inspiration number three
My little beauties have skin as white as snow. I love it! This photo was taken on my iPhone, Forth of July, on my black top driveway.
hi: Beauty is everywhere.
lo: Not enjoying beauty when it’s right in front of you.
Porcelain Inspiration
August 13th, 2010Garden Inspiration
August 4th, 2010
I plant, pick, smell, scrutinize, and adore my garden. It inspires color, shapes and incredible motifs.
today’s hi: black bean hummus and grape leaves!
today’s lo: I smell like black bean hummus and grape leaves — sorry team.
We’re excited to announce the newest branch on our tree – Safelite® AutoGlass
July 28th, 2010
“Safelite repair, Safelite replace.” By now you’ve surely heard or sung the jingle yourself!
To keep up with all the repairs and replacements they have the pleasure of helping customers with, we have been asked to focus on a third “R” ….. recruitment. treetree has been selected to partner with Safelite® AutoGlass to create an employment brand and recruitment advertising campaign to attract potential associates nationwide. We’ve begun our discovery process and are excited to hone in on cultural aspects that will strike a chord with the right kinds of people.
Safelite® Group, a subsidiary of Belron®, is the nation’s leading provider of auto glass repair and replacement services and currently employs more than 9,000 talented individuals nationwide. We’re excited to help them add additional members and help clarify what it means to be a part of the Safelite team!
Summer Inspiration
July 26th, 2010
My children inspire me to belly laugh, run barefoot on the black top and draw outside the lines. I admire their ability to just enjoy the small things in life. This is the first montage/collage in a series that is yet to be titled. Thanks to my daughter Sullivan (who has the fattest knee loaves ever) and to my son, Colin Patrick (who’s my only sunshine).
today’s hi: focusing on the things that make me happy.
today’s lo: there hasn’t been one yet.
Environment matters!
May 11th, 2010Is your space hip, retro, modern, outdated, classic or just ugly? I hope your space rocks because we spend approximately 40 hours a week, 120 hours a month, and 2,240 hours a year working in these spaces.
Here are some inspiring spaces as well as our four-month-old loft.
hi: working in a space I love.
lo: it’s nicer than my home.
Barcelona’s wholesale flower market
Barcelona’s wholesale flower market
Parisian designers Philippe Rosetti and Simon Pillard
Parisian designers Philippe Rosetti and Simon Pillard
Gym —Paris
Have a seat.
treetree loft view two
treetree loft view two
wonder why? wonder web.
Naming something? Check out these 7 criteria for a good name.
April 29th, 2010A good name can make a big difference. And the process of naming can be quite intimidating. We love the criteria in The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier and often refer to it when beginning a naming project (like we just did about an hour ago).
The 7 Criteria for a Good Name
1. DISTINCTIVENESS: Does it stand out from the crowd, especially from other names in its class? Does it separate well from ordinary text and speech? The best brand names have the “presence” of a proper noun.
2. BREVITY: Is it short enough to be easily recalled and used? Will it resist being reduced to a nickname? Long, multi-word names will be quickly shortened to non-communicating initials.
3. APPROPRIATENESS: Is there a reasonable fit with the business purpose of the entity? If it would work just as well – or better – for another entity, keep looking.
4. EASY SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION: Will most people be able to spell the name after hearing it spoken? Will they be able to pronounce it after seeing it written? A name shouldn’t turn into a spelling test or make people feel ignorant.
5. LIKABILITY: Will people enjoy using it? Names that are intellectually stimulating, or provide good “mouth feel,” have a headstart over those that don’t.
6. EXTENDABILITY: Does it have “legs?” Does it suggest a visual interpretation or lend itself to a number of creative executions? Great names provide endless opportunities for brand play.
7. PROTECTABILITY: Can it be trademarked? Is it available for web use? While many names can be trademarked, some names are more defensible than others, making them safer and more valuable in the long run.
If you haven’t read the rest of his book, it’s fabulous. You should order a copy.
Happy naming!
today’s hi: one week from today I get to interview my industry idol, thanks to a wonderful guy.
today’s lo: found out that a new client’s projects have been delayed 
treetree gets a haircut!
April 28th, 2010When your company is named after something you can actually kill, there is some pressure to keep it alive. I spent some time this morning “gardening.” No clogs or straw hat, although I should look into some cute gardening gear!
I started by using my giant tweezers to remove all the debris from his pebbles and then raked the base to fluff it up and mix in his food.
Then, I trimmed the branches using those fancy scissors (they work great for trimming my bangs, too!) which actually promotes new growth. According to my handy book, new leaves should appear in the places I pruned within two to three weeks!
And the finished result . . . . . . . .
today’s hi: excited to start on a naming project! Naming is tough but fun.
today’s lo: I’m on a diet and craving Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan, but I can’t have it!
Giambattista Bodoni, Neville Brody, Milton Glaser and Luke Deady
March 23rd, 2010Yeah, we place Luke among some of the most influential, talented graphic designers. He’s new to the community and a rising star. Luke’s portfolio is refreshing and of course creative. Why the hell else would we hire him? Take a look at a few pieces from his portfolio. It speaks for itself. Much like Bodini he’s got a passion for typography. We’re anticipating the day that a type family is named after Luke.
It’s more than just his amazing typography, design and copywriting skills that attracted us to Luke. He isn’t a “yes man.” He pushes back subtly and will also stand on the table and scream bloody hell. We appreciate his judgement and are inspired by his thinking.
Something people might not know about Luke: His last name is pronounced Day-dee and he used to have long dreads. Hippie!
Welcome to the team, Luke Deady.
this is luke!
someone in the shoemaker’s family is always barefoot
March 5th, 2010The saying really is true: it’s HARD to make time to do for yourself what you do for your clients. In our case, it’s also our lifeblood and means keeping the new business pipeline full. Now that we are nearly settled in to our new digs, we are building in time around ongoing client work to complete treetree materials and make sure our office is not just a place, but also properly communicates our own brand, to outline key points for upcoming industry presentations, to blog, to think, to complete all the ankle-biters like getting our web site updated, and the list goes on. When you go from working for a company to owning a company, it doesn’t get any easier to find the time or the discipline.
today’s hi: um, hello, have you looked outside at the sunshine??
today’s lo: none to report
giving the finger to fear as motivation
February 5th, 2010Think about the contrast between the last time you sat with fear and the last time you were inspired with passion. They couldn’t get much more different and yet, they are two of the most basic kinds of motivations. And it seems that individuals have a tendency to pick a side: to be motivated by fear or by passion. My tendency is on the passion side. That glass-is-overflowing, anything-is-possible, I-could-get-high-off-of-ideation-kind of feeling invigorates me. But there are times when situations or days or encounters are pretty scary as well. Committing to an office space and people and permanent fixtures and to really doing “this” (by “this” I mean to building and growing a kick-ass company) has induced some fear and passion at the same time. What if we screw this up? What if the proposals we have out now all come back as “no’s?” What if? What if? What if?
It’s scary when you see a person motivated by fear in business. You become reactive instead of proactive. You might make snap judgments. You may become hasty and desperate. Irritable. Wired and unfocused. I’m going to choose to stay with the side of passion and focus on the things that got me interested in this industry and in being a business owner in the industry in the first place. I am officially giving the finger to all of my fearful “what-if” wonderings. How about this “what if?” instead? What if this continues to be a great success and keeps growing and excels? What are some of the ways you stay focused on letting passion motivate you?
