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Career Inspiration Round-up: 09/09/2011

September 9, 2011 by Renee Claire

Everyday I'm Hustlin poster at Felt and Wire Shop

Everyday I’m Hustlin print, $29.99 at Felt & Wire Shop.

Happy Friday!

  • If anyone understands time management, it’s working mothers. Joanna at A Cup of Jo rounded up seven top bloggers and asked how they juggled it all.
  • Love John C. Jay’s 10 Lessons for Young Designers (it’s valuable advice for anyone).
  • Here are three websites that really impressed me with their blogging/graphic design tutorials & freebies: Pugly Pixel, Smashing Magazine, & Blog.SpoonGraphics.

Great advice:

“Have more than one dream and take opportunities when they arise. My story is often framed as “follow your dreams and everything will work out,” but I had other dreams before Grammar Girl that didn’t work out. I produced a science podcast that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I experimented with a new idea — Grammar Girl — and when it took off, I ran with it. I’ve seen people get completely derailed when they have too much invested in a single dream that falters. Life rarely follows the path you think it’s going to follow. You’re more likely to find success if you’re open-minded and flexible.

—Grammar Girl’s Mignon Fogarty talking to Modcloth

Here are some “Day in the Life”-type posts that offer insight into less typical careers:

  • Elsie at A Beautiful Mess described what it’s like to own a vintage store.
  • I love Sometimes Sweet’s “9 to 5” column. It features jobs that I can see myself doing, but don’t know a ton about (the last three profiles were of an indie bookstore owner, a flight attendant, and a fashion designer).
  • Steve Olson wrote about how one former bookseller makes a good living selling books online from home.
  • It hasn’t been updated in a while, but I always enjoy Gala Darling’s more outlandish “I Want to Be” column (past profiled careers include a beauty queen, a dominatrix, and a rock star).

Pottery Barn Home Office Wall Organizers
Pottery Barn home office (image via All Things Lovely, similar products available here).

Here are recommendations for boosting your productivity:

  • Black Eiffel lists her five favorite digital productivity tools (I’ve tried Wunderlist, and it’s cool).
  • More apps and productivity advice from Etsy’s Laura (that Sleepcycle app sounds amazing…).
  • Design*Sponge’s “Biz Ladies” column wrote about “How to Organize Your Life With Online Tools.

Finally, a good reminder for creatives:

“My personal advice for young artists/designers is to start building a collection of resources and inspiration that is not from the internet. Step away from the computer. Go to the library, bookstore, vintage shop or flea market and have a browse. […] Too much of the work that is floating around online right now looks exactly the same. Social networks can be great for dispersing information and for widening your visual library. But they can also cripple your creativity if you don’t take what you find and do something different to make it your own.”

—Dana Tamachi talking to Design*Sponge

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Career

Blog Upgrade: How to Make Colored Blocks With Rounded Edges Using CSS3

August 8, 2011 by Renee Claire

Hi guys! I’m working on several long-term projects, and recently discovered how to use CSS3 to create colored boxes with rounded edges. It’s a simple, effective way to break up text-heavy posts without additional images. It’s also good for highlighting text or separating sidebar info from the main post.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Text Box 1
Text Box 2

Pretty! And it’s easy to do.

Here is the code I used (and here’s a list of web colors):

<div style=”background-color: #[YOUR COLOR]; border-radius: 20px; padding: 15px;  width: [DESIRED WIDTH]px; text-align: center;”>[YOUR TEXT]</div>

You can also use this code with images:
tulle top & patent oxford sandalsIt uses much the same code as before, but within the <img> tag:

<img style=”background-color: #[YOUR COLOR]; border-radius: 20px; padding: 20px; border: 0px;” src=”[IMAGE URL]”>

I like this method of creating boxes with rounded edges for several reasons:

  • It’s incredibly customizable: every value (the width, padding, etc.) above can be modified to suit your blog needs. Examples of the possibilities: one, two.
  • No JavaScript and no images needed.
  • My blogs are hosted by Typepad, and it’s not easy for me to fiddle with my blog template’s code. This script works in my Edit Post field (HTML view), with no other adjustments.
  • Google and other search engines can crawl your formatted text, something they couldn’t do if you’d created an image with text.

The only real downside is that CSS3 is not compatible with some older browsers (UPDATE: Or with Google Reader, phooey), meaning some people won’t see the rounded edges (though they should see everything else). Browsers evolve quickly, though, so this should be less and less of problem.

Filed Under: Blogging, Career

Dressing for the Modern Office

January 6, 2011 by Renee Claire

Modern Office Wear

Row 1: Zero Maria Cornejo Mini Eve Grace Dress, $350 (sale); Freckled Blouse, $98; Zara Synthetic Leather Tee, $30 (sale). Row 2: Norma Kamali Straight Jersey Skirt, $12 (in-store only); Plenty by Tracy Reese Draped Frock, $158; Seychelles Romance Boots, $80 (sale).

While prepping for job interviews, I realized I don’t have many “office” clothes (my current job’s dress code is jeans & a nice t-shirt). So I’ve been thinking about how to dress for interviews, and (I hope) my new position.

I’d like to look professional & competent, but not too corporate (since I’m in a creative field). Right now, I’m thinking bold prints, simple silhouettes, jewel tones framed by black basics, and a variety of textures (see above).

What do you like to wear to work, and where do you like to buy office clothes? More importantly for office dressing neophytes like me: what kind of unprofessional wardrobe mistakes do you see most often?

Filed Under: Career, Polka Dot Love, Wear-to-Work

Podcasts to Try

December 16, 2008 by Renee Claire

iPod nanoMy mother had a hand-me-down iPod nano she never used, and three weeks ago she gave it to me. It’s my first mp3 player, and I’m so happy!

I currently can’t put music on it (it’s a long story, & not a good one), so I’ve been experimenting with free podcasts. Some of my favorites so far:

  • Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
  • NPR’s All Songs Considered
  • WNYC’s Radio Lab
  • This American Life
  • CoffeeBreak French
  • CoffeeBreak Spanish
  • The Sound of Young America

What podcasts do you listen to?

Filed Under: Currently Enjoying, Money

Ideal Work Outfit

November 11, 2008 by Renee Claire

Ideal Work OutfitI normally don’t just repost images from other blogs, but I’ve had this photo burned into my head for months now. The blend of bed-head and a chic blazer is perfect. ::via {frolic!}

Filed Under: Career, Wear-to-Work

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