Yesterday, I decided that it would be nice for my one poster (First Laser Burnt Poster | Katablog) to be my first inventory item for my new business where I work for me. I wanted a new logo that said “multimedia,” so I gathered some inspiration and made a logo.

I like style tiles because it’s a good reference for the design. Don’t know about style tiles? I learned about them a couple of years ago and I use them fairly often. (Here’s an in depth blog post I write about them Web Design Process: Style Tiles | Katablog.) Your style tile can be as simple or outlined as you want, depending on your team.

I spent time making a small website and setting up a Big Cartel site. (links: K: Multimedia and Katarina Countiss Multimedia). It was a good time to brush up on some html and try out a new service that I haven’t explored before.

I found Big Cartel while looking at a UK illustrator’s portfolio. I liked its clean simple storefront. It’s obvious how to use and it’s priced depending on how much inventory you have which is good. I don’t know if I’ll ever exceed 25 products, but when I do, I can just upgrade the account. It’s $10 a month for me right now, though I might have jumped the gun. I still need to set up a PayPal account to make the shop fully operational. I have only one lonely poster in there. I’m going to put some paintings up there maybe just to fill it out until I make more inventory.

I like it in a lot of ways. It’s a big incentive to make more stuff knowing that I have 24 more slots to fill. If I’m lucky, they will keep getting bought and I will have a beautiful stream of work going through my hands and into people’s lives. I’ve always loved walking into a room and quickly darting my gaze around the room, a mental run-through, ooh, I painted that and that… It’s not from ego as much as it’s from nostalgia. I was a different person when I made that thing and seeing it again reminds me how personality and time are intricately related.

I’m a bit more optimistic about it today than I was yesterday. I think a part of my weird unhappy feelings came from the fact that the website and the shop are almost identical. Right now, I think I only need the shop website and just barely. As the months go, I’ll fill the inventory and hopefully get some clients where I can put their stories on the multimedia website. I am looking forward to working with small businesses. Like really small, just starting out, like me. I’ve always liked mom and pop shops and have been working in them most of my life, so I understand that wistful yet tired gaze at the end of a hard day.