recent work | Paperwhites in the Presidential Suite

 On paper I have a pretty regular desk job. But, the fact that I work for (and in) a hotel adds a different element to my day-to-day. It's a little bit like being Eloise. 

In the month of April we acquired a new property in Portland, and I put together fifty paperwhite bulbs for our clients to go with the tag-line come grow with us. (you can see a version of the project that I bootlegged for the blog here). It turns out the flowers sprout pretty fast, so in addition to writing contracts and answering phones, I was tending a little garden everyday. My office has no windows - since those are needed for hotel rooms - and the plants started to get wiltey from lack of sunlight. Taking care of them obviously made me form an attachment and I couldn't just let my plant babies die! So, our chief of engineering let me set up a little habitat for them in the grand suite which was being renovated.

Whenever I went up to water them it cracked me up. Paperwhites sunning themselves in the Kennedy Suite, ready for room service. 

(photos) on instagram, username : SamShorey (lyrics) from Wiz Khalifa's The Thrill 

party planning | 100 Year Anniversary

Before the building I work in was The Fancy Pants Hotel it was a fancy pants department store called Lipman and Wolfe. It's been standing here for a hundred years, so we decided to throw the old beauty a birthday party tonight, in the theme of 1912. 

It was a big year - the titanic sank, Oreos were invented, and Cracker Jack first put prizes in their boxes (which would explain why my grocery cart looked like this on Tuesday ...)

childhood dream come true.

(artifact) courtesy of Oregon Historical Society  (photo) on Instagram. username : SamShorey

professionally speaking | Working With Friends

I've had a lot of fun reading Mindy Kaling's book because she writes about how she found success by doing what she loves with her best-friend, Brenda. Most people picked up her book for the humorous essays, but reading about the play they wrote, Matt & Ben, and Mindy's life just before she started The Office has actually made me super inspired.

When I first got promoted, a few people I know warned me that working with your friends can strain a relationship, kind of like being roommates. Tessa and I shared a room - and a bed -  when I came back from my trip to South America (because I had zero dollars in my bank account and sixty left on my credit limit) so I wasn't ever really worried.

But, one of the important things I've learned from working with her is that a friendship can definitely survive (and even flourish!) in a professional atmosphere. I think the key is that you, not only like them, but respect them. If you don't share a similar work ethic, it's really hard to continue being friends with someone when you can't rely on them between the hours of 9 - 5. 

The pictures above are of our hotel's hot coco station, one of the aspects of the winter marketing campaign. The plan from home-office basically only required two things : chocolate and water. But, Tessa turned it into an all-out  hot-co-co dream-come-true.  Isn't it magical?

Looking at the table, it's obvious why working with her is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. It definitely helps that we have a similar aesthetic and love for doing creative projects with style.

Have you ever worked with a friend?
Did it bring out your best or make you a mess?

(photos) on film with minolta srt-201

Mindy Kaling | On Expectations

"I decided the odds were stacked against me, which strangely made me feel like I was going to get the job even more. Sports movies had brainwashed me into the belief that when the chips are down the most, that is when success is the most inevitable.

I'm the kind of person who would rather get my hopes up really high and watch them get dashed to pieces than wisely keep my expectations at bay and hope they are exceeded. This quality has made me a needy and theatrical friend, but has given me a spectacularly dramatic emotional life"

Mindy Kaling, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me


*I had to laugh out loud with self-recognition when I read this. Sounds familiar to my process of applying to graduate school. Whenever I tell someone my list of prospects, it is nearly always followed with a polite suggestion about "safety schools"

professionally speaking | Asking for an Opportunity

One afternoon on my lunch break, I read Jordan's Advice for a Creative Life on Oh Happy Day.
She said ...

"Rule #1 Ask for things. No one is going to hand you the perfect life on a platter. You have to ask for things. The worst they can say is no. From that internship to that class that is already full, make yourself be the exception and ask for things. Once you figure that out life is so much better" 

It just so happened, later that day I had a meeting for the launch of the summer marketing campaign for my hotel. At the time, I had only been working upstairs for about 3 months, and my position was primarily administrative. Jordan's words (with a little help from the three diet cokes I had a lunch) inspired me to be brave and ... well ... ask for things. So, I volunteered myself to take pictures for the campaign. They appeared on our facebook page and in our elelvators all summer.  It was something so simple, but it's really made a difference in the kind of creative opportunities that have opened up here for me with our company.

I always believed that to succeed one should work hard, and then wait to be recognized. Part of it has to do with being a woman - to be ambitious goes against a lot of the most highly held feminine values like agreeability and team work . And of course, all these things are so important to accomplishing any goal. But it's not enough just to put yourself out there. You have to go after what you want!

Have you ever been brave and asked for something at work? What was the outcome?  

(1, 2, 3) film photos with my Pentax k1000 - from our the Live Like a Local summer campaign. used without text. (p.s) my appearance, as the local coffee expert 

Red Ribbon in Review

Our Red Ribbon benefit last week was a roaring good time! But, the best part of the night was that we raised almost $17,000 for AIDs research. It's a feeling better than building a balloon arch, or winning at bingo, or having someone tell me that my outfit was Anthropology catalogue status (which is kind of like the ultimate compliment)

I wore a fire-engine-red knee length skirt ... which you, unfortunately, can't see in any of the photos because everyone knows I was in a sorority in college. People assume I have certain talents; like doing the signature squat in group pictures or making an ice luge. I'm not particularly good at either - but another sorority skill came in handy : planning a party, but keeping it professional. And a little thing called philanthropy.

[ all event photos courtesy of A.J. Meeker Photography ]

recent work : World AIDS Day Benefit

You sure do get some funny looks at the party supply store when you annouce yourself by saying

"Hi ... Um, I'm supposed to be picking up 15 feather boas, 500 bingo cards, and 6 pairs of red underware". Especially when you took a cab there.

All in a World AIDS Day's work at The Fancy Pants Hotel.

I'm off to set up things for the body painter, but I just thought I'd pop in and share the cute invitation I created (with the help of some elements from pugly pixel, since I've been a little slow catching on to InDesign. Have you ever tried to draw a circle in that program? I think I'm missing something here).

Unfortunately, the client decided to reuse the clip-art fueled fun-fest of an invitation they printed last year. Oh well. The cause is the important thing, right? right. the cause and the cosmopolitans we'll be sipping tonight are the important thing.

for the hotel | Portland's Best Cup of Coffee

Our summer campaign at The Fancy Pants Hotel is all about our guests "living like a local". I work with some pretty amazing people (mostly of "young and hip" variety) and each of us became a resource for our guests on a certain aspect of the city

It would be The Understatement of the Year to say that I like coffee. I love coffee. I think I have coffee instead of spinal fluid. So naturally, I became our local coffee expert.

Here are a two of Portland's Best Places  :

Stumptown on SW 10th and Stark

Taking a trip to Stumptown Coffee is a must for any Portland pilgrimage. I can still remember my first cup! I had even been a barista for over year, and after my first sip of Stumptown I saw stars.

{ order } : The Hair Bender Blend – it just smells like inspiration to me.

{ do } : Get your picture taken in the photo booth next door to remember the moment you turned your back on instant coffee forever.

Ristretto on N. Williams & Failing

Ristretto is my favorite summer spot. Their minimalist space is open-air on summer afternoons, and has a covered deck year ‘round. It’s a great place to work during the week, and most of the shop is set up with freelancers and their laptops. But if a little talk time is what you’re after, their staff is genuinely cheerful and passionate.

{order} - Beaumont Blend Iced-Coffee – it’s far and away my favorite cold coffee on planet earth!
{do} – Sip on your cup and spread out a copy of the Sunday times.

You can see the rest of the feature (and my favorite coffee places in Portland) on our facebook page.

An Inspiring Weekend Ahead

This should be a very fun weekend here in Portland!

On Saturday I’ll be at Summer School Portland taking film pictures for Chelsea’s flower class. I just refurbished my Pentax k1000 at Blue Moon – so I can't wait to use it. I went to her class this spring and it was such lovely time. I’m especially excited because I hear there might be Peonies, my favorites! Are any of you going to one of the classes?

Sunday I’ll be going to Joy’s second section of her Blogging and Social Media class. I’m a little nervous to talk with everyone (I am so not a networker), but I think it will be fun and help me focus my writing voice.

 And, of course there is Father’s day too, and my sister is moving to Portland. It will be a real whirlwind. I’m sure next week will be full of show-and-tell.

[ (1) on film with Pentax k1000. More of the flower class on Flickr, and shared by Chelsea on {frolic!} ]

A {frolic} Flower Class

I recently had the pleasure of attending Chelsea's first official {frolic!} flower class. 

She taught us how to make a 'french bouquet'; which we learned means the steams are tight and crossed and the overall shape is rounded. (Although, you could probably sell me anything with 'french' in the title. See me, buying the can of french cut greenbeans at the grocery store)

Chelsea was a fantastic teacher; sharing with us the history of the 'nose-gay' and encouraging all of our individual styles. The combination of her past life as a flower shop owner, and current career as a prop stylist make her a real pro!

I used shocking pink ranunculus, purple lilacs and white freesias, which smelled absolutely heavenly. Chelsea also suggested we use greenery in our bouquet, which I had never really though of. It gave them shape, and made them looked fuller and more finished at the end.

And, it was an added plus that the class was full of fun ladies like Lauren (of The Little Things We Do), Laura (a letter designer) and Jenn (an event planner at Bowtie and Bustle)

 It was such a great, girly morning and I had a beautiful bouquet to bring home to wish my sister good luck on her marthon. I always get a little sad when it's time to toss them - but as Chelsea pointed out ...

"That's the beauty of flowers. They aren't permanent. They're fleeting"

You can read more about the class from Lauren and Jenn and professor Chelsea, herself ( ... where you can also see a picture of me, my bouquet, and a very bad hairday).  

 

and there are more of  film pictures of the {frolic!} flower class at my flickr.

 

(p.s.) If this sounds like something you'd like to do, she'll be teaching another flower class at Summer School Portland!

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* as many of you know, blogger (the publisher I use) was being a real butt-head and, because of a glitch, removed many recent posts from around blog-land. Luckily, this post wasn't gone for good - but some of the comments are. I promise I didn't delete them. I love every word you write to me.

for the hotel | Beach Clean-Up

The Hotel where I work is environmentally friendly. We use special light bulbs and do our printing on recycled paper with soy based inks. It's one of my very favorite things about my work place. I believe in our company, because they believe in caring for our planet!

Once a year we all ride on an Eco-Shuttle (stocked with a keg of local, sustainable beer) and go to the beach to pick up trash.  I usually shy away from any activity that is offered as an alternative to prison time. But, this was the best afternoon! We were all together, saving sea turtles from swallowing cigarette butts.

p.s. You can see a few more photos of our valiant efforts on my flickr.

(1) on film with my pentax k1000. Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast.

Career Day

In the week since I've started my new job, I've been enjoying this thing called routine

I like getting off the train with the suited-up briefcase carriers, and hearing my heels click-clack on the city sidewalks. I check my lipstick in the hall mirror, and grab a cup of coffee from the connecting restaurant I still work at one day a week. I walk through the kitchen, and push the elevator button : going up!

It's the honeymoon period I have with every job, when it's all still a novelty, before I've ever referred to it as soul-killing, or considered calling in sick with a parasite.

And, it's gotten me asking myself the age old question : What do you want to be when you grow up? Literature will tell you to start at the beginning; at career day. Imagine yourself, hand raised, in a one-armed plastic desk. That is where you can find your life's mission. I can see my curly hair and stretch pants, feeling bold and excited as I proclaim : "I want to work in a crayon factory!"

Yes, really.

I can understand the allure after seeing this episode of Sesame Street - it's colorful and creative (and I'm sure the psychedelic music didn't hurt either). I had plenty of experience mixing that powder that looks identical to Craft Macaroni and Cheese. All the things that go along with factory work - boredom, monotony, the fact I would be surrounded by old people, and might get the Orange Lung - were lost on me. 

I then think back to my fellow students, and I wonder how many of them are the lawyers or doctors that they wanted to be. Maybe, their dream of being a Law and Order lawyer turned into being a divorce attorney, or the office's CPA. Or their Dr. McDreamy became a nurse practitioner, an x-ray technician, or a pharmaceutical rep; professions that don't have Emmy winning TV shows based on them.

Should they feel like they've failed? 

The reality is, professional success has little do with a title.

If you're like me, the goal was never fame or prestige. I didn't want to be a world famous crayon maker with my own weekly spot on Sesame Street. I wanted to know that I helped make things possible for other people (in this case, excited kids sitting in front of coloring pages).  It's that motivation that has made my new job so rewarding for me. I get to be part of a humming, buzzing multi-part system that is all working towards something bigger

So in the coming weeks, when the honeymoon ends and I realize that I'm really just a secretary; when I start getting impatient for the day I become a writer, I will remind myself to take a walk and take a breath.

And, I will return as the smiling face who comes bearing mid-day Starbucks. I will find satisfaction in knowing I achieved my youthful ambition. I am now the person who makes the burst of creativity and the spark of imagination possible.

[ (1) I look like I have the same body type as Mrs. Potato Head here. It's the four sweaters I'm wearing, I swear. (2) with my Pentax k1000, on film ]

On Waitressing | Tom Robbins

"As in most other large cities, there were a fair number of women who had studied art, literature, philosophy, history, ect., only to find that their education and a dollar would buy them a glass of Perrier. True, they hadn't entered their respective fields with the idea of getting rich, but neither had they expected that a summa cum laude would take them about as far from campus as the nearest dry water hole. Unable to support themselves in the work of their choice, they turned to waitressing, for there they could earn the most money for the least investment. If it wasn't possible for them to do something meaningful and fulfilling, at least they could be well compensated for a minimum of moral compromise and even barer minimum of vocational commitment." 

Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume.

A Declaration of Inspiration

This week I met a lot of people whose work I love; first at a reading at Powell's and then at Little Winter this weekend. Of course, it was awkward at first. Knowing someone who doesn't know you is humbling. I always have to fight the urge to play it cool, like a real hip art chick, and not say anything.

But, it is so important to tell people how they inspire you. I think, at the base of it all, connecting with people is why we all started doing this.

It was important to tell Stephanie Cogdon-Barnes (half of the team that published of A Year of Mornings: 3191 miles apart) that I sent her book to my best friend who lives in a different city.

... to tell Abby Powell-Thompson (the photographer behind Abby Try Again) that her pictures helped me see all the beauty in Portland when I first moved here and didn't really feel like this was my home.

... to tell Lauren (at the little things we do) that she's encouraged me to pair black and brown more adventurously in my wardrobe.

... & hardest of all, to tell Nicole Krauss that her book helped me in a time when I felt like no one else understood the kind of deep sadness that accompanies an otherwise happy existence. To tell her "that part of me is made of glass" too, even if it was through tears.

So, I hope you all make a point today to tell someone who may not know you that they are important to your life, none the less. Write an e-mail to an author, or comment on a blog you read anonymously.

If writing teaches us anything, it's that we have an infinite amount of power in our words, if we can just be brave enough to use them

(photo) from sally of Shim + Sons, who I had the pleasure of sharing a few good laughs with as she greeted at the market. Yet another person who inspires me, especially with her sparkling, news-anchor worthy, personality

The Morning After

 It's no secret that I am unwaveringly sentimental - so I'm always a little sad the morning after a big event. It kind of feels like the day after Christmas, everything unwrapped and all the anticipation behind you.

The branches in this photo, on my bedside table, were some of the styling elements Chelsea used for little winter and I brought them home hoping it would make the feeling last just a little bit longer

I'll be sure to share some amazing little tid bits from the weekend, but until then : happy monday! There is a whole week ahead of us full of possibility and new projects. 

(photo) poloroid 600 film, which has obviously expired.

Little Love Note for Little Winter

Dear people coming for Little Winter,
I'm so excited to get to meet everyone. I'm going to try my best to act like an upstanding intern, and not a super fan. It's been so beautiful this week, it's like the whole city is waiting to wow you (look!). But coming to Portland when the sun in shining is dangerous, you will want to live here.

(1 and 2) pentax k1000, on 400 iso film. (fyi) little winter is the project I've been interning on. If you live in Portland I hope you will come!

Forever Young : Eternally Interning

By now, all you daily readers here at Unconventionally Beautiful have determined that I don't exactly have a little thing called a career. How do I tell people ...

"Organized, overly-enthusiastic, young lady seeks position to orchestrate large scale projects with small scale details. Position must be creative, and craft/caffeine driven. Skills include: bow tying, rubber cementing, typewriting to rival Joan Holloway?"

Who knew all of these 'skills' would help me land a perfect little dream internship with Chelsea Fuss at Frolic!, one of The Times' top 20 design blogs in the world. It involves literally everything i love: ribbons, weddings, flowers, glue-sticks, streamers, everything.

   

here are two of the project's I've worked on:

(1) a paperwhite bulb kit and (2) a confetti systems inspired latern. 

Both are for Project Wedding

Even before I started interning, I was a daily reader of {Frolic!}. Her aesthetic has a simplicity usually reserved for minimalism, but maintains every personal and natural touch. Working with her has been so humbling, but so inspiring. I thought I'd share her work with the few of you who aren't familiar already, and clue you into what I've been up to the last month. Knowing her, you will be fans with the first click-through.

(images 1 & 2) creative commons copywrited to {frolic} (p.s) even Joanna at cup of jo is a fan.

Coffee Shop

I work the opening shift at a french bakery most mornings, and I consider it my personal responsibility to help the residents of North Portland start their day right. My regulars are accustomed to hearing indie tunes to ease their reentry into the world of upstanding, working citizens.

But on this particularly cold and gray morning I don't want anyone following Elliott Smith into the void of seasonal depression.

So I think I'll play Jay Z's H to the Izzo. on repeat.

You heard the man, double-caramel-with-whip. "That's the anthem so get your damn hands up."
There you go, mmmhmm. You're welcome.

(image) french macarons (a.k.a. my breakfast) from bardot in blue

Sloane Crosley | Resume

"A basic affinity for office work may appear expendable to most. But I was a good girl from the suburbs, where self-worth was color-coded and bound and crazy-glued into a diorama. "

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

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* this is me. in a statement. Starting a new internship next week, and bringing my grade A color coding/diorama making skills with me.

portland places | Pix's Bastille Day

a photo from Pix's Bastille Day Block Party.
I told you it was going to be tre fun!
It's like the 4th of July, but French.