My old studio...tear.

I'm having withdrawals from my old studio.  It was huge and I somehow filled it up and made huge messes.  Now that we are back in Chicago, I had to take a hit on space. Don't get me wrong, I love our new place and I'm so lucky to have a in home studio, but it's half the size.  It's hard to change your ways of working! I try to look at it as my chance to concentrate on the more important parts of my artwork and stay organized.  We will see....artists aren't really known to be well organized!

Here are a few pictures of my old studio space and soon I will reveal the new space!!  

Please don't forget to follow me on Instagram for new work and giveaways!!  I'm really trying to grow in this social world and any help I would greatly appreciate it!

7 Ways To Get Motivated & Organized-Office Necessities!

I wanted to share a few things that are must haves on my desk that keep me motivated, inspired and organized to run a small business.  I've done it all from just using a legal pad and computer on the couch to finally having a full functioning office with filing, resources, catalogs....and all the other office-smoffice things.  Trust me, if your surroundings are ready for business, good things will come your way!


1.  Inspiring and Colorful Artwork.  Always have something colorful or motivating on your wall that makes you happy when you sit down at the desk for the day.  I love this print, found in Hattan Home and the Floral Painting is mine found here!

2.  A Daily Planner.  Whitney English's Day Designer will keep you organized and help get things crossed off the list.  It such a great tool to plan ahead and keep track of all the things you have going on.  I use to scribble things down, but there is something about putting it in a pretty book that helps you stick to staying organized. 

3.  Fancy Pens.  Even if they are just decorative, cute pens and pencils sitting on the desk in a cute holder really make you feel like you have to get the job done.  

4.  Stationery and Note Cards.  I think having these on hand are really important.  I always try to write a thank you note to each customer that purchases something from my shop.  I might not get everyone, but I do think a hand written thank you is greatly appreciated and goes a long way professionally. 

5.  Acrylic Tray.  I don't know what I would do with out my trays!  I make messes every hour, but I always try to keep the desk organized and an acrylic tray is great for all the little things the pile up through out the day. Check out all the personalized options we have in the shop here!  

6.  Logo & Business Cards.  Place your business cards in a little holder so you can look at them and remind yourself that you're a professional and you mean business!  Also, seeing your logo around the office also helps you feel like your office is a real place of business-because it is!

7.  Photos.  Placing a few photos of loved ones and fun memories is a great way to get through a tough day.  Put some pictures that make you laugh, even if you're not the most stylish in it, but it will give you a kick in the rear the moment you feel like pulling your hair out.  I change out my pictures and frames all the time as I make new, fun memories with friends and family.  

What do you do to keep motivated and organized??

Studio Sale! Original Ikat Artwork!

Below are a few of the last original paintings I have from my Ikat series...then they are gone-zo!  I will eventually reintroduce some of these as prints, but right now I need to clear some space for the new artwork!  All of these were feature on a Joss and Main sale I did last year, but they were reprints on canvases-these are the original Ikat artwork pieces! 

I'm putting these up here and on FB first, once they go on the website, they don't last!  email me if you're interested or have questions by using contact page on my website.

All prices INCLUDE SHIPPING!!!!  

24x36 Ikat Fluer Painting with artist signature-$200 (originally $350) Deep oranges, blues, teal and gold acrylic paint. SOLD!

24x36 Ikat Palm Painting with artist signature-$200 (originally $350) SOLD!!!

16x20 Sundrenched Ikat Painting with artist signature-$150 (was $250) Frame NOT included.

We're open!

www.lauradrodesigns.com

Sneak Peak-Photoshoot

I wanted to share a few new pieces of work (these are just a few) that I did a mini photo shoot of over the weekend!  These are all prints of original paintings that I did and are printed on Archival Rag Entrada paper.  They are 16x20, 11x14 and 8x10. The quality of printing compared to the real painting is uncanny...I really haven't seen anything out there this nice and I have searched high and low for top quality printing.  I can't wait to share a few more tidbits of when and where I will have more of these available!  Also, I will have original paintings to come.  Thanks to everyone who subscribed for the giveaway...I already contacted the winner, so please email me your information.  Subscribe to my blog to get more details on upcoming giveaways and new artwork available!




   

Giveaway time!

 

 I am so excited about this giveaway!  My Custom Case is an awesome website where you can customize every little detail of your iPhone cover.  The monogram, colors, photo, font...there are so many different options!  These particular covers are my designs and are for iPhone 4, I love how they turned out.  To enter this fun giveaway, all you have to do is SUBSCRIBE to my blog!  That's it!  I won't make you do 5 different things for a chance to snag one.  Just enter your email address up on the right and you will be in.  The winner will get to pick either one of the cases and the giveaway closes Friday morning at 8am.  I will announce the winner later that day.  Good Luck and check out the rest of my designs I am licensing to My Custom Case.

Feel free to leave a fun comment! 

***BE SURE TO CONFIRM YOUR FEEDBURNER SUBSCRIPTION FROM THE EMAIL LINK YOU RECEIVE:)

Trendy Tot Art

I haven't posted many of my Trendy Tot Art, so I thought I would put a few up!  You never know when you might see some of these...maybe in a large retail store soon? *wink wink*  I don't like to share secrets until things are official.  But, Trendy Tot Art is art for cool babies and tots.....like for babies and tots who wear black and do baby yoga.  If you are interested in wholesale orders or seeing the entire collection, email me and I will send you an online catalog.  These are all original, digital artwork by me and come in any size or colorway!  Here is a link to my Trendy Tot Etsy shop with a few more!  Have a great day!

A new painting

 I just wrapped up another Ikat painting and I am hanging it on my own walls right now.  It goes really well with the colors in our living room (but it's always up for grabs).  The past work week was very long, but exciting for me.  I found out what my first fabric line will look like when it goes to the Dallas Market and I found the most fantastic local art printing shop!  I have always wanted to find a place to one day make prints of my paintings to provide more affordable options for people.  I think doing collections of art on your walls will always be popular and is an interesting way to get artwork in your home.  But, I never could find a place that did such high quality scanning and printing of my work and I am so pleased that I found them.  There should be a few exciting things coming to my website that I think you'll enjoy!  Have a fantastic Monday!

New Work and some thoughts...

Hi there!  I hope you had a great long weekend-I did for sure (minus when I was pulling weeds).  But, I wanted to post a new painting that I finished for a customer and I just love it!  I hope she does as well.  I have been ignoring my blog a little lately mostly because I don't know what to talk about on it.  Then it hit me after reading this....

I have been frustrated and trying new things on my blog for months and feel like I am getting nowhere.  But then I thought about why I really have a blog.  My job isn't blogging, I am an artist and textile designer first and foremost...but I felt like I had to have one.  It's true what Andrea said that there are so many blogs out there and so many ways of getting interesting content and pictures...that nothing is really original anymore.  I am completely guilty of doing an entire post straight from Pinterest.  I was always stressing about finding something new and interesting that sometimes my real work was ignored.  All the blogs that I love and check out daily look more like magazines or a resume builder and that's fine but not what I need to do here.  I hope I am not sounding rude, but I don't have time to edit posts in Photoshop and then recreate a layout, insert unique fonts and quirky little icons....I should be painting, sketching, following up leads, contacting my clients, making new collections, submitting my artwork and then a post about it.

I LOVE Pinterest, but I think I will keep my pins on my Pinboard where they should be.  Here on this blog, I might not post everyday or on a consistent basis, but it will be all about what I am working on or painting on...not what I am saving to my desktop and reposting (not that there is anything wrong with that).  So, if you can please remember to stop back by, I promise you will see original artwork (straight from my studio) and content.  You'll see all about my journey of developing my patterns for licensing and when and where they are available.  You'll see what I am developing and creating here and only here because that is my job!

Solid Line Products Cases!

1. Kaleidoscope 2. Almost Orange 3. Pink 4. Spring Green 5. Teal & Orange 6. Pink Too

Good Morning!  Everything happens at once (another exciting announcement to come tomorrow)!  I met the wonderful crew from Solid Line Products at Surtex this past May and was very excited when they picked me as one of their designers!  The idea behind the product is really interesting.  They have customizable hard back covers for all iPads and Kindle Fires.  You can switch up the back cover with something and even drop in photos on the inside cover!  It's a really great idea and I'm very excited to see them up, so please pass along!  I was even more blown away when I learned I would have my own packaging with my name and all...(it's the small things that get me excited)!  Please check out my designs here and get a cute new cover!

New work

Hello There!  I've been painting more in the studio, this one has become my husbands new favorite.  It's definitaly a little looser than the previous paintings.  I wish I could remember to take pictures as it evolves because the different layers of abstration underneath are so different!  I don't ever have expectations when I start, but sometimes I aim for certain colorways and this one took a right hand turn.  There is always a point when painting when you think "that is terrible...what did I do to it?...abort abort!!!" That's when it's so important to step back, take a break for a few hours and then come back fresh and with a glass of wine.   

What are your thoughts on these paintings I've been posting about?  I would love to know what others think besides my husband!  Leave a comment if you like or have a critique...

My Custom Case Patterns!

 I thought I would get a head start last night on my blog post for today and I was so delighted when I obsessively checked MyCustomCase.com to see if my iphone cases were up...and they are up-whoohoo!  The concept is so cool you can pick from so many different patterns (my designs are below) then you can change the monogram, monogram colors, you can also change the color palette of the pattern you pick!  How awesome?!  So....really the variations are endless!  I would be extremely appreciative if you checked out the website here and picked out a new case with my designs!  You deserve a cute new case with a fun monogram...plus it's fun to customize...I've been working on the perfect case for about 30 mins, I can't decide!!  Oh, and by the way there are several of my patterns that are in guy friendly colors and patterns, we didn't forget the guys!

1. Taj Mahal 2. Lace Drop Magentas 3.Posies Sky Blue 4. Pretty Paisley Green

1.Joy Burst 2. Flower Song 3.Jewel Tones Orange 4. Arabesque 

1.Rose Garden Pink 2. Spring Silhouette 3.Aztec Maroon 4. Dandelion Blue