The First Step: Inspirational Link

I'm sorry I've been MIA this last month or so - I've been busy moving and settling into Montreal. Unfortunately I'll probably be busy through the first half of August, too! I'm sure I have lost most of my readership during this time. However, for those of you who are still reading, I found this piece in Zen Habits very inspirational and similar to my own story. I hope you do too!

Voyages and Emily Lin for Chelleline Cards

I am proud to announce the launch of two new product lines here at Chelleline Cards: Voyages, a series of travel postcards by Dmitry Guimon, and Emily Lin, a line designed by my mother, who is also an artist.

About Voyages

Chelleline Voyages features unique travel postcards by Dmitry (Mitya) Guimon. Mitya's ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary makes his work a true alternative to the traditional travel postcards. From a mirrored reflection of the Manhattan Bridge to a close-up of a firefly in Amish country, Voyages appeals to those who long for something familiar and different.

Voyages is currently available online and at the Stewart/Stand Design Store (141A Front Street, Brooklyn, NY).

I am also proud to add a new artist to the team: my mother, Emily Lin! She has sketched out a few ideas for Chelleline Cards this year, some of which I conceptualized into card designs, but this Giraffe Birthday card is her first product from start to finish! It is available here.

The First Step: Getting Back Up

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." - Vince Lombardi

It's inevitable: if you are an entrepreneur, you will get knocked down. It comes with the territory. And it can come in many forms.

It can come in the form of criticism - from friends, family, and even anonymous strangers.

It can come in the form of rejection - from potential customers and the press.

It can come in the form of self-doubt, which in my opinion, is the most dangerous of them all.

So, how does one deal with all this?

1) Remember the compliments. Forget the insults.

I recently started keeping a running list of compliments I receive about my work. I read them over whenever I need to lift my spirits. It's amazing how much better it makes you feel.

However, do not expect compliments from anyone and do not worry if someone doesn't mention your work.

2) Get back up.

Not everyone will like your work. But some people will. So don't take it to heart every time a new store rejects you, or ignores you, or gives you the run-around, or every time a member of the press passes on your story. Get back up. Find more stores. Find more media outlets. And contact them.

You really have to learn how to develop a thick skin if you want to be an entrepreneur - and I'm speaking as someone who is much more sensitive and thin-skinned than the average person. I'll admit that I haven't completely mastered the whole thick-skin, let rejection slide off you, attitude. And rejections and unfriendly responses to sales calls do bother me still. It can take me a whole day to get over a bad phone call. But I keep trying. And if I can do it, so can you!

I'll tell you a true story: I am currently in 16 stores. I consider that a good number, especially since this was accomplished without going to a trade show or hiring a sales representative. But I can't even tell you how many stores I've contacted that have either ignored or rejected me or given me the run-around. If I'd let one of those stores stop me from ever contacting any stores, I wouldn't be in 16 stores now.

3) Most importantly, BELIEVE in yourself. I cannot stress the importance of this. Self-doubt has killed many dreams. Every time you start to question yourself, ask yourself, is this what I really want to do? If the answer is yes, then get back up and keep at it!

When it rains, it pours

Product development is now over! Here are the other cards I came up with during this productive (no pun intended) period:



I love you more than poutine. Poutine is a Quebecois dish that consists of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. I'm not a huge fan of it, so saying that I love someone more than poutine is a pretty low threshold. But this is probably not true for others, especially in Quebec.



хлеб соль (pronounced 'hleb sol' - literally, bread salt) is part of a Russian wedding tradition. A special bread is made for the occasion, and a small dish of salt sits on top. The newlyweds dip the bread in salt and feed each other - much like the wedding cake tradition in the US.



This new birthday card is based on the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island.

New father's day card: showing his child how to fly a kite.

Another father's day card: flipping pancakes!

North Carolina's state motto is "first in flight" (airplane flight), and this card plays with the meaning of 'first in flight' with the pterodactyl.

Through the Looking Glass: Inside the Design Process

Note: this will be a semi-regular series on the design process.


I first had the idea last summer to create an Alice in Wonderland card based on the scene where she steps through the looking glass. However, last summer, I was studying for the bar, so I only really had time to make the sketches below. I also saved this shiny silver packaging that came with my printer ink, thinking that I could use it as the mirror.



After I took the bar and came back from Russia, I started on my fall collection. I didn't feel quite ready to work on the Looking Glass card, though, and then after I picked up my second part-time job, didn't have the time.

That winter, my boyfriend gave me the idea of creating 2-card designs - where part of the image is on one card, and part of it is on another card, so you can fit them together like a puzzle. I thought about it, and realized that the looking glass scene would be perfect for a 2-card design.



The above sketch was made in January. I knew that this would be a difficult design to conceptualize, so I put it off for simpler and more time-sensitive designs.

By the time my self-declared product development week rolled around, I was itching to get to work with this sketch. I knew that I wanted the colors in Wonderland to be brighter and bolder, and the colors in Alice's world to be more muted and neutral. The challenges: 1) which colors and patterns to use? 2) how to make Alice's world visually appealing using muted and neutral tones?

I started out using a bright pink as the background color for Wonderland, and very light blue for Alice's world, but then decided a bright blue would be better - and that the blue spectrum (light blue, blue (Alice's dress), bright blue) would also be a visual representation of the transition from normal world to Wonderland.

I decided to use patterned paper for some of the objects to make things look more interesting and three-dimensional.

I looked at the original illustration, which had a desk clock smiling in Wonderland, and made wall clocks.

I also vaguely remembered a chessboard, so I placed them in the corner so that area would not look so empty. I also made the board dark blue and white - instead of brown and white - in Alice's world to give it a little more color.

And here is the result:

Childhood inspiration

My mom and I separately had the idea of using the above photo as a Father's Day card. I believe in science it's called a "simultaneous invention."



This is my rendition! At first I was going to make two separate cards, one with a boy and one with a girl. But laziness took over and so I just added the boy to the existing card. I think it turned out nicely!

More from the ideas lab

Here are some more cards I've been working on this week:



These wedding lovebirds were actually inspired by a sketch my mom made. This past winter, I recruited her to help me come up with some designs for wedding, baby, and Father's Day cards (the Father's Day card below is also inspired by her).



The idea behind this card is that of a "city baby." When I was living in New York, I constantly saw people carrying strollers down their stoops, up their stoops, up the subway stairs, down the subway stairs. Steps are definitely something you take more into account when you have a baby in the city! Unfortunately, my mother and boyfriend's first reaction upon seeing the card was, "I feel scared for the baby." Hopefully other people won't feel the same way!