The Creative Undertaking

Travel & Design

[thecreativeundertaking]

Last week I had a little fun on Instagram. Preparing for my tour exams, I decided to choose 7 sites in Quebec City and describe things and tell stories that I hoped not everyone knew about. I also wanted to bring a new appreciation of our city to locals and inspire the non-locals to come and visit.

Starting with the description of the fortified city, then of an amazing english cultural building that used to be a prison, a donkey that lives in a church, a prestigious factory that became an art school, the smallest façade in North America, the photography empire built by the Livernois family, and lastly the story of the Québecois boy who inspired the novel The Little Prince.

I called this series Fun Facts of Quebec City and you can find it on my instagram page or by searching the hashtag #funfactsaboutquebeccity on Instagram.

I’m thinking of continuing this project now and then when I have something interesting to talk about. It won’t be difficult since I’ve been learning so many new and amazing things in my tour guide class. I just can’t wait for summer to come when the city will be at its best! 

And if you’re interested, starting in two weeks I’ll be giving tours with Quebec City Food Tours. You can also contact me directly for private tours this summer! 

[thecreativeundertaking]

Here's what happened when I decided to get back to drawing. Seriously, I have to congratulate all my illustrator friends. I have no idea how you can draw all day and night without all the bones and muscles in your hand hurting.

[thecreativeundertaking]

For the first time since I've been working freelance, I took a vacation! A real one. Without my computer. Right after christmas, I packed my small, one and only carry-on bag, left the country and headed for the warmth and biodiversity of Costa Rica!

It was my second time visiting the Pura Vida country and I had missed it! The sun, the salt-water, the rhum-punch, the palm trees, the beach, the "do-what-you-want-when-you-want" vacation lifestyle. Three weeks is a decent amount of time to visit a place and completely disconnect from life back home (and the Quebec winter cold), but three weeks without my computer and work was a weird but oh! so enriching experience!

For the first week or two I was enjoying doing nothing. Sleep, swim, read, and drink was my main routine. But after a while, I quickly discovered I needed to do something. When I'm at home and suddenly have to urge to be productive, I open up my computer with good intentions... but then Facebook, Pinterest, chatting, cat videos, Netflix, and all sorts of other pointless things quickly overtake my inspiration, and then I end up doing nothing but waste time. During my moment of inspiration in Costa Rica, I had nothing except a sketchbook and some pens, so I decided to occupy myself with the tools I had on hand.

One monday, like everyone else back home going to work, I went to the beach next to our place in Cahuita, and I started sketching the things I saw: pieces of wood that resembled animals, sea shells and their hermit crabs, the tide, and even some lettering of words that inspired me at that moment. After a couple of hours, I realized that I had been so focused I lost track of time. I hadn't been this productive in forever! Just the pen, paper and my mind. Nothing else. For a second I thought about never returning to my machine-of-wasting-time behind. But let's be realistic, that's impossible. And the machine isn't the problem, it's us.

So now, three weeks later, I am back home with a new vision of my work, a refreshed body and brain full of new ideas, a desire for productivity, but especially the need to focus. Focus on what is important. Focus on what makes you happy. And then the work should be a piece of cake.

I'm ready 2015! It's going to be a great, inspirational and productive year!

[thecreativeundertaking]

J’ai déjà mentionné que j’aimais être occupée? Comme si mon boulot de tous les jours, mon implication dans Les Inspirés, mes cours de soir et les tours de fin de semaine n’étaient pas assez, j’ai décidé de participer à une mission de 10 jours en France avec Québec Numérique, Québec International et plusieurs représentants des entreprises et musées de Québec. Le 12 octobre, hop! sur l’avion qui nous amènera à une expérience plus qu’incroyable à Rennes et Bordeaux.

Je ne vais pas faire un récapitulatif day-to-day puisque vous pouvez déjà le lire sur le blogue de Québec Numérique. Je veux tout de même vous donner mes impressions personnelles qui sont au delà de mes attentes de départ.

En déposant ma candidature à Lojiq, j’avais en tête d’assister à cette mission numérique, qui encadrait l’événement Opportunités Digitales à Rennes et la Semaine Digitale à Bordeaux, avec comme objectif de faire des rencontres pour mon entreprise, de faire connaitre Les Inspirés à l’international et de couvrir la mission sur les réseaux sociaux, notamment Instagram.

En discutant avec les Français, Belges et Québécois de la délégation, je me suis rendu compte que ce qui rejoignait le plus les gens dans mon discours de présentation était Les Inspirés! Ce n’est pas du tout surprenant que lorsqu’on parle de réalisation de projets, co-working et entrepreneurship, cela rejoigne ces gens qui assistaient à la mission et aux événements. J’ai aussi vite vu une possibilité de nombreux projets avec Les Inspirés à l’international et déjà plein de gens qui veulent s’impliquer et participer! J’ai pris tous les commentaires et suggestions en note pour développer un plan d’action à mon retour. Je donnerai plus d’infos à ce sujet prochainement!

Les rencontres et liens que j’ai tissés avec les gens de la délégation ont été des plus enrichissants et vont me motiver à réaliser mes idées de projets au cours des prochains mois. Je suis encore épatée par les bon conseils, suggestions et encouragements que j’ai reçus pendant ces 10 jours, notamment par Ana-Laura Baz du Musée de la Civilisation, Isabelle Genest de Québec International et Pierre-Luc Lachance de Québec Numérique.

L’énergie était présente jusqu’à la toute dernière minute sur le dernier vol de Montréal à Québec où on s’échangeait encore des cartes d’affaires et nos coordonnées pour rester en contact. Je remercie énormément Québec International et Lojiq de m’avoir permis de réaliser une si belle aventure et surtout la belle gang de Québec Numérique et autres de m’avoir fait sentir comme si je faisais partie de votre famille. Je reviens de cette mission complètement ressourcée, pleine d'anecdotes et idées de projets! J’espère pouvoir continuer cette belle collaboration dans l’année à venir.

Et encore, j’ai des histoires de rencontres qui méritent leur propre billet. C’est à venir très bientôt!

[thecreativeundertaking]

This is just the most exciting news : MY FRIENDS ARE GETTING MARRIED! I've known Estelle since college, and she found the perfect, most incredible person to share a lifetime of happiness with. I almost cried of joy when they asked me to create their wedding invitations.

These are only the "Save the Date" but it sets the tone for the whole design of the wedding : invitations, menus, place cards, etc. I decided to play around with hand typography, and I asked Estelle to add some fun things around. She's an amazing illustrator so I really wanted to include some of her work in there too. She even created custom stamps featuring her cat as a ring-bearer! 

We can't wait for the 28th of February! Congratulations again!

And if you were wondering, Charles Anthony is one name, not two different people ;-)

[thecreativeundertaking]

Here we go with some brand new design! This is a little something I made for a cool group of people called LES INSPIRÉS (The Inspired Ones). They're girls and guys from Quebec City (now extending to Montreal and all over) who get together to talk about their projects, create together, think up of new ways to make the world a better place, and more. In a couple of weeks, they'll be hosting an event to launch their new website, and present a calendar of activities for the year to come, all in one relaxing and fun atmospheric evening. Here's where you need to go to sign up : https://www.facebook.com/events/964099086939432/

I volunteered to make the design for their event, and because I want to have a cool pro-bono project where I can explore and create funky things, I'll be continuing as their Art Director! Oh and did I mention how much I loved working with these people? :D

Also, I wanted to clear up something that might have confused some people in my last post. I won't stop doing graphic design. I love it too much to give it up. I just want to have a little something on the side, on weekends, so that I can go outside and meet people! So let's keep them amazing projects coming!

[thecreativeundertaking]

I unintentionally put my blog on hold this summer, partly because I was busy with work, but mostly because I wanted to enjoy my time outdoors when I wasn't on my computer. I realize now that I should have scheduled time in my week to still continue writing small posts, because now I'm feeling kind of rusty! So here's me making an attempted recap of my journey as a freelance graphic one year later!

A year ago, in july 2013, I was so excited to start off my new adventure! Getting work on my own and designing with a huge inspiration from my travels. Quickly I discovered it wasn't going to be easy. I spent a couple of months sending service offers, pitching on projects, doing personal design, but none of that amounted to a paycheck. It took around 4 months for things to get started. I got a new client, heard back from an old one, and worked some hours inside an agency as a freelancer.

By January I had a few projects going on and a couple of bucks! With a few projects here and there I felt comfortable, which for me was a bad thing. I discovered I had to have nothing or too many things going on at once to be ultra productive. Though the start of 2014 was kind fo slow for me, I found out new ways of kicking myself in the butt to get shit done! That's when I made an Asana account, I met up with other freelancers in cafés to do some co-working, and I switched my desktop for motivational quotes.

In the spring that's when it really kicked off! I'm pretty sure I worked way more than I was actually paid but I proved to myself that I was able to work a (almost) full-hour work week. At that point I was really happy with the projects I was working on, my clients were awesome and I improved immensely.

Accepting that the summer was being the summer and not a lot of projects were coming in, I allowed myself to take it easy. I travelled, spent time with my family, friends and cat, and I focused on being a crazy good host for our Airbnb travellers at home! This last part was one of the most enriching experiences I've ever had. Being able to make a difference in people's travels, giving them insights on the best things to do in the city and making them feel at home to me was really rewarding. 

At that point I saw an opportunity to do something else with the time I'm not designing. I saw a job opening as a tour guide for a Food Tour in my neighbourhood and thought I'd be a perfect fit! So with this new job in mind, I'm going to start classes in the fall to become an official accredited tour guide of Quebec City! (Didn't expect that did you?)

Now fall is here, and like they said, things have started to pick up again! Many projects have just rolled in and I've been working my butt off these last couple of weeks. And since I'm in over my head, I'm super productive!

To resume the first year of my freelance career: it has had it's up's and down's but it's like climbing up a mountain and getting a lot of exercice at the same time! (If that makes sense to you.) I think it's safe to say that it takes approximately a year for things to really fall into place and be happy with your work, pay, and freelance lifestyle. I hope this will inspire some of you to keep believing in yourself and work your butt off for what you want!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Last weekend was the Worldwide Instameet #9 and my third time participating in this awesome Instagram community event! The meet in Montreal was organized by a friend (@dezjeff) who teamed up with Tourisme Montréal to create an itinerary for the photo walk, got us access to places not everyone is used to going, and succeeded in getting sponsored by Joby products! It was my first time joining the Montreal community, and I was pretty excited to meet my Instagram idols and new people!  I was surprised to see that around 50 people had showed up! It really was a great day with many awesome #mtlmoments. If you're curious to see some photos that were taken that day, check out #mtlstameet hashtag on Instagram. Here are some talented users that were there that I think are definitely worth to be discovered : @yellowillow @inayali @david.kwan @pachakal @menomiaou @f_ruccolo @mevetaillefer @instabil_ @petewilliams @francisduval @hebdomania @a2r2v and of course @dezjeff

[thecreativeundertaking]

A couple of weeks ago, before I left for San Francisco, I was asked to help out a friend by documenting the making of a hand-painted shop window. I had brought along a GoPro to make a time-lapse of the whole thing, but that was kind of pointless since I wasted 4 hours trying to figure out how to do a stop motion in After Effects and it never worked... I'm thinking my computer is getting too old for that kind of thing.

This boutique "Si les Objets Pouvaient Parler" is a vintage shop in Quebec City selling second-hand vintage objects and furniture. They also have many creations from local artists, all things made with used and recycled materials. Coincidentally, Evelyne who's painting the window also makes bow-ties from recycled ties and sells them in this shop! Check out her stuff here! 

The whole photoshoot can be found on my Flickr!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Today is my last day in California, and really it has been an amazing 3 weeks. I had a lot of time and privacy to work, explored some of the coolest areas of Berkeley and San Francisco, made really good friends, drank excellent beer and whine, but most important of all I started photography again.

Since I came back from Europe, the only time I picked up my camera was to take photos of my cat. For this trip, I hadn't planned on doing a lot of photography so I only carried around my iPhone with me. Turns out I love taking pictures with it, and retouching has become a fun activity while I'm waiting somewhere without data or WiFi.

This weekend I participated in the Weekend Hashtag Project "Type in the wild" hosted by Instagram and found out yesterday I had been featured directly on their account! Walking around San Francisco I was inspired by everything. The photo I took was of a poem in the sidewalk separated into small sections. This section I really loved, and as of now, 739 others like it too! Thanks everyone for encouraging my photos and following me, on Instagram and on the blog!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Last week I was asked if I'd be willing to pack my bags and head out to San Francisco for 2 weeks and continue my work while travelling. I hesitated since it was such short notice, but I had nothing planned and I was sick of the cold weather so I said LET'S DO IT!

Yesterday we flew from Montreal to SF and are staying in a cute garden room in Berkeley suburbs. This week is not going to be visits and tourism since I have lots of cool projects to finish. I'll be working in local cafes in Berkeley and checking out the student atmosphere near the campus, hoping to meet some nice people. Next week I'll be exploring! I'll be updating my Instagram so be sure to check that out. (#SuchSF is the hashtag that tracks my trip.)

I haven't had time to read a lot about SF so if anyone has any recommendations of things to see and do, let me know!

[thecreativeundertaking]

J'ai commencé à rédiger ce billet en anglais et soudainement, Sylvain Carle est entré dans ma tête et je me suis rendue compte que je n'avais pas le droit d'écrire à propos du Web à QUÉBEC en anglais. Alors, même si je vais faire plein de belles fautes de syntaxe et d'orthographe, je me force pour présenter mon contenu en français pour bien représenter ma ville!

Le Web à Québec (WAQ) est un événement qui offre 3 jours de conférences à propos du web, design, média sociaux, etc. C'est aussi l'opportunité de rencontrer les professionnels du domaine. Sylvain Carle a fait la conférence d'ouverture et nous a incité à réaliser plein de petites choses, des projets, des idées, tout le temps, pour qu'on puisse développer le réseau/l'internet du Québec. Ce que j'ai retenu est que même si l'internet est majoritairement en anglais, au Québec ça parle français. On devrait donc représenter notre province sur le web en français. Cette même pensée m'a fait réaliser aussi que j'ai tout plein de beaux projets en tête, mais ces idées ne valent absolument rien si elles ne se réalisent jamais. Moi qui me pensais innovatrice, personne ne s'en rend compte puisque je n'ai pas réussis à en réaliser une seule. Ok, je ne suis pas un "fail" total... j'ai quand même réalisé mon rêve de partir à mon compte et vivre à l'étranger, c'est quand même ça de fait! 

Ça c'était hier. Aujourd'hui, on parle de contenu. J'ai assisté à quelques conférences où on dit qu'aujourd'hui, tout le monde peut présenter de l'information sur le web comme moi qui a créé ce blog. Mais encore une fois, ça ne vaut rien si ce n'est pas de qualité. Pour citer Jeff Lee, le dernier conférencier que j'ai vu aujourd'hui, « Être INTÉRESSANT, c'est le nouveau être BEAU! » Je dirais plus qu'il faudrait être les deux. Présenter son contenu de qualité dans un interface cool et fonctionnelle. C'est mon avis personnel de designer. Pour soutenir ça, quelqu'un m'a dis aujourd'hui qu'il lisait mon blogue seulement lorsque j'avais des belles photos!

J'espère que la photo ici est assez belle pour capter votre attention et que vous me lisez davantage! C'est en fait mon bureau pour les 2 prochains jours et j'avoue que l'ambiance, les conférences et les gens m'inspirent à créer, partager et réseauter!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Here's a little something I made today for my grandfather's 85th birthday! Instead of buying him a card, I suggested creating a personalized signature, print it, get everyone to sing around it and then frame it! This way he can see it everyday and it will mean so much more than just a card that he will put away, lose and never look at again. We are also printing it on the cake!

As designers, there are many possibilities of things we can create for ourselves and our close ones. I'm the first one to say "Don't buy an ugly card, I can make one" or "That artwork isn't worth spending money on, I can totally make that". So why don't I? Because I (and this is true for many other designers) am lazy when it comes to personal projects! We shouldn't be. We always say we are our toughest critics but these little personal projects don't need to be perfect! They shouldn't be, because you're not getting paid, you're just creating for fun.

So... go have fun!

[thecreativeundertaking]

OLYMPIC TIME! My favourite time. But I don't have cable! So for the next 2 weeks, half of my workspace is dedicated to only that. The other half is filled with awesome new projects. For now, February has been really busy. I've even had to refuse some projects, which I have never done before, but I guess this is a good sign for me. Let's hope it keeps going like this. Let's also hope Canada keeps their winning streak! Go Canada!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Starting my own business, I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Being freelance is cool and all, I'm a happier person, I love what I do, I have great clients, but I have one huge flaw which makes it really hard for me to move ahead. That thing, that I don't know how to do, is handling money. 

When Jim and I were traveling, it was actually a means of saving money! He did all the numbers.  We chose destinations where our money was worth a lot more so we could enjoy more things for less. Not everything went as planned since we were almost always last minute in our housing, plane tickets, etc. But as for activities and food, we managed pretty well. 

Now back home, I find it harder to save up. Not because I spend a lot (travelling to cheap places has made me a cheap person, so I now find it appalling spending 9$ on a glass of wine, and 50$ on a shirt) but because I don't think I work enough! I have the nicest office at home and now a cat that I can hug all day, but it doesn't seem enough to motivate me.

I realized this weekend that I needed to make a drastic change in my habits. I am throwing myself a challenge. To be debt-free 5 months from now. In this challenge I want to know how to finally handle my finances on my own and to find all the motivation in me to work harder, faster and get more things done. 

[thecreativeundertaking]

Every year, local organizers from Quebec City get artists and craftspeople together and host an artisan salon for a weekend just before christmas. The Salon Nouveau Genre is great because you discover so many talented people and get to buy unique objects which are perfect for special gifts under the tree. 

This was my third year participating, and every time I try to do something new. This year, me and my friend Estelle Bachelard decided to make an illustrated calendar. She illustrated 12 trendy fashion girls inspired by her friends, their style, and the seasons. I came up with a unique binding for the calendar which makes it easy to carry around, makes a stand, and can also be hung to a wall. I also designed the dates and made it so you can detach each month and keep the ones you like. 

Do you recognize the September girl? See the entire project here!

And it's not too late, you can still buy it here or from us!

[thecreativeundertaking]

Meet Berlin, my new associate. Even though he has yet proved his usefulness in our work, he keeps me well on track with managing time. Unlike me, he's a morning person(cat) and makes sure I wake up at 8 everyday. He punishes my with his tiny claws when I check Facebook too often. And he doesn't know this but I don't waste time looking at cat pictures and videos on internet anymore... He also checks over my shoulder often to see if my work is up to his standards. Yep, up until now we make a pretty good team!

One of the projects we're working on right now is a map with recommendations of things to do in Quebec City. We've recently opened our apartment to travellers and thought our guests would really appreciate it. I'll update with a finished version later!