We had recently designed new hang tags and business cards for Christina Sanchez of Le Modern Trinket, and she was so pleased with our work she asked if we could overhaul her website as well!

Using our favorite highly customizeable WordPress template, we revamped the site to be more search-engine friendly, adding plugins to allow visitors to share pages on virtually any social media platform and connect with Le Modern Trinket easily. We imported Christina’s Blogger blog into the new setup, and integrated her constantly-updated Tumblr feed to provide a steady stream of new content on the site.

The Etsy shop was integrated using Etsy’s gallery, providing an easy way to keep up with just one shopping cart system, and the Photos page was set up with Le Modern Trinket’s Flickr stream so that it updates whenever new pictures are uploaded to that site.

It has been so great working with Christina on this project, and she provided some really wonderful feedback last weekend via text:

“I’ve sold two pieces today on Etsy and getting emails via FB about my trinkets! I know it’s cus you made my site better.”

Cheers, Christina! Hope the new site brings lots more sales along with the increased search engine visibility!

I just finished up a pro bono logo design project for the Colorado Great Pyrenees Dog Rescue this morning!

Team PYRfect Paws is the team name the dog rescue goes by when participating in charitable dog walks and events. Shannon Murphy is an active member of this non-profit organization, and specifically asked that the dog paw in the logo show two dewclaws, as it is a very distinctive trait of the Great Pyrenees breed.

Click here to read more about the double dewclaw phenomenon!

I’m so proud of the direction my friend Shannon’s life has taken since moving to Colorado a couple of years ago. We have been friends for years, having met while working together at Mighty Fine in Los Angeles. An animal lover all her life, Shannon took a leap of faith in moving to Colorado and left the apparel industry to go back to school. Along with her drive to help animals through this dog rescue, she’s recently finished studying to become a vet tech! Cheers and high fives all around to Shannon; Hearts and Laserbeams has two rescue dogs and can’t wait to offer more graphic design support for your animal-friendly nonprofit!

Our buddy Trav went and got himself one more approved entry for the Threadless horror design challenge! Please click on the below image and rate that design a 5 – he only has a little time left to get votes so please click on over and do it now!

I love Trav’s description of this design:

Our very dear friend Trav Falligant of IBTrav Illustrations has entered some shirts in Threadless’ Horror design contest, and we would all really love some help getting him votes!

You have to create a Threadless account to vote, but it’s well worth it. Please keep in mind Trav’s a starvin artist and the prize money for the horror contest would keep him in food, sketchbooks and horror dvds for at least a couple of weeks! Click on the images below and give him a big ol’ number 5 please!

I did some pro bono work for Choose Haiti recently, and they’re getting ready to print some shirts to raise funds for relief efforts. They’re letting the public decide which design gets used, and I would love your support for my work!

To vote for this tee, you have to be a Facebook member. First, click here and “like” the Choose Haiti page.

Then, click here to participate in the judging - remember you’ll have to “like” the Choose Haiti page to vote.

Thanks so much in advance! It’d be great to see this design for sale on the Choose Haiti website!

Our running score – Phil:2 Gyro Bowl:0

One of the big plusses in working at home? When you’re working overtime on a Sunday morning, there’s no dress code.

Interesting to note – we got Josh’s I Heart Tripods shirt like 4 or 5 years ago. I just looked into it, they’re still available here! The proceeds from the sales help to pay for operations for animals.

About a year ago when I was commuting 40 miles south to Mission Viejo every day to a job that was in a less than positive environment, I started doing Fancy Coffee Friday. Instead of drinking the free coffee at work, I’d detour to the Starbucks on the way to the office, get a medium mocha with no whip cream on top, sigh, and pat myself on the back for making it through another week.

Now, a year later, I’ve kept that little ritual going. Except now I’m doing a job I love with zero commute (except for the occasional drive to L.A. for a meeting), and with the prego-ness I’ve made the temporary switch to Fancy Hot Chocolate Friday. It’s nice that the ritual has a happier tone to it now, a more “YAY it’s the weekend!!!” and less “Good god how am I going to do this again next week” feeling.

Do you have little weekly rituals like that, and what are they? Happy weekending everyone!