia or call it denial, but there's just something wonderful and familiar about getting home from work, throwing on your best 90s boy band playlist and creating a masterpiece in a jumbo Toy Story coloring book. Don't even try to act like you're above that - we all know better...

Anyway, a rather unfortunately large part of becoming a fully employed and productive member of society tends to involve letting go of things. Sleeping in becomes a thing of the past, having a massive network of locally centralized friends becomes harder to come by, and even binge watching entire seasons of Friends in a night can seem like a tall order when all you want to do after the 9 to 5 grind is have a glass of wine and go to bed.

You remember the song, Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold? Yeah, that's another one of those things I distinctly remember singing while wearing my totally 90s, kick ass, OshKosh B'Gosh purple corduroy overalls (I know, throwin' it way back). Well, that little blast from the past has been at the forefront of this whole keeping my cool in the big bad world thing.

If you've ever moved somewhere without knowing a soul, you certainly know that it can be frustratingly difficult to meet people. Sure, you have your work circles, but that doesn't always translate into much of a social life. However, if you're smart like I am you've planned ahead for this and got yourself a feline friend to hang with. Regardless, I've found that one of the easiest and most forgotten about ways to keep your sanity is to pick up the phone and call your friends - or email/Facebook message them...if you're into that type of thing. Chances are pretty good that hearing from a friend is exactly the type of thing that'll make their day too. Catching up over more than a few blips on a phone screen is fantastic, and just might be the reminder you're not completely on your own in the big bad world. (:

And with that in mind, here's a wonderful video that my not-cousin-Matt (as I like to call him..don't worry about it) directed and produced. It's called Call Someone You Love, and it's one of three great pieces you can see on his website here.

Call me!

Searching for a Job is a Full-Time Job

You ever heard that phrase before? Well I hadn't, and I'm learning the unfortunate truth that it is. I'd love to sit around for the next few months pretending that all I have to do is go back to classes next year, but alas...the threat of unemployment looms.

Luckily for me, my final semester is structured in such a way that I'm required to think about the job hunt and how I want to present myself in that search. For the past few weeks, I've been googling the words "architecture firms hiring in city" with few hits, most of which bring up job descriptions that require 5+ years of experience - a very disheartening qualification. If anything, I've learned if I'm going to get a job in a design or architecture firm, I'm going to need to be the one showing interest in the firm, not the other way around. Obvious? Yes. But any job I get probably won't be posted directly on a firm's site.

Regardless, I've been spending some time developing an application package for myself - this includes the standard cover letter, resume, maybe a letter of recommendation, and for me, portfolio samples. If you're like my parents at all, you might be surprised to see how involved, and creative this process might be. Writing the, gulp, cover letter is still a major pain in the butt, and the resume is no walk in the park, but imagine making it something that's going to stand out in a field of creatives.

There's a lot of whacky stuff out there, but let's be real, I'm not one of those people. The package design I chose to go with is relatively simple, but I think it really represents me. For my application package, I chose to use simple fonts and little bursts of color - specifically a bright green that I love. Plus, the inner envelope is made of this awesome wood-grain textured paper. See below:

So...would you call me for an interview? :D Let's hope hiring managers will!

Until next time,

Guys, I'm Famous!!

...Just kidding. But I was featured in an article in my school's student run paper, The Daily Orange.

Check it out here!

Best,

Life is too Short for Bad Coffee...or Design

I've always been a coffee person.

Ever since my grandparents started me on decaf, probably way before I should have been drinking coffee at all, I've loved the taste, warmth, and smell of a good cup o' joe. Long gone are the days of adding a gallon of flavored creamer and a pound of sugar, though. Ever since starting my job at Cafe Kubal in June of 2012, I've learned to love my coffee black and my espresso sweet. (No, not with sugar you ninny...just with superbly roasted espresso beans of course! Pssh) 

Of all the jobs I've had, this one is by far the most enjoyable, exciting, and rewarding. What's better than crafting a perfect cappuccino or smelling fresh-brewed coffee all day?

On top of over a year and a half of being able to rock it behind the bar, I recently started down another exciting avenue within the company. Knowing my background in interior design - it is, after all, what I'm studying at Syracuse - my boss came to me when it was time to redesign the SU cafe. Of course I was thrilled, and the various projects have since been completed. Check out the before and after!

New grab-n-go display refrigerator with merchandise display shelves and new, 

wall-mounted menu boards and lighting.

Baked goods display case was lowered to be flush with the existing counter. 

Hanging menu boards were removed to allow for more visual access between baristas and customers.

New lighting was installed and brick was painted to help reflect light into the space. 

New commercial grade chairs were specified to stand up to wear and tear of a busy cafe environment.

This week, I just finished working on fitting a cafe design into an existing space within a local medical center. It's been quite the challenge, with everything currently an awful shade of mauve, a focus on economy, and only 150 square feet to work with. But with some quick tricks, an eye for detail, and a knack for space planning, I managed to pull together a little design in just a few, short weeks. See it below:

What's more exciting is the cafe just opened its doors this morning. If you're ever in the Camillus area, check it out! And of course, I'll have photos of the space itself soon!

Take care!

They Call Me a Working (Wo)man

Now that I've had a few days to recover from a whirlwind of finals, last days in London, flying home, and extreme jet lag, I've started thinking about my plans for the summer. With a bit of disappointing results after a full-blown internship hunt, I've decided to take the summer to work and get my things in order. And let's be honest, studying abroad in London really did a number to my wee little bank account. Let's not even talk about it.

Anyway, I'm more than excited to be starting at the cafe again. Yes, I'm that girl who legitimately wished she could go to work while she was abroad. I know, I have a problem, I've been told. But hey, there's nothing wrong with absolutely loving your job. Plus, who couldn't love a job where you make coffee all day? Am I right? Even better still, I'll be working full-time hours...a thrilling proposition for someone who has dreams of opening her own coffee shop someday. That's another topic in and of itself, though.

For now though, I've got some really exciting ventures to juggle around. With classes out and finals done, I'm psyched to really get into my thesis/Capstone research. Growing up in a family chock full of teachers and educational administrators, I've always valued the importance of a good education. For the longest time, I wanted nothing more than to be an art teacher (after all, my high school art teacher helped to shape the outcome of my life so far). For many unfortunate reasons, I decided against that career path my freshman year of college. But hey, I'm absolutely in love with what I do now and have absolutely no regrets.

Even as an interior design student, I've kept this interest in education alive and well. (Check out the amazing project I was lucky enough to take part in here). Naturally, when choosing my topic for my senior thesis, I wanted to focus on how we can improve the quality of education through the creative arts. I've started reading up on "right-brained" thinking, as well as current educational systems and theories and I've got to say, I'm pumped. And of course, I can't wait to share what I'm gathering from it all with you...but alas, we'll save that for another post, another time.

On top of thesis research, my amazing boss has given me the wonderful opportunity to do design work for the newest, upcoming location for the coffee shop I work at (see why I'm obsessed here). Upon my arrival back in the states, I found out that we'd be opening a kiosk/shop in Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY. While the new location is opening up this coming week, I'll be working on the design for the merchandise section of the shop. It's absolutely thrilling to be able to know that my design for the space will soon be seen by jet setters from all across the country. Needless to say, I'm extremely lucky and absolutely elated to have such a great opportunity.

Speaking of jet setting, I'll soon be up in the air one more time. Just as soon as I arrived in the states, I'll be heading out again to Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala. After the quickest four months of my life, I'm finally going to see the school five classmates and I did design work for last semester. I'm still in awe of the fact that we're even going, but the closer it gets to departure, the more I look forward to seeing the school, the country, and most importantly, the children using the building.

Until next time!