I feel a sense of new, having made it through April.
The books have been sent off to the accountant, new projects have begun, Easter has been and gone, it's a new financial year.
That said, I don't know where this month has gone? It could be that I have been hibernating in the home office a bit too much and not noticed the days whizzing by. It could be the glorious silence I have enjoyed since the Lemonface Teen buggered off to Japan for 10 days and those days have gone too quickly. I don't know, but I have enjoyed April.
That is all about to come to an end with May looming and plenty to be getting on with.
Latest Projects
From packaging to publications, websites to illustrations, it has been a hectic month of great projects wrapping up.
Poking Sticks: A Different, Irreverent Reality
Earlier this year Lemonface Creative produced the marketing collateral for a new exhibition, Poking Sticks: A different irreverent reality. Have you been to see this yet? It’s a thought provoker by 10 Dutch artists from the South Island. Worth a mooch around at the Mapuna Art Gallery at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom in Foxton. The exhibition runs through until 8 June.
Te Puna Rau Aroha Identity
One of my favourite parts of this project were the meetings with MASH Trust and Iwi to hear about their aspirations for the community who will use this facility. It was my pleasure to bring something to life that encompassed a number of these aspirations in collaboration with them.
The final identity uses accessible typography, and ambiguous symbolism in the logomark. The organic brush strokes reference water, eels, fish, stitches in fabric, rolling hills, birds, clouds… it’s an abstract symbol of nature and flow. The colour palette is rich and earthy, symbolising our unique differences and individuality, though we are not all exactly the same, we all belong.
Te Puna Rau Aroha aspires to be a place and space where the essential vitality and life force of individuals whānau and the community is nurtured, cared for and cared about. A place where love, respect, courage, safety and sharing is what really matters.
View this project in our portfolio.
Out and About
Next month, I’ll be speaking at two Women in Business events in Porirua and Horowhenua.
This is a massive stretch goal for introverted me. After reflecting on my journey of 10 years in Lemonface Creative, it occurred to me that there has been a lot of stuff that people don't get to see behind the highlight reel. Business is hard when you're juggling all the things.
I'm going to be talking about how I have thrived in chaos and I hope that a/ it's entertaining (dark humor warning) and b/ relatable.
"Sarah-Jayne Shine has been Chief Creator at Lemonface Creative for 10 years. She is a success story with a thriving business that works around her family. But beneath the surface, Sarah-Jayne’s story is anything but smooth. Join us for a truly inspirational journey. This is #RawAndReal"
I’ll definitely be blogging about my experience next month.
For information about tickets you can check out the Lemonface Creative socials.
Reflections this month
I have had a very chaotic life. Figuring out what I am going to say to a room full of women, has been really challenging but in some ways therapeutic to look back and see how far one has come.
Unsuprisingly, not having a 14 year old Lemonface teen in the house for 10 days has been divine. I have missed him, but I can't say I have missed the teenager's attitude. I have really enjoyed the space, peace and quiet. It has been a good break.
Another jump out of the ol' comfort zone was shooting my gorgeous friend's engagement photos over the holidays. It was something a bit different and I'm obsessed with the results.
Arm yourself with a Pinterest board for these sorts of things... it made it so much easier for me to have a reference and to see into someone's head what they are wanting.
Lemonface Lens
@lemonfacelens is a Lemonface outlet for creative expression, a place for play and joy. Here are a few views through the lens that stood out for us this month.
Dahlias, dahlias, dahlias. At the end of March I went to the Blooming Beautiful Flower Farm in Feilding and my little heart sang. I bought a bucket full of dahlias home, studied all of the geometry in the petals with my camera and had some creative play time. Here are some of the results.
Boo the Dragon
Can you believe this madam is still asleep?! So rude. So another throwback, a pretty cool snap by Get Content from our brand shoot last year. Sigh, I am really missing her, I have a hunch that the feeling is not mutual.
