Hello Freelance – You don’t gnome me.

It happens sooner or later. That seemingly simple question always comes up: “What do you do?” and my answer is always the same, “I freelance”. You see as the asker pauses to decide if they want to know more or if those two words are good enough for them.

If more, I go into a less rehearsed spiel. “I went to school for photo, but now I’m a graphic designer. [more? really? ok] I, uhm, work at a photo repping agency and do all of their promotional design, archive work, that sort of stuff [I made it sound lame didn't I? It's really cool actually.] but I also have my own freelance work that I do too, which keeps me pretty busy [Pretty please don't ask for details about that] . Oh and sometimes I’m a PA, I really [really] like doing that.” I trail off, take a swig of my beer, and let the conversation move on.

It isn’t until afterwards that I realize I left out some of the most important things about myself. I’m happiest working on my personal, craftier projects. I want to be making things with my hands more. Distressing materials turn me on.  I’m starting a company with a friend. I built a miniature set for a stop motion film once and I so want to do it again. But more importantly - how on earth can I start getting paid for doing this kind of stuff? 

And it happened. An email from a friend for project he couldn’t fit in (thanks again dude) and 36 garden gnomes later, I was actually doing it. Now, painting figurines for 3 weeks straight wasn’t exactly a dream job (Ok. I might have started having nightmares about them) but it did remind me that it’s not so unrealistic to get paid for working with my hands. It’s not so unrealistic to be getting paid for what any of us would love to be doing. Cheers to that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 if you don’t already you can follow me on Instagram @helloknicole

The un-day for change.

I usually try to keep this blog on a more professional level, but with all the talk around the internet about Leap Day being the day for big creative changes, spontaneous deals, gifts, and so much more – its been hard to not be inspired.

I’ve always been the kind of person who uses ‘big days’ as markers for change. Birthday’s for personal changes, New Year’s for life changes, breakups, new apartments, manicures and shaved heads (so maybe I get a little out there sometimes, our secret.) So why not now, on the day that is not really there, try to make a change that sticks?

NYC has been good to me since moving here a little over a year ago, but I think it’s about time that it starts being great. The past  few months have been filled with amazing opportunities, steady freelance work, rewarding relationships in both my personal and professional life, and a lot of fucking fun. So here’s to a great start NYC – but from now on its time to kick things into high gear. Let’s go.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why practice pays off.

In high school when a birthday, holiday, or special event rolled around I was the girl who never bought anyone gifts – I made them. There were a lot of memory boxes for boyfriends, “one free laundry day” tickets for Mom, and handmade jewelry attempts for an unlucky few.

This year I decided to get back into the handmade gift giving tradition, and for Christmas designed passes to NYC themed excursions for my parents – A girls night out on Broadway for Mom and a quest for the best pizza for Dad.

Not too long after the holidays was Mr. Asa Alger’s birthday and still in the adventure themed gift giving mood, I put together a small gift box of pirate empheria, complete with ‘treasure map’ below.

So why should you care about my adorable gift giving skills? Because I spent some of my ‘free time’ to sit down and create something with a new design style I’ve wanted to practice. Then no more than a week later I was able to take what I had just learned, and get paid for doing it.

I think Writer Ray Bradbury puts it best – “I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.”

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2011 ended quietly as 2012 begun at sprinting speed – making this blog post a good week late. Cheers?  But it’s better late than never to take some time to sit down and share all the amazing projects I’ve had the opportunity to be apart of and all of the wonderful people I’ve been able to build relationships with over the past year.

In typical K. Nicole fashion, I’ve broken the year into a list – with just a few of my favorite (and new!) projects I want to share with you now, along with a ton of links to past posts and other collaborations. Happy New Year everyone!

 

Photo editing and layout design (Meg Wachter Photography). It’s a little over a year since really getting into my freelance business and I’m happy to share that I’ve finally (finally finally) started settling into my niche. I’ll always try to keep doing just a little bit of everything but where my little freelance heart really lies is in photo editing and layout design. The perfect combination of all that I love in one project package – Meg Wachter’s Photographic Portfolio being my most recent. So internet? Send me those portfolios and I’ll snaz the shit out of them (professionally speaking).

Past photo editing work can be found at ‘Dumias Interior Design’, ‘Elene Cassis Spring Lookbook’, and all over the Big Leo website. And for previous collaborations with Meg, check out the GAGC Magazine – Issue One.

 

Dirty Work (Our Motion is Stop). Ah OMIS, the project that just never ends The final release is still off in the distance but it still makes my favorite list of the year because I just love projects that get my hands dirty. Give me a studio, Mod Podge and wire cutters (ok, I might need more than just that) and I’ll be the happiest girl alive. This coming year, there is going to be a whole lot more of crafty K. Nicole going on and I cannot wait.

The above video (apart from showing how awesome our animator Dave Szmit is) only has a glimpse of the work that went into OMIS. See some of the behind the scenes in the archive or check out our website at ourmotionisstop.com

 

Photography (Instagram <3). At my roots I’m a photographer (shh don’t tell my clients), and though I don’t shoot as much as I used to I can’t help getting that urge when I see something that spikes my interest. Not too long ago I discovered Instagram and with it I’ve been able to get enough of a fix to keep my alter ego at bay. This coming year I hope to figure out a way to make better use of the hundreds of sometimes mocked but 100% worth it faux film photographs I take each month (this is the part where you wish me luck – I’ll need it).

               

Past photography work can be found at ‘Hello Photographer - Pt 1 & Pt 2‘, ‘Urban Exploration‘, ‘Chasing Light in Prague‘, and ‘Hello West Virginia‘. And for everything that didn’t make it to my blog you can follow me on instagram @helloknicole or check out uploads to my Tumblr. 

Big Leo. You know that best friend in Philadelphia that you don’t hang out with as much anymore but when you do it’s always an amazing time? Big Leo’s that best friend, Philadelphia is actually DUMBO, and hangout is actually work but you get the idea. I’ve been with them since I moved into the city and I hope this coming year brings just as many new collaborations as the last!

Past Big Leo work can be found at ‘My Little Orange Book & a Little Bit of Everything Else.’ or check out the site in action at BigLeo.com

 Production (Kids with Candy). Remeber when I said I have an alter ego? I lied. I have at least twenty – producing being another one of them. I’ve always been the “let make shit happen” type, so it’s no surprise that PA work is such a thrill for me. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, the ladies of Kids With Candy are superstars and I love that I’ve spent so much of last year working with them. Who knows, I could see myself getting into this stuff full-time (just don’t tell them that). Fingers crossed for even more adventures this year!

The above shot is from a location scout with Casey for awesome production job I worked on that I cant wait to share with you! Past KWC encounters can be found at ‘A Tribe So Fresh’, ‘MAC & Alexandra Vidal Lookbook’ and ‘Hey Girl Hey – Behind the Scenes.’ And while you’re at it check out their production site and collaboration site aswell.



PS. I have a new blog and website coming soon which will ooze 2012 awesomeness. Can’t wait!

Hello Photographer Alter Ego – Pt 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Photographer Alter Ego - Part 1 if you missed it.

Hello Photographer Alter Ego – Pt 1.

If you know me outside of the interweb world, you know I spend far too much time with my camera phone pressed to my face. You’d think a girl with a college degree in photography would want to wield around something with a little more, umf you can say? (Which I do on occasion as you’ve seen here, here, here, and on my site archive here.)

But if I learned anything from my 160,000 dollar education is moments are fleeting and compositions are everywhere – and all it takes sometimes is a 300 dollar phone to capture them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, I’m on instagram (duh) @ helloknicole – follow me. And if your a photographer looking for someone to edit and sequence your work – hire me. Pt 2 coming out later this week

Dumias Interior Design.

Earlier this week I wrapped up a logo and web design project with interior designer Kevin Dumias. We wanted to keep things pretty simple while updating his website and brand with a fresher, cleaner look. APhotoFolio was the perfect base and provided a beautiful large scale gallery to really showcase his work. Click any of the screen caps below to see the full site in action.