i’m sure i’ll update this more soon, but i’m happy to announce i’ve gotten my portfolio up and running.

this is a list of things that made the year 2012 perfect for me.

• january: fell in love.
• february: got superbusy, proudly hit my caffeine intake high, became a packaging designer, began building a design portfolio, found my second home in the stockton 55 elevator, graciously let go of a love that would later come back to me, and made some pretty badass typography inspired valentines. 
• march: found some amazing friends, visited old ones, became more dedicated to my work than ever, branded myself, created a really cool faux men’s skincare line and the packaging for it, and ended a crazy quarter at fidm by presenting my best work at the apple store in san francisco. 
• april: endings and beginnings. my beloved toyota celica broke down! this was a sad moment of 2012. it was my last month being 19 & last quarter at fidm;  also the start of my career. oh, and the first trip to long beach. i dig my toes in to the sand…. 
• may: happy birthday to me. i got my big girl shoes, and everything was roses, i missed him a lot, but que sera sera.
• june: GRADUATED. MOVED OUT. but what’s growing up without a little fun? 
• july: work & play. still thought about you from time to time, got back in touch with daddeo, getting settled in the new place, learning how much i truly. hate. BUGS. 
• august: nothing big, except for the fun trip to hold my brother’s hand at the hospital whilst they dissected a sewing needle from his foot. fun, fun.
• september: this month was a blur. tons of all nighters, party-hopping, and bottomless cups of coffee… i had wonderful business trip to napa for a decor shoot and a fashion shoot, too. 
• october: started dating again! here is how that turned out. lol. the magazine came out, and this was also the month i found the first picture i’d ever seen of my parents together. and how can i forget- this was the month he came back in to my life again. 
• november: fell in love with you all over again, bought a new car, had a wonderful trip to san francisco, made some art after learning how to take a day to myself, changing my look, dates with mama,
• december: hosted my first christmas party! what a crazy day that was. i gained a new client, did a photoshoot, visited my best friend in santa cruz, saw forest play in the mariposa symphony, and on the 13th i lost ‘him’ all over again. this heartbreak will be carried in to the new year but that doesn’t make the overall past year any less perfect. i have loved and lost; so that’s life. i will still look back on 2012 as the year everything changed for the better, whether i believe it yet or not.  

cheers to you, 2012, you were pretty damn fabulous.

hello fellow tumblebees,

i am specifically trying to reach out to other designers, but anyone who can offer advice on this subject is welcome to put their 2 cents on the table. i bought my first slice of online real estate recently and wanted to find out about hosting my website domain on tumblr. i have been familiar with this platform for years so that is why i am leaning this way rather than wordpress or anything else. i would like my site to have maybe three pages; blog, design, and contact info.

i just need opinions from those of you who have your site hosted here on tumblr. do you like it? pros/cons?

what makes you satisfied? what makes you your best? one thing i wish i knew before i started at fidm is to embrace what i loved doing. that sounds silly because i was there because i loved design, of course i loved it. but i’m talking about the not-so-obvious. i’m talking about this little word niche. what are you good at? your niche can be your signature in design, the little element that leaves the essence of you. your mark. i have been hearing this word a lot lately and am really glad to of had an instructor that told me to embrace my niche when i was trying so hard to try other styles and techniques in design. she saw that i loved my creative process to start from scratch, and be polished at the end but still keeping that handmade feel. so i embraced it and made it part of my brand essence. i learned that it was vital to be capable of varied looks & feels, but never lose sight of what makes you the most happy with your design. what makes it you? it’s important to recognize this and even more important to OWN IT because it’s what makes your work, yours.

A snippet of some of my most favorite pieces of the last year and a half.  This is a page dedicated purely to my work, so follow if you please. There will be lots more to come. Thank you everyone for your support! 

[more to come!]

-gloria