SMALLWERKS BLOG

Category Archives: Blog

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2013 Spring Pantone Colors :: The Road to Emerald City

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We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore. Pantone has released Emerald as the 2013 Color of the Year for 2013, along with a bright and vivid collection of spring colors!

Emerald is a vibrant green that is most often associated with the gemstone of the same name. It turns out Pantone knew just what we needed to get inspired in 2013. The hue of this color helps breathe in new life into the new year for it is recognized as a color of development and renewal. Naturally, we associate emerald with sophistication, luxury and richness.

Emerald was also chosen because, it “is the most abundant hue in nature – the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum.” (Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®).

Continue reading →

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PODCAST – USC’s Explore@4: Entrepreneurship

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USC Guest Panel Speakers for Explore@4: Entrepreneurship

On Wednesday, January 23rd, USC hosted Explore@4: Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the USC Entrepreneur Club. It was wonderful to get to see how USC has changed since graduating in 2005 and the E-Club has certainly grown since Ashlee Gardner and I relaunched it. I’m an avid fan of college students hearing about alternatives to the traditional career path, so Paige and I drove up from Orange County and back through rush hour just to take this opportunity.

The guest speakers were:

• Josh Hartwell, CEO of Mobile Deluxe (this guy has been doing gaming before smart phones)

• Curtis T. Jewell II, EVP of Marketing at Excel Management Systems Inc. (his own thing, not the former network marketing company)

• Jennifer Vogel, Senior Executive VP, Electric Yoga | Bisou Bisou (she’s done tons of international business)

• Courtney Thurman, CEO, SmallWerks (lil’ ol’ me and my awesome hand posing)

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FREE Wallpaper Downloads Designed to Inspire

Filed under: Blog, Inspiration, Staying Motivated
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Entrepreneurs, small business owners and creatives must constantly seek out inspiration to carry on their vision and achieve their goals. We all know what it’s like to find ourselves working into the wee hours of the night, needing a burst of creativity to motivate and inspire us. Or maybe you are working on a new venture or vision and need that little nudge to keep you going.

No matter your situation, inspiration goes a long way. 

That’s why we designed 9 customized desktop wallpapers to help spark creativity and provide the boost of inspiration you need! Continue reading →

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Two States. One Dream.

Filed under: Blog, Business Operations, SmallWerks Announcements
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Wow. 2012 was a huge year for us at SmallWerks. This business was built on a dream – to be able to serve the best small businesses and nonprofits out there to do their art and great work. We handpicked you just like you pick us and we are so grateful for the growth that 2012 brought us and you!

It also brought some sadness. SmallWerks was built to give freedom to not only choose who we served, but to also give us time with the most important people in our lives. You saw us go through two years of The Mom’s Alive Tour and you granted us ‘time off’ when we needed it most to spend that valuable time. Again, thank you!

This November, The Mom, for whom we had The Mom’s Alive Tour, who encouraged us to start this business in the first place, got to end this part of her journey in an incredibly beautiful way. Her Memorial Service had a huge turnout with professional musicians all celebrating her life and the incredible transition. The moving video made in her memory can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/54704115.

Our new Marketing Coordinator, Paige took the lead and steered this ship for two months during this intense time. (She really rocks!) During this time, we found that she did a great job running California, and I ended up picking up clients in Colorado! We made this cross-state agency work happen and it was growing!

So we have a dream – to go BIG!

Starting February 1st, I’ll be in Colorado (Colorado Springs & Denver) the majority of the time, and back in California every other month to help with California activities and to put on some of our booming SendOutCards events (check them out at www.OCSOCStars.com and learn about it at www.SendOutCards.com/SmallWerks!) Paige is taking on California!

I’ll still be actively working on SmallWerks’ California activities – have no fear! Most of you haven’t seen me in a few months anyway! There’s so much growth ahead and we’re excited to bring you the best service that two states can give!

I know that this is big news for many of you, so feel free to ask us specific questions how this may impact you. We believe that this will be great for everyone but we know that there will be questions. Email me at Courtney at SmallWerks.com or Paige at SmallWerks.com.

Onward and upward . . . and new horizons! Two states, here we come!

This amazing print of the Denver skyline was made by JanuaryJonesPrints on Etsy. Buy her great stuff here.

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Google Web Fonts :: An Open Source Gem

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Web designers are constantly searching for fresh fonts to implement into their websites. With over 600 different font families in their collection, Google has now made it easy and FREE to add intricate high quality typography to your site. It’s all part of the Google Developer API services.

IT’S ALL OPEN SOURCE :: Google Web Fonts is an open source platform, giving you a free option for a wide variety of online typography. Users are encouraged to share fonts with their friends, family and colleagues. And you can use them for both commercial and private purposes. Google has released the rights to each and every font hosted in their directory so there’s no need to fret over licenses. Additionally, you can also download the font pack directly to your PC for use in mock-ups and other print materials. This makes it easy to show a client exactly what the typography will look like on the site when going through the initial web review process.

And it’s all about collaboration. Continue reading →

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Merry & Bright :: Free Holiday Graphics Designed for You

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It’s the season of giving and we are feeling extra generous this year! That’s why we designed 20 custom holiday graphics for your own personal use. They are perfect for creating your Christmas card this year! You can use them over your own card designs to add a personal touch.

We use SendOutCards and recommend it to all of our friends and clients to send personal cards using their photos. The website allows you to create custom greeting cards and gifts to show gratitude for the people in your life. If you are new to SendOutCards you can visit sendoutcards.com/smallwerks and get started by designing a FREE card.

You’ll be hooked, trust us! Continue reading →

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Social Lending :: Fund Your Next Great Idea

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When it comes down to dollars and cents, turning great ideas and business plans into a reality can be overwhelming. Luckily, there are so many more options for lending than just a traditional bank loan with a less-than-desirable interest rate. Social lending sites, like Indiegogo.com, have shifted the way many different types of projects and causes are funded. In fact, SmallWerks, Inc. was started with a little help from a company called LendingClub.com.

Read on to learn how you can fund your great idea.

INDIEGOGO SPOTLIGHT :: How does it work?

Indiegogo makes it simple to create a customized campaign to raise money for your project and gives you the exposure you need to reach your goal. All you need to do is tell people about your cause and why it’s important. Then you’ll want to let your potential contributors know what unique perks they will get in return for giving.

And you’re ready to spread your story! Continue reading →

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WEST ELM :: An Exclusive Peak Into The New Costa Mesa Store

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Last week, we had the unique opportunity to attend a pre-opening event for the new West Elm store in Costa Mesa. Since we’ve been West Elm fanatics for quite some time now, it’s no surprise that we’ve been itching to give you the inside scoop.

Here’s a sneak peak into the new home decor store located at South Coast Plaza.

COSTA MESA’S LIVING WALL ::  The very first thing you will notice when walking into the new West Elm store is the “living wall” located behind the cash wrap. The eye catching wall is constructed out of plants that will continue to grow and flourish as time goes on. Each West Elm store is set up in it’s own unique way to inspire customers to think outside of the box when it comes to designing their homes and workspaces.

And that’s just the beginning…. Continue reading →

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A Free Project Management Tool that Allows You to DO What You Love

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You’re busy. There’s so much to do everyday for your business – from project management, tracking your deals and staying on top of your contact list, and with so many online collaboration tools out there . . . how do you pick which is the right one for you?

Just like you and all the time-and-budget-strapped small business entrepreneurs out there, we are always trying to find ways to streamline our daily workflow to maximize our time. After all, we would rather be out doing what we love, than spending time coordinating tasks. And some of these services charge you to use them so we’re thrilled to say that we discovered Do.com, a free project management and task tracker tool from Salesforce.

And it’s truly FREE. It not only allows you to assign and share tasks with other users, but also track multiple projects, set reminders, add deals, import contacts and so much more with no limit on space or users. Continue reading →

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Why Do Some Wilt While Others Thrive? No R-Words Here.

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Wilt or Thrive?

Last weekend, I went to a gorgeous wedding up in Santa Barbara, my first time ever being up in the area and because I was a good guest, I stayed late enough to bid a bubble-blowing goodbye to the bride and groom, which rewarded me with the opportunity to snag some of the gorgeous leftover bouquets.

This morning, I noticed two flowers responding very differently to the same environment, despite having the same water and access to light but one is wilted and the other is thriving. Flowers can’t chose to respond differently – they’re reactive and aside from their ability to bend themselves toward light, they have little other recourse. I couldn’t help but smile because that’s exactly how we are in this very polarizing environment. And even at bare minimum, are you bending yourself toward light or succumbing to your situations? Continue reading →