Client Profile: Shear Image

For the past few weeks I've had the absolute pleasure of working with one of my favorite clients to date. Tammy Cooper of Shear Image Salon and Boutique has been nothing but positive throughout the process of creating the new website for her company.

Screen shot of the new Shear Image site.

Visit at www.shearimagesalonandboutique.com

Background
Shear Image opened as a hair salon in 1994 and has become known for not only their great style and service, but also for the 'welcome home' feeling of the salon. The many talented and sweet stylists that work for Tammy have formed a close bond and the attitude of the shop closer resembles that of a neighbor's living room than a stuffy workplace. Stylists chat with long-time clients about family members they have known for years, while sharing photos of their own children and loved ones displayed on their hair stations.

In 2005, when the shop next to Shear Image was vacated, Tammy took advantage of the space to expand their already growing collection of boutique items for sale. This second half of the shop now houses an extensive collection of jewelry, purses, home décor and other gift items. Items range from college team gear to decorative wine glasses, with plenty of pink and green polka dots in between. As Tammy has been reminding us- only 6 weeks until Christmas and Shear Image is a great spot for both gift ideas and holiday décor.

The Site 
While Tammy has been a friend of the family for years, this was only part of what made working with her so effortless. We all know how it feels to receive a complement, and Tammy was not shy in expressing her happiness with my work. Her willingness to quickly get content and pictures together on her end made the goal of having the site up with plenty of time before Christmas a breeze.

 When I met with Tammy she knew right away the look she was going for in the shop. With a pink and black color scheme in mind, I created a swirly and sophisticated logo for the shop to which Tammy declared “LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.” With such an enthusiastic start I was very excited to continue with the web design.

Shear Image Logo

Created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

One of the functions this site needed to serve was showcasing new and seasonal products from the boutique. By customizing an open source photo gallery, I was able to integrate a way for Tammy to add and manage photos of products at any time- without having to go through myself for each update. With a brief history of the salon on the Home page and profiles of the stylists and receptionists on the Staff page, the site paints a brief and accurate portrait of Shear Image. 

I will leave you with a few inspiring pictures of some of my favorite Shear Image products.

Super cute 'Bride' collection! My mom used the 'Mother of the Bride' bag to keep track of wedding plans for our big day in April :)

I own an embarrassing number of 'E' Koozies...but what can I say, they're great!

If I were 13 I would be all over these great Peace tote bags.

Now these I must have for our annual Christmas Party.

What a fun hostess gift these would be!

The perfect mug to carry around on those marathon holiday shopping days. No one should suffer through Black Friday without something warm and tasty at hand!

Happy holiday shopping to you all, and thank you Shear Image for being such a great client!

A Birthday Blog

Welcome readers!

As a birthday gift to myself I've decided to take a little 'Me' time on this lovely November 5th to create a blog. I've had a wonderful day so far today, thanks largely to an abundance of phone calls from loved ones, goodies that arrived in the mail this afternoon, and the always-comforting 52 Facebook wall posts I've been fortunate enough to receive this year, and I'm looking forward to this creative outlet as a way of sharing, learning and creating.

So, what should you expect from these posts?
I plan to mix a little business with pleasure here, in an attempt to accomplish three things.

For one, I want to keep family and friends updated on my business ventures without them having to sift through my online portfolio. I'd like to share with you the joys, the frustrations and the thrills of web and graphic design. Not to mention, the precarious business of owning a business at the unripe age of 23 (that's 24 now!).


For both my present and potential clients, should they choose to peruse these ramblings, I hope to present a more personal side of myself. I have met some very kind and talented people in my work, and I am especially appreciative of those that have been patient as I learn the ropes of running a business. Here is a chance for me to reach out to them, and I look forward to posting more about some of these great professionals.

Finally, this blog is for me. As an English minor and general literature nerd, I miss the days of assigned writing assignments and have therefore assigned myself to this project. Running has always been a way for me to get my thoughts together in my head, and writing is how I get them out. I am looking forward to updating the world wide web on the things that matter to me, in my little office in Lynchburg, Va.


To get things started...
My birthday this year has included an addition to my small-but-growing collection of Canon DSLR camera gear. I took a few moments roaming the house with my fixed 50mm 1.8 Lens, then spent some time playing in Lightroom  2 (which I am very new to), and here are a few of the results.

These were a birthday gift and look gorgeous in our living room.

Our fall centerpiece in the dining room.

One of my favorite features of the house...awesome spice rack!

The spice rack, in a moody sepia tone.

My husband Adam gets credit for this photo of Katy, one of our cats.

Adam gave me this watch this morning. Love the colorful case!

Such a pretty watch, so excited to wear it to dinner tonight!

I hope you've enjoyed my first blog post! Please leave comments, feedback is appreciated :) Thank you to all of you who have made this birthday such a great one. Check back soon for exciting new posts!