blog design

I had not yet shared the logo/blog header design I did for my dear friend, Kristin (aka Krissea). You may remember Kristin from her guest blog post about the Natural Products trade show. She pens a lifestyle blog about all things coastal and sea/ocean-related - Krissea. She has started in earnest the process of branding her blog and making it her cohesive style, and in April that began with me helping her to design her logo, blog header, and favicon.

I don't do a lot of blog branding work, but as it is basically the same as any other brand identity and logo work and I LOVE taking on logo/identity projects! I love the process of creating an identity/logo that conveys the foundations, mission, thoughts, ideals, emotions, personality, etc. of the given entity and then defining the standards of how that identity is put into use (style guides, use guidelines, etc). That whole process culminates in a logo and/or logotype that accurately represents the entity it was created for, and it also results {hopefully} in a logo that is a worthy addition to the design world.

I have not done as much logo/identity work lately, as I have been doing more custom wedding invitation design (which I also love to do) and *remember the day* designs.

You can check out a sampling of my logo designs on my Flickr.

Guest Post: Love & Natural Products by Krissea + Giveaway

Hi there! I'm Kristin stopping by from http://www.krissea.com/.  I feel so honored my dear friend Chloe has invited me to guest post on &Chloe.  My passions and interests are many, but because I'm just on the heels of a trip to SoCal for a Natural Products trade show, I thought it'd be fun to share a bit of the experience with you all.  For anyone out there that has ever shopped at Whole Foods, that has ever purchased an organic food product, a "green" cleaning product, or a natural beauty product (just to name a few), there is something you would have found and loved at Expo West Natural Products show in Anaheim, CA.

This year over 60,000 retailers attended to visit over 2,000 booths covering 1 MILLION net square feet at the Anaheim Convention Center (and as a result MY FEET were a bit sore to say the least).  I was there representing Zuke's, a natural dog treat company based out of Durango, Colorado.

A lot goes into putting this show together.  Each attending company works hard the night before so the next day they are ready to meet new potential customers, reconnect with current business partners, and feed lots of hungry attending foodies (including me!) 

A few of my fav samples included:

PB Crave - This is the first I've seen this company and all I can say is I hope it's not the last. They are a peanut butter company and with flavors including COCO Bananas and Cookie Nookie I was in Peanut Butter heaven.  They donate a portion of profits to a non-profit organization focused on treating malnourished children. Check them out at http://www.pbcrave.com/.  Here is a pic of their cute booth!

StonyField Farms - The Stonyfield Farms Booth is Freaking Awesome. Everyday they set up a Yogurt Bar with toppings like organic granola and Annie's Chocolate Bunnie Grahams. Check out the Yogurt Bar and their cute booth shaped like a giant yogurt.

My fav booth in the beauty aisle every year hands down is Love & Toast: check it out - so bright and pretty. Not only do I love their booth but I LOVE their products too.  Their honey coconut perfume smells like summertime. http://www.loveandtoast.com/.

And of course you can't go wrong with organic peanut butter cups. 'Nuff said. This year Justin's also unveiled a new product that was similar to a Twix bar...only it was organic. http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/.

GIVEAWAY

The best part?!  I brought back samples and coupons from the show, and one lucky winner will get a gift package courtesy of &Chloe.  All you have to do to win is comment below on your fav natural product and one lucky winner will be chosen at random.
  

Thanks for stopping by &Chloe...and swing by krissea.com to say hello and follow your beach bliss.

xo 

http://www.krissea.com/

meet kristin

Meet my great friend, Kristin.

Isn't she so cute? I adore her, and am so grateful to count her as my friend.

Kristin has been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time ... in fact, she has a blog that acts more of an online journal (and she wasn't even sure if other people could see what she publishes on this online journal). However, more recently she has been wanting to start a blog in earnest, which obviously I can relate to, remembering how I felt before starting &chloe. I think it is a feeling many of you can relate to. Well, Kristin is truly moving forward with her decision and plans to start her blog soon - she purchased the domain and has decided what niche she wants her blog to fill. Big steps. Important steps. krissea begins! (you'll have to wait to get the explanation on "krissea" when it launches)

I am thrilled that she is moving forward, and I love the concept she has developed for her blog (again, I will let her share at a later time). But, TODAY, I am excited to introduce Kirstin here on &chloe because in the interim between now and when she launches her blog, Kristin will be doing a little guest blogging here on &chloe (yay! woot woot!).  Kristin's guests posts will be on varying topics that are health and lifestyle related as she has a professional and personal passion for natural products. Not only did her love of the organic, outdoor lifestyle bring her to Colorado 8 years ago, but it is also a large part of her dedication to her position at Zuke's, where she has worked for 6 years.

Her time at Zuke's has allowed her to dive into the professional world of natural products as that is a channel of brokering Zuke's all natural dog treats. Natural products - that is where her first post here on &chloe will take us!

Next week Kristin will be attending the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, one of the largest natural product industry trade shows. It is an industry hub showcasing products in the categories of natural and specialty foods, organic, supplements, health and beauty, natural living and pet products.  According to Kristin, this show is amazing for finding new and existing natural products ... and no one would turn down the abundant samples, either.

Kristin will be attending this year's expo with &chloe in mind (lucky us!!!), which means she is going to report back with the scoop on her favorite products that she finds at the show. I am so excited to bring a new voice to &chloe, along with some great information about natural products. I, too, love natural, healthy, fresh, clean, pure products, albeit my focus hasn't up to this point allowed me to bring the spotlight to them with this intensity on my blog.

So, watch for Kristin's feature after she gets back from the show ... and let's hope it is the start of many more!

*Please note: I would like to note now that all the products Kristin shares on &chloe will be featured because of her genuine interest in those products. Neither Kristin nor I receive or will receive compensation of any kind in exchange for promoting products on &chloe. We talk about shit 'cuz we truly like it, not because someone entices us to do so!