“Follow your bliss”

Kelly @ JAX Decor & Design

I read this quote on Patricia Gray’s blog. It’s by Joseph Campbell. The complete quote is:

My general formula for my students is “Follow your bliss.” Find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it.

Last night, I popped into Beddingtons and got to talking with the lady at the cash. I can’t quite remember how the topic came up (my brain is a sieve!!), but she told me the story of a friend’s daughter, Cheryl Smith. Cheryl was working at the International Air Transport Association in Montreal, but her real love was web design. She didn’t have any formal training or education in web design — she just loved web design.

I can’t remember all the details of the story (again, that sieve brain problem, plus I was running late for step dance class). But through a series of events, Cheryl ended up designing the web site for and working with amazing Canadian fiddler, Natalie MacMaster. Which led to her designing web sites for other people (including other musicians). Which led to her moving to the East Coast. Which led to her creating OutFront Productions Inc. Which culminated in her becoming an award–winning Graphic Designer: (Image to the left from Natalie MacMaster’s web site)

• 2002 International Association of Webmasters and Designers “Golden Web Award for Design”
• 2005 Junior Chamber of Commerce “Young Entrepreneur of the Year”
• 2005 & 2006 East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) “Graphic Designer of the Year”
• 2009 Nominated for ECMA “Graphic Designer of the Year” and “Website of the Year”

Cheryl followed her bliss, and has achieved amazing success. Yay, Cheryl!!

So today, I’m even more inspired to follow my bliss and start my own home decorating business. To be honest, I’m really not sure how to go about it. I have an officially registered company — JAX Decor & Design — and a potential logo designed by a Graphic Design friend:

I also have a bright pink binder I bought at Staples to keep all my paperwork and projects in :-) Hubby is currently working on installing a ceiling and lighting in my home office. And I’m decorating a good friend’s guest bedroom. I’m kind of at a loss after that…

Like Cheryl, I don’t have any formal training or education in interior decorating. But it’s my absolute greatest love and passion. Well, after my family and my dogs :-) I think about decorating ALL THE TIME. I spend as much time as I can reading decorating blogs and checking out designer web sites and reading decorating books and magazines and watching decorating shows on TV. Decorating is what I want to do more than anything…

It’s time to stop the “wanting” and start the “doing”… look out bliss, here I come!!

See more of Cheryl’s work here:

OutFront Productions Inc. Portfolio

DesignTies makes Patricia Gray’s Top 10 List!!

Wow!!!! Wonderful Vancouver designer and fellow blogger, Patricia Gray, has selected DesignTies as one of her Top 10 new interior design blogs!!!!

This is an absolute thrill and honour for us. When we started DesignTies less than two months ago, neither of us knew very much about blogging — we weren’t even sure where to start with our first post!! Over the last month and a half, we’ve learned so much about both blogging and interior decorating & design from all the wonderful blogs we’ve discovered :-) And we’ve “met” lots of great people in blogworld—including many of Patricia’s Top 10 new bloggers.

Patricia’s blog has been a great inspiration to us. Not only does she write wonderful and insightful posts, but her blog looks fantastic. We like it so much, that we’ve incorporated some of her design elements into our blog. Thank you, Patricia!! Also, a special thank you to Maria at Colour Me Happy for suggesting ways to improve our blog. And to Michelle at A Schematic Life as well.

And to all our fellow Top 10 bloggers, congratulations to you!! Keep on inspiring others with your wonderful blogs!!

Check out all the blogs on Patricia’s Top 10 List — you’ll be happy you did!! :-)

Thank you, Patricia!!

Purple, purple, everywhere!!

Kelly @ JAX Decor & Design

I LOVE PURPLE. I just came across a wonderful post about purple on Patricia Gray's blog. If you like purple too (or want to see why it's such an AWESOME colour!!), check it out...

Patricia Gray Interior Design: The Color Purple

I can't help myself.... here's lots more purple!!! First set of photos from Flickr....

These pictures are from the gallery at Livingetc. As you can see, purple can be big and bold or subtle and subdued....

I cannot for the life of me remember what blog I found this picture on. If it’s your blog (or you know whose blog it is), please let me know…

A couple of purple rooms from Eileen Kathryn Boyd's blog...

And of course, being a purple lover, I HAVE to have some purple in my house!! :-)

And, just came across a purple post on Harmony and Home...