What’s the Dealio, Yo?

We’re very cool and hip with the kids. Can you tell by our title? Word. :)

Things have been, as usual, super busy around these parts. We’ve not updated our blog or our portfolio here in quite some time because we’re in the process of revamping this site. It’s long overdue and this being our 8th year in business, we figured it was a good time. The new site should be online within the next month or so, but we naturally have to put our client projects first… and we certainly have!

We recently launched some new sites, including a huge redesign and redevelopment for bestselling author, Jennifer Chiaverini.  Jennifer had us design her first website in 2005 and returned last year to start work on a new look to coincide with the release of her newest book, The Union Quilters. I always enjoy working with Jennifer and this time, her project was challenging and rewarding.  It was a large project, as her site contains information for over 23 books and has almost 30,000 members!  We created a lot of new features, including a private, members-only Readers’ Circle community where users have personal profiles and can create discussion groups—especially great for book clubs.  If you’re into quilting and haven’t read any of Jennifer’s books, I encourage you to check them out!

Speaking of handcrafted items, we also recently launched a redesign for a Richmond, Virginia yarn shop called The Yarn Lounge.  We took her site from a handful of static pages into Expression Engine to create a dynamic website that Stewart, the owner, or her staff can manage on their own. While Expression Engine does, of course, allow for blogging, The Yarn Lounge had a considerable following within Blogger and it was an environment the client and staff were comfortable posting in, so after some discussion, we decided to keep The Yarn Lounge blog in Blogger, styling it to match her primary business website. Stewart was great to work with and their shop seems really comfortable and inviting.

I don’t knit, but someday, I’ll make a trip to that area so I can meet all my VA/DC clients—I have 10 from that area alone. Mostly fabulous yarn shops (like Fibrespace, Looped Yarn Works and of course, The Yarn Lounge), but also some cheese and wine businesses, too. (Mmmm, cheese….) Thanks for your referrals, Richmond, Alexandria and D.C.!

We have a whole slew of sites launching over the couple months, including a redesign for Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, a business site for a beautiful new spa in Fort Worth, Texas, a podcast and small business site for some fabulous fitness divas, a vintage craft shop, a business site for some lovely Florida attorneys, a redesign for the adorable Dr. V over at Pawcurious, a podcast for a popular relationship expert, and a unique beauty site for a niche audience.

(This is the part where we flop dramatically on a chaise, ask for mint juleps and fan ourselves like we’re in Gone with the Wind.)

In other news, we’re booking for Summer now—our Spring dance cards are beyond full and Summer will fill quickly, so if you’re interested in working together in 2011, please take a moment to fill out our Request for Proposal form as thoroughly as possible. We’re only able to take a limited amount of projects, but we’d love to learn more about yours!

Kathy and I are grateful for all the wonderful new and return business we’ve received this year (and every year). Thanks for choosing (or considering!) Moxie Design Studios for your web presence. We appreciate it and look forward to working with you soon!

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Vegas Staycation

Just a quick note that I’ll be out of the office starting in the afternoon on Thursday Feb 24th through Tuesday, March 1. I’ll be back on Wednesday, March 2nd, ready to rock n’ roll, but am looking forward to a long weekend with friends here in Las Vegas to recharge my creative batteries and refresh my spirit, so I can continue to bring my A-game to my clients. I will reply to your emails if it’s truly urgent, but if the sky isn’t falling, I’ll reply on Wednesday, March 2nd.

Kathy should be around, so if there is an emergency (i.e., your site has been hacked, we’re being invaded by aliens, that sort of thing), you can drop her an email, but she’s got two small children and is only available part time, so please be patient.  But let’s assume we won’t be invaded by aliens, shall we?

I’m super excited for the coming months and all the wonderful websites it will bring to life and new ventures it holds. Catch you on the flip side!

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Of Rabbits and Requests…

Maybe it’s the Year of the Rabbit, maybe it’s just because we’re just that awesome (heh), but we are hoppin’ busy with some wonderful projects. We’re still wrapping up some more elaborate projects from 2010, starting new projects for 2011, and have a few proposals in negotiation, so as of now, we’re booked solid until April.

Since Kathy is raising two beautiful boys, she’s only able to take on design work part time, so that limits the amount of projects we can take each season. My schedule fills up quickly, as well, and I’m working on a big non-client-related project that I’m not allowed to talk about until its launch is imminent. It’s a book! It’s a website! It’s a TV show! It’s… it’s… it’s… maybe it’s something else entirely. I legally not allowed to tell you, so… you’ll just have to wait. :) It’s exciting, though!

An aside, Kathy’s been having some weirdness with her outgoing email not reaching people. If you’ve put in a request for a proposal and never heard back, drop us a line via our contact form. It’s likely that we did reply within a day or two, but it may have drifted off into the Internet ether. We don’t see any obvious problems with our email set-up and her email is working fine for most folks, but it’s worth mentioning, so please let us know.

We appreciate your patience with our schedules. We’d love to work with you and hear more about your project! So if you’re interested in working with us this year, please get your Requests for Proposal in, let us know which designer you’d like to work with and we’ll set up a time to chat. I’m quite talented at chatting. Ask my freshman English teacher who used to bust me for talking in class.

(Photo is of my bunny, Lulu. She thinks she’s famous.)

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These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things!

Christmas is only a couple weeks away, so we thought we’d share some of our favorite things to consider for your own gift giving!  Some are rated G, some are PG, but all are fun!

BluntCard
We love sarcasm and vintage imagery, so what better than a gift card to Bluntcard’s Zazzle shop?  Whether it’s mousepads, mugs or magnets, Bluntcard has something hilarious to suit a sassy adult that you know.

LUSH Cosmetics Goodies
I have a serious problem—I cannot stop buying bath goodies from Lush.  Their products use unusual combos of fragrance, oils, flowers and other goodies in a kind of natural way that is both hippie and chic.  My favorite thing they make is the Karma Bubble Bar. Oh, how I love thee, Karma Bubble Bar! It’s about $8 for one bar, but you can break it among 4 baths. Break a piece off, run under the water and watch as bubbles go nuts in your tub. It smells warm and spicy—just like me! It’s seriously one of the best things I’ve ever smelled.  I also like their Butterball bath bomb, which fizzes and releases cocoabutter into the bath so you could out like an oil slick on a beach… in that good way. If you don’t have a Lush near you (and many don’t), you can order online or through Amazon. Go forth and smell yummy.

Oval Casserole with Lid from Crate and Barrel
I received this as a birthday gift this year and *love it*.  I never thought I could love an inanimate piece of cookery, but it’s the best.  If you have a cook in your life, you might consider getting them this beautiful crock. It’s all white with a clean design that is so pretty, I’ve considered leaving it on my countertop just to admire it.  It’s deep enough to hold all your favorites, like lasagna or green been casserole, but personally, I think it’s ideal for homemade mac n’ cheese.  The lid makes it really handy when you don’t feel like schlepping out the plastic storage. Plop on the lid, stick in the fridge and enjoy your leftovers the next day. Love, now I want more beautiful cookware like that!

BevMo!
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention BevMo.  We realize not everyone cocktails, but if you have a wine lover in your life, we highly recommend a BevMo gift card.  We sort of think gift cards can be impersonal, but if you select a nice bottle of their favorite wine (or yours if you want to turn them on to it) and attach a gift card to BevMo and maybe tie on a little wine opener or something, it makes a gift card seem much less “Here, have some cash.” It puts some thought behind it.  BevMo often has great 5-cent wine sales so the wine zealot you know could have a veritable spree in there on your dime. (Best part? You might get to drink some of that wine with them!)  Our favorite? Just about anything by Rex Goliath—especially their Pinot Noir.  It’s cheap, cheerful and downright delicious.

iTunes App Store
Let’s face it, we’re app crazy.  If you’ve got an iPad or iPhones (like we do—no iPad yet, though!), then you know the fever of which we speak. And likely, the iPhone lover in your life would be more than happy to receive credits toward some new apps! iTunes giftcards make great stocking stuffers.  May we recommend our client’s new app? For all of you with kids (moms, dads, grandparents, babysitters, nannies, what have you), The Story Home has just launched a new app for iPhone and iPad that allows you to download and listen to their stories on the go.  It gives you access to 75 of their most beloved stories, endorsed by the American Library Association and read by storyteller, Alan Scofield.  If you need to keep your little one occupied, hope to get them to relax or just want to spend time together sharing the joys of storytelling, consider downloading this app by The Story Home, available in the iTunes store.

We’ve also got some freebies for you!  Here are some of the holiday wallpaper we did a couple years ago and also some Twitter backgrounds, too!  In the new year, we’re going to have a bunch of new freebies available to coincide with the launch of our new site, so stay tuned for that. So excited!

Holiday Wallpapers

Holiday Twitter Backgrounds

Kathy and I both wish a very, very happy holiday to you and yours. Don’t nog n’ drive!

Fine Print: Illustrations in our freebie wallpapers are done by our fabulous illustrator, the incomparable Derek Yaniger. They were commissioned and created for us and/or by us and may not be reused or redistributed for profit or personal gain. Like his stuff? Get his book! Some illustrations in the freebie Twitter backgrounds are also courtesy of Derek Yaniger, this time from his Snappy Hour Invitation Kit.  It’s awesome, you should totally get it!

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Cran-Apple Cobbler

• 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff cranberry twist
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 oz apple cider
• 1 oz cranberry juice
• Garnish: apple slice
• Rim: crushed graham cracker

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with crushed graham cracker. Garnish with apple slice.

Recipe and photo courtesy of CocktailTimes.com

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