logo teaser

When I opened my Etsy shop in the fall of 2009, I had a logo. It happened quickly. This logo doesn't really lend itself well for use as an avatar. It does appear on my website. I like it as a transparency on photos - much like a watermark off in the corner. And I do stamp it on shipping materials and cards. But I've never felt eager to fully integrate it.

After about a year, I added logo design to my to do list. I have no short-term plans to expand into wholesale, or any other channels beyond some local area events, and I don't plan to include it on my product labels in the near future (hang tags, yes). Still, it bothers me that I have a logo that doesn't feel quite right. What's the point of that?!

Then, almost 2 months ago, it started to gel. When I sat down to make some sketches last week, it was right there in my first drawing. Now I just need the right program and skills to create it in it's final form. I've found Adobe Illustrator to be far from intuitive in functionality, and making the time to learn it is not an option. Time is precious and that's not how I want or need to spend it at this stage. My other programs - at least as I understand them - fall short. This weekend, I finally emailed my uber-busy sister, who happens to work in graphic design, a mock-up. Then, I gave her a call to ask if she might create it for me in several usable formats. Lucky me! Sis is onboard to help me out a little later this spring.

Here is a little snippet, just one of several layers, of my future logo.

Turns out the component parts come from my drawings and notes saved from when I was working on my current not-quite-what-I-want logo. I've learned that - when it comes to my own biz - logo design is very much an evolutionary process. Much like living in a new space for a while before deciding how to decorate it or determining what changes to make, I just needed to let it evolve naturally.