Sometimes, when you’ve been working on the same project for several years, it gets a little.. well.. maddening! At least, that’s what started to happen for me. I think anyone with a creative side needs to take on half a dozen projects at the same time to satisfy whatever it is that makes them nuts when they’re not being creative. At least, that’s my theory. This has been a very interesting summer for me. I have found my way and lost my way about eight times. I have thought about where to take myself and my career until I thought my head was going to explode. I have walked around aimlessly searching for answers. The funny thing was, the answer was so painfully simple: do more of what you like! Then I thought, “okay, so what are a few of my favorite things?” 1. Searching for great products. 2. Writing about them and sharing them with others. 3. Design blogs. 4. Dogs! That short list led me to my newest undertaking; a contributing editor for one of my very favorite design blogs Dog-Milk!

What’s really cool about this (besides everything!) is that I get to be a part of a design blog that I love doing work that is just fun for me. Dog-Milk is the sister site of Jaime Derringer’s very successful Design-Milk blog. Design-Milk is one of the first design blogs I started reading years back when I was fresh out of art school and looking for some inspiration. I’m so excited to be contributing posts her way at this point in my life. Speaking of posts, my first one went live yesterday! Based on the incredibly cute and hilarious Hipster Puppies blog, I decided to do a roundup of great products to help your pup get this of-the-moment look. Go check it out!

The best part about this, is now that I have something new to focus some of my energy on, it has really inspired me to get back on track and move into a cool new direction with LAMA. It is a direction that is right for me and hopefully for everyone involved. I’m looking forward to sharing what that is soon. So, to wrap up, I guess the biggest lesson I’ve learned this summer is to decide what you want to do, and then be the person who does it.

Yesterday, my recent interview with a Interviewher was posted on their very cool and very beautiful site. Interviewher is dedicated to sharing the stories of successful women who have “self-started their own business ideas and trends.” I was incredibly flattered when I was contacted by them last month for this interview about how I developed LAMA. It is quite an extensive interview covering topics such as how I got started, challenges that I have overcome as a business owner, and point by point advice on how to start your own successful online shop (this would be a great read for anyone thinking about taking the plunge into e-commerce).

Thank you again Interviewher for inviting me to participate in this fun interview. It was a great way for me to reflect on the journey I’ve been on for the past couple of years and share what I’ve learned with other aspiring business women.

Interviewher is always looking for awesome women to interview so if you’re interested in sharing your story, be sure to contact them here and let them know who you are.

Today marks my two year anniversary for LAMA. It’s also my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!!) Three years ago I was jogging around Lake Merritt with my trusty sidekick Miles, when I suddenly had the crazy notion to start a company called LAMA. Don’t ask me why, I can’t explain where the thought came from. A year later, a job in SF left behind, thousands of miles traveled, six months lived in Berlin, and hundreds of conversations regarding my sanity had, I opened LAMA on July 15th 2008. Two years later, this is what I’ve learned:

- Being an entrepreneur is one of the most challenging things to be even for the most driven people. It is a 24/7 job. Literally. I think of LAMA all of the time. It’s not always the healthiest relationship and I often wonder if there are other business owners that don’t constantly think about the status of their work, but for me, LAMA is always on my mind. When LAMA suffers, I suffer. When LAMA is thriving, so am I. It’s a constant roller coaster of highs and lows and maintaining a healthy relationship with my work has been and continues to be a struggle.

- Working alone is REALLY difficult. A lot of people don’t know this (because I’m reluctant to say) but I run LAMA alone. No co-workers, no interns, no one. I am the head of marketing and pr, the head buyer, head of customer relations, warehouse manager, etc. During the holiday season, I stay up all night packaging shipments to make sure that everyone has their order before Christmas. It’s tough and it’s lonely and I wish I had a partner (anyone interested?) I hope to find someone(s) to join me in this journey.

- The challenge of starting and maintaining a business creates the unique experience of truly getting to know oneself. For me, it’s been overwhelming at times to look at myself in this mirror. On one end, I have realized that I am stronger than I ever imagined. I have done things and accomplished things I never imagined were possible for me. I have overcome, I have persevered, I have surprised myself and everyone around me. On the other end, I have seen my faults, experienced my shortcomings, and witnessed by downfalls. There have been times when I hardly recognize myself. For me, however, as difficult as this process has been, I am grateful for the deeper understanding I have of who I am. The good and the bad. Understanding my limitations makes me feel more human.

- Constant change is healthy and necessary. As someone who loves routine, this has been especially challenging and frightening for me. I am always fearful that if I change things too much, I’m going to lose what I worked so hard to build. I have realized that with business, there is no such thing as comfort and stability. Things shift and change all of the time and you just have to shift and change along with them. If you don’t, then you’re stuck. So, with this realization made, I’m ready to make a big shift with LAMA. I don’t know exactly what that is yet, but I’m taking the necessary time to try to quiet my life as much as I can to listen to that little voice inside with the answers. The one that told me to start a company called LAMA in the first place. I hope everyday when I wake up that today will be the day I can hear that voice. I think I’m getting really close.

Although this has been the most challenging three years of my life, I don’t regret a single moment of it. Win or lose, LAMA or no LAMA, bankruptcy or financial success, I went after my dream and I can move on with my life knowing that. I can look back someday and say that I did something special and meaningful no matter what the outcome is. That, to me, is worth everything that I have been through and continue to go through. I feel so fortunate to be able to say that and I am forever grateful to the people that have made that possible for me. Looking back on all of it, the biggest lesson I have learned is to allow the people who love me into my life. To share with them my feelings (the good and the bad) and allow them to support me. No one expects me to be perfect, in fact, I think they feel more connected to me knowing that I’m not.

A few weeks back, I was delighted to find a small package in my mailbox from my wonderful graphic designer and friend Hijiri K. Shepherd. To my delight, she sent me the cutest llama cell phone charm she found on a recent trip to Japan, along with one of her fantastic letterpress “Hello” cards. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift! Thanks so much Hijiri! My little llama enjoys sitting pretty on my desk every day.

I also want to congratulate Hijiri on being featured in a very cool new book entitled “Impressive – Printmaking, Letterpress, and Graphic Design.”

Hijiri’s amazing work, including her VERY popular Live What You Love print, can be found on page 96. Here’s a sneak peek taken from her blog..

Congratulations Hijiri! It’s such an honor to work with you. Impressive indeed!

Casa Chuacha is a very cool home decor blog that features the homes of some of Argentina’s most creative designers, artists, photographers, and other young professionals. It’s a great place to get a glimpse into the unique homes of creative folks living in another part of the world. Scrolling through post after post, I noticed just how popular it is for Argentinean designers to use, what I like to call fiesta flags, to decorate their homes. I’m loving the way cotton fiesta flags add a punch of color and pattern to the homes below. What a fun, simple, and inexpensive way to decorate!

Want to try out this fun look in your happy home? Check out the selection of Fiesta Flags available over at LAMA.

*all images taken from Casa Chuacha

Indie Fixx author Jen Wallace decided to take a little vacation from her computer and honored me with an invitation to be a guest blogger for her. Cool! Naturally I decided to combine two of my favorite things, South America and interior design, for today’s guest post. Head over to Indie Fixx to check out my post “From Argentina with Color,” which features a collection of colorful photos from the homes of Argentina’s coolest independent designers.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow (oops, by tomorrow I meant Wednesday) when I share more of my favorite photos from Casa Chaucha. Thanks again Jen! I had a great time blogging on Indie Fixx!

Project Site is a community where America’s finest artists, and those that follow and support them, can share in their latest work, discover new artists, enter into a dialogue with each other, and make direct donations (of any size, all of which are tax deductible) to new projects created by each artist. It is the first website that allows direct, tax deductible public donations to accomplished artists on the internet.

One of my favorite artists, Tanya Aguiñiga, has been chosen to kick things off with a project she calls “Artists Helping Artisans” (AHA). AHA will focus on helping artisans in marginalized communities whose craft traditions and livelihoods are at risk.  Tanya will be working side by side with Mayan women to collaboratively create new functional art pieces for a large scale exhibition scheduled for Sept. 2010 at MACLA, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latinoamericana. It is her goal that “the finished pieces will aid in sustaining craft traditions in the region through 1) promoting their work and history 2) helping financially support the artisans/community involved in the project through fair compensation and increased market access.”

Tanya has only 38 days left to raise the $7,000 she needs to fund her incredible project! Please help Tanya realize her dream of “merging her love for design and her desire to help others.” To find out more about this wonderful project, please visit Tanya’s page here (I highly recommend watching Tanya’s video). This is a truly amazing project and I hope everyone will consider donating anything they can to get this project off the ground. Remember, all donations are tax deductible!

A couple of months ago I was asked to do a mini interview with Living Magazine in Argentina. I’ve been a magazine junkie my entire life (starting with my subscription to Cat Fancy when I was seven), and I never imagined I would ever see my own face on a glossy page. Dream come true! The interview is in Spanish but I’ve gone ahead and translated it into English below. Please forgive the rough translation. Trust me, it’s much prettier in Spanish.

Love For Latin America

The origins of her mother- born and raised in Ecuador- made the American girl Christine Martinez take a pause in her career as an interior designer to travel throughout Latin America. In her travels, she discovered “the most interesting and beautiful design work that she’s ever seen” and she decided that her mission, upon returning to Los Angeles, would be to make accessible the work of independent designers to the US market.

This was the way LAMA designs was born, a site from which she makes known the best of Emi Elias – “owner of one of my favorite stores in Buenos Aires, CouCou” – Cecilia Sonzini, Jimena Rios, and Lola Goldstein, among other Argentinean designers.

What is it that you like the most about Argentinean design?

The quality of work, their construcion, as well as the design. The Argentinean designers are not only looking to keep up with the rest of the world, they also want to transform themselves into leaders in the design community.

What particular traits does Latin American design have?

It is sophisticated and it speaks for itself. It is a well informed society and it is so exciting to see how a very strong movement, like the recycling of materials, is opening new paths and is being used in some of the most beautiful and creative forms that I have seen.

Thank you Living Magazine for this interview. I’m am truly honored. Also, to the incredible Argentinean designers who have read the article and submitted your work to me, thank you! I am so happy we have found each other! LAMA is getting ready to make some big changes and I’m thrilled to have so many of you on this new journey to bring forth Latin American design. I’m always taking submissions so please email LAMA at info@lamadesigns.com. Muchas Gracias!!

A couple of months back I was thrilled to receive notice that LAMA had been nominated for an Oakland Indie Award in the “Innovator” category. The Oakland Indie Awards celebrate the social and environmental impact of Oakland’s independent businesses and artist. Naturally, I was extremely flattered and honored to have LAMA considered for this award by a city I love so much. This past Friday, I nearly jumped through my office roof when I found out that LAMA had gone from nominee to FINALIST!

The whole experience has been so fun and rewarding. The nominee mixer a few weeks back was such an inspiring evening, and learning about the other nominees has been really special. I can’t wait to attend the award ceremony over at Jack London Square. It looks like a great event with tons of fantastic food, awesome folks, and Oakland pride! The event takes place on the evening of May 14th from 5:30-9. If you’re in the area, I highly suggest you come out to celebrate and support the people that make Oakland such a great place to live. Ticket info can be found here. A big THANK YOU to everyone who nominated and supported LAMA! I am deeply touched and honored.

I was so excited when the lovely Alisa Openshaw asked me to do a fun interview on her stylish blog, A Piña Colada. Alisa was one of the many amazing people I had the pleasure of meeting at the Altitude Design Summit in January. I’m so happy we’ve stayed in touch.

Aside from a fun interview, we’ve decided to do a giveaway! The prize? Our adorable, fun, and eco-friendly Fiesta Flags in the color of your choice! To find out how you can win you very own Fiesta Flags, head over to A Piña Colada for details. Good luck everyone and Happy Friday! Thank you again Alisa for inviting me to be a part of your beautiful blog.