It’s hard to believe sometimes that it was six years ago tomorrow that Kathy and I started Moxie Design Studios. Or rather, it was Blog Moxie back then, for those who might remember.

Kathy and I were introduced online via a mutual friend near the end of January in 2003 and within two weeks, she’d asked me to join her in creating blog designs.  At the time, there were only two or three other blog designers in the marketplace, believe it or not!  Shortly after we opened our doors, the business started flooding in.  We soon realized we had a marketable style… something that was beyond simple boxes of text and a photo of a celebrity in the banner.

We were among the first, if not the first, to create heavily-themed blog designs, utilize more graphics and “flair” and generally went against the grain, creatively. Before long, we had hundreds of clients and a design from the Moxie Girls became almost like a fabulous piece of jewelry or a trendy bag: something to be coveted.  You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing one of our designs, especially on the blogs of terribly chic women. 

Eventually, due to the explosion of blogging and a high demand, more talented blog designers have appeared in the market. We couldn’t be more pleased to see more professionals in this area. (There’s definitely work for everyone!)  While we are not often credited with being pioneers in this industry, as among the first, we stand firm that Moxie Design Studios wouldn’t be what it is today and that blog design might not have taken the direction it has had we not participated in it’s growth.

Within three years, we were one of the most well-known design teams in our market.  We’d been approached by a major publisher, Wiley & Sons, to write the lead book in a new series they were creating and our first book, The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie hit the stores in late 2007. Speaking engagements, interviews and signings soon followed and we’ve had such great opportunities that are both fortuitous and well worked for.

We don’t often toot our own horn quite this loudly, but we are so very proud of our little firm and of each other for creating a successful something from nothing. And with the help of some fantastic folks along the way — talented colleagues, wonderful clients and supportive friends alike — Kathy and I have a thriving business that we take incredible pride in.

Kathy and I love what we do and we hope that it reflects in our work.  We look forward to continuing to create unique blog and website designs for many years to come and look forward to working with you, too! 

Thank you, everyone (and we do mean everyone) for six amazing, crazy, hilarious, manic, wonderful, wonderful years!  Now let’s make it ten.

Greetings and salutations! We’re back from our holiday hiatus and are going through our slightly chubby inboxes, settling in for a brand new week in an april-fresh new year!  We’re looking forward to the exciting projects we’ve got lined up for this season and will be contacting our clients over the next day or so to get the project schedules set up and underway.

If you have recently inquired about working with us and haven’t filled out a Request for Proposal yet, please take a moment to do that. As of right now, we are both booked through March and will be reviewing projects for the Spring season starting March 2nd.  But, you never know!  Sometimes things come up and we’re able to review your project sooner, so it’s best to get that request in as soon as possible. We’d love to hear about your project!

The portfolio will be updated soon, as well. Between the two of us, we’ve got at least 20+ projects that haven’t made it to our portfolio yet, so be on the look out for that if you’re interested.

If you happened to pick up our book, The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie, we’d welcome your review!  If you’re so inclined, please pop over to Amazon and share your thoughts.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Kathy and I enjoyed our time off very much, recharged our creative batteries and are refreshed and ready to rock!  Thank you for your patience.

We were remiss this year in offering up some of our holiday wallpapers.  If your desktop has that not-so-festive feeling, try one of these on for size!

Shameless plug: Have you picked up your copy of The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie yet this holiday season?  It makes a great gift!  Hint hint. HINT HINT.

Happy Holidays!

We get a lot of inquiries about the illustrations used on this site and in our marketing materials.  The Moxie Girls™ characters were created just for us by artist Derek Yaniger and he’s done several variations over the years for us (including a new look coming in 2009). Kathy and I are so pleased to congratulate Derek on his first book, Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Masters of Lowbrow).

Derek has set aside 200 limited edition signed copies available only through Mister Retro.  And of course, if you’d rather pick up your copy of Wildsville on Amazon, you can do that, too!  Mister Retro also offers several of Derek’s serigraphs if you’re looking for art for your home or office. I’ve got Three Mad Cats hanging in my living room and love it!

Congratulations again to Derek on his new book. We’re proud to have his art associated with Moxie Design Studios™!

Kathy is coming to visit me in San Diego this August and we’d love to create an opportunity to meet some of you lovely peeps!  We’re working on putting together a little soirée at one of my favorite lounges for a few hours one evening.  But, in order to best gauge attendance, we’d love to get your feedback on if this is something you’d like to attend. 

To give you a little sneak peek into what we have in mind, while it will be a cash bar for adults 21 and up, there will hopefully be some fun door prizes, as well as a signature cocktail special and some delicious (and I do mean delicious) noshes. I’ll be meeting with the folks at said venue about the details as soon as we can a rough headcount.  We’ll be there for general merriment, meet n’ greet, book signing and blog talk.  Most importantly, we’re there for fun, so bring a friend!

Check out the poll on the sidebar of our blog to vote!

Well, the results are in!  Out of all the totally fabulous cocktail recipes we received, we have drawn our 3 winners.

First, the grand prize winner is Katrina W. with her oh-so-delectable Strawberry Pina Colada Daquiri. My blender thanks you.

Strawberry Pina Colada Daquiri

• 4 oz pina colada mix
• 2.5 oz strawberry schnapps
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 oz Bacardi rum
• 2 oz frozen strawberries
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Filled glass of cracked ice

I’m a little unclear on if this is shaken and strained up in a martini glass or if you just throw it all in a blender.  If it’s the latter, I’d stick in a straw, maybe on of those umbrellas and I’m all set.  Use a glass if you must.    Festive daquiri glasses or margarita glasses work great, but any ol’ pint glass will do in a pinch.

Katrina will receive a signed copy of our book, The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie as well as an 8oz. tube of our current desktop favorite, Jaqua Hand Creme with Meadowfoam Seed Oil (though I’m not positive which fragrance you’ll get.  That’s Kathy’s department!) along with a too-good-to-be-true retro cocktail caddy. Oooo ahhh… perfect for trying out some other new drinks, eh?

Next up are our two 2nd place winners:  Chari (or “CLD”, as she’s often known) and Heather H.!!!  Congratulations! Those extra credit entries paid off, ladies! 

Chari sent us an antioxidant-rich recipe (let me pretend, ok?) for something she calls a “Healthy” Cosmo, which she also re-posted on her blog:

“Healthy” Cosmo

1/2 oz. Key Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Licor 43
2   oz. Rain Vodka
3   oz. Pure, REAL Pomegranate Juice
1       Lime Wedge
1       Mint Sprig

Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake mightily. Strain into a chilled [preferably frozen] martini glass. Garnish with lime wedge and mint sprig. Sit out on the lanai, prop up your earth shoe-clad feeties on an ottoman and enjoy. Feel proud of yourself for managing to up your antioxidants and get a buzz at the same time!

Heather decided to go all Italian on us with a delicious mix of light, sweet limoncello, tart cran and our ol’ girl the Goose!  She also smartly paired it with a white pizza which if I had my way, I’d have in front of me right now. Mmm mmm… And to make it even better, the white pizza is figure-friendly at only 4 Weight Watcher’s Points® a slice.  That leaves room for another limontini!  Let me have my math.

Limon-tini

• 3oz Grey Goose
• 2oz Caravella Limoncello
• 1oz cranberry juice

Pour over ice, shake, and strain into glass.  Enjoy!

White Pizza

22 min | 10 min prep | SERVES 4

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 vidalia onions or other sweet onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped spinach or arugula leaves
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 (8-inch) prebaked pizza crusts (such as boboli)

1. Spray grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare grill for medium-hot fire.
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sugar, and 1/4 tsp of the salt.
3. Cook, stirring until onion is a rich golden brown, about 8 minutes.
4. Stir together the spinach or arugula, ricotta, 2 tbsp of the parmesan, the basil, and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.
5. Place the crust on a pizza paddle or rimless baking sheet and spread the spinach mixture over it to cover entirely.
6. Top with the onion and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp paremesan.
7. Using the paddle or baking sheet, slide the pizza on the grill, away from the heat source.
8. Cover and cook, rotating the pizza a half turn every 5 minutes, until the pizza is hot and the cheese is fully melted, about 8 minutes.

4 WW Points per serving (1/4 pizza).

Reposted from Weight Watchers.com

Chari and Heather will also each receive a signed copy of our book, The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie as well as an 8oz. tube of our current desktop favorite, Jaqua Hand Creme with Meadowfoam Seed Oil.

We’ll be reporting back about these recipes, along with others that weren’t drawn, in the coming weeks. Plus, stay tuned for the launch of our new website, TheMoxieGirls.com where we’ll be covering cocktails, entertaining, beauty and lifestyle.

Thanks for all of your awesome entries! 

With all the book stuff going on, we’ve kind of let this site simmer on the back burner for a bit.  Now that we’re approaching our final edits on Blogging with Moxie, we’re ready to start thinking about the future!  We have a lot of plans for the Moxie Girls over the summer and into the holiday season. We hope you’ll stop by from time to time to see what’s new.  Since we’ve been so quiet, you may wonder what we’ve been up to…
Kathy put together a fabulous site for virtual assistant (VA), Mia Chambers.  Her company, Acumen VA, was looking for a new logo, as well as a completely overhauled website using a green and purple color palette.
Kathy also did this very traditional design for return client, Athenian Properties.  For their business, they requested a more “gothic architecture” style with minimal color, which Kathy delivered in an elegant, sophisticated format.
Brandi Baldwin wanted a fun design with a sexy blonde woman and lots of cake for her home bakery business in Wyoming, Brandi Bakes!. Brandi definitely wanted “more Anna Nicole, less Martha Stewart” and requested the popular palette of pink and brown.
FashionJunkie was one of the biggest projects we’d worked on to date.  Utilizing lots of illustrations by Micho Illustrations, the client Dara Fleischer requested a bold design with lots of color and action.  This site utilizes lots of bells and whistles and features a variety of scripts, plug-ins and modules.
Wifeville, the online wife-wear boutique created by Jen Gorman, was a bright, cheery design project with a whimsical concept. This project was design-only and developed by a another firm.
It’s a rare opportunity that I get to meet my clients, but I did get the pleasure of meeting Carol Flake at our 2006 SXSW Panel.  She hired us to create a logo and an inviting design for their woman-centric financial website, Woman with Portfolio.  This project was completed in summer 2006, but the client is still finalizing a launch date.
Whew!  So, in addition to a book and a handful of small projects, this is what we’ve been doing with our time.  We also are working on a complete overhaul of this website (including pre-designed exclusive blog templates and small business website templates for those of you looking for instant gratification), as well as the impending launch of our Moxie Girls website which will feature so much cool stuff, I don’t even know where to begin.
And, of course, don’t forget to grab your copy of The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie available for pre-order now from Amazon.  It’s been selling like hotcakes (or so we’re told) so make sure to get in on the action!

Kathy and I have finally been given the green light to announce the Big Secret we’ve been keeping for months.  If you haven’t figured it out yet… we’re writing a book!  *cue the confetti*

Late last year, we were approached by Wiley Publishing, the fine folks who put out the “for Dummies” instructional book series.  On recommendation from our colleague Susie Gardner (who I had the pleasure of sharing a panel with at SXSW in 2006), we were contacted by one of their acquisitions editors (Hi Melody!) about authoring the first book in a brand new series they’re launching called The IT Girls’ Guides.

The series is a technical instruction series with “girlfriends” conversational style.  It’s perfect for the savvy woman who’s interested in learning more — in our case, about blogging, podcasting, blog design and the hottest trends for women in the blogiverse!  Action-packed with all the juicy content you want and very little of the dry geek speak that bores you to tears.  Toss that waterproof mascara, ladies because The IT Girls’ Guide to Blogging with Moxie will be hitting a bookseller near you (and Amazon!) in Fall 2007.

So there it is, the cat’s outta the bag!  For more information, keep an eye on our site for more details as they develop!