February 15, 2010

I first started the process of redesigning this site well before Jason Goldberg returned from Germany and offered me the job of Creative Director. Before I left Blu Dot I was considering a jump. Not to another furniture brand, but to start my own business. Over the years I'd written for many publications. I have been decorating apartments on the side. I'd begun writing for Sundance and Full Frontal Fashion. I also started creating KissZINE with Zach Augustine. All these creative endeavors and ideas and opportunities were presenting themselves and I longed to work creatively. I'd earned it. I'd paved the way. I was ready.

So I called my mom and told her I was considering quitting my job to go work for myself. Doing what? Doing it all. I would write for more blogs and more websites. I wanted to make videos. Publish the zine. I wanted to help other retailers create compelling marketing campaigns and shopping experiences. I would actively pursue decorating clients. I had just taken on two small projects the same week I told my mom of this idea. Doors were opening and while the last five years had provided financial stability, I'd longed to do more. I was bored.

Then I told Georgi, who was extremely supportive, and Sandra, who encouraged the leap. She said to me "do you always see yourself working in a shop?" The answer was a resounding no. I'd loved the five years I spent in showroom sales. I loved the commission checks. I loved the homes filled with amazing furniture. I'd loved the furniture industry, meeting designers and becoming friends with the close knit design community. I have made many friends in the modern furniture and design worlds. But, again, time and time again, I kept returning to a lack of satisfaction. That while I excelled at sales, I felt a part of me, a rather large part of me, had been dormant. I was ready to risk the financial security of my career path for more personal fulfillment.

Post-workout Sandra and I mulled my options. The first was take my blog, going strong now for nearly ten years, and transition it to one showcasing my talents. All of them. Not just the written word. My friend Scott Seviour walked into the diner and sat at the adjacent table. I told him of my plan. That I wanted to start my own firm. But what to name it? He asked, well, what do you do. And I rattled them off. One by one. I can, pretty much, take on any creative job. And he said like a "workshop?" And that was it. Bradford Shellhammer Creative Workshop was born.

I love the imagery of the word workshop. It conjures up pictures of elves in Santa's workshop tinkering away at toys(a love of mine). It reminds me of the Bauhaus, where students built furniture and made screen prints and wove textiles. And it made me think of how I work: with other people, with my hands, with trial and error, with a myriad of disciplines. It seemed right.

I felt, coming off the tumultuous and ultimately life-defining year of 2009, my online presence needed to match my actual life. I wanted it to feel adult. I partnered again with Ralph McGinnis and rid the site to its cuteness. Gone are the rainbow colors and animated characters. I wanted lots of white. Few colors. Black text. I kept the font Neutraface. It fits me. It is big, graphic, clean. I wanted my words to stand out. I wanted my work to stand out. And so the site now is black & white, red, gray, and yellow. I never liked yellow. But as my tastes have evolved over the years, so has my appreciation for the color. The red/black/white color combination is somewhat reminiscent of my first blog, youngbradford.com. I like that nod to my past.

I was not expecting Jason to come along and offer me a job that incorporates everything I felt missing from my previous professional life. But he did and I am so happy I joined. And I am working a lot now and I am dedicated to fabulis 100%. I cannot possibly take on a new project right now. But whether the workshop remains closed or it reopens down the road, one thing is certain: I've changed yet again, headed down a new path, and have made a creative transformation.