I've been writing this for a while and I'm starting to wonder if it is totally unneccessary. I mean it's interesteing for me, but probably not for anyone else. I will never make money or get famous for doing it. It doesn't seem to be getting me any more projects or clients. I don't give the link to many people. I am NOT a people person. I sit here in my office all by myself all day and occasionally interact with others while I make purchases or pick up my kids from school and I like it that way. If I can interact in the anonymous realm of the internet I can still keep flipping off people who are bad drivers here in Flagstaff and not wonder if I offended someone I know. Maybe that's why I get so few projects.... all the people who I've flipped the bird to told all their friends. I've got vanity license plates with my business name on them. Maybe I should be carful who I wave my finger at. It's a SoCal habit that never went away when I moved to a small mountain village.
Oh well I guess the whole point of me writing this is not to entertain other people, but to help me practice my writing skills. I actaully went ahead and wrote down my goals for next year and an important one is to get something published. I'm going to go for the magazine market first and then see what happens. It sounds like an easy goal, but I'm sure it's not. I've only got 5 more pounds and I'll hit my 130lb goal. That should be an easy one to meet and then get me rolling towards all my other goals.

My Custom Bookplate

I am so proud of myself. I just created my very own personalized book plate. I've always wanted to do this, I've just never had the chance. I'm trying again to catalog my vast collection of books and in that process I need some book plates, so that I know a book is officially in my collection. I drew this in AutoCad and then added the drawing of my house and then hand drew in the details and the mountains. I am so impressed with my self. Now I just need to take it to Kinko's and see if they can make an actual bookplate out of it in high quality (acid free) paper.
I am so cool!

What is design?

I feel the need to define the term "design" as used by an architect.
I've seen the word thrown around a lot by various people and to me design is more than just nick-naks, pillows, and wallpaper. To me those things are purely personal. I don't think I could hire someone to pick the art for my walls or choose the color of my bedspread. We all need to decorate the interior of our homes as we see fit and for what feels good for us.
For an architect, design is the layout and feel of the interior space. If something is designed well the space won't change much with the addition of wall paper. It's the way a room flows from one to another, its the layout of the windows and the size and type of windows, the use of wood trim or the lack thereof. It's creating a space that feels either welcoming, cozy, reverent, or utilitarian, what ever the rooms needs to be to be functional.
Most houses that are mass produced these days are designed to be blank boxes that HAVE to be painted and decorated to reveal your homes personality. When an architect designs a house for you there should be less blank wall space and less that needs to be "decorated" in order for the house to feel like your own.
So when I talk about designing homes that are for families and children I am not talking about the furniture or the towels in your guest bath. I'm talking about the way the rooms relate to one another, the amount of storage that is designed into the house, and the way a space facilitates its purpose. Every room should have a feeling and if it's a plain white box with a 3x3 window on 1 or 2 walls, it has no feeling.
There are so many things that can be done with the architecture of a room that can give it character. There are arches, and soffits, wood trim, built in shelving, vaulted ceilings, beamed ceilings, tin ceilings, pointed arch windows, clerestory windows, walls of windows, concrete floors, mosaic tile floors, all in the architect's toolbox just waiting to be used.
I get so frustrated at builders building crap that does not jive with the way a family actually lives. There is no storage, no character, no ease of traffic flow, and such poorly designed bathrooms that it drives me crazy. But what is 1 woman to do? I can complain here all I want, but only I can make a difference and change the way we view the family home.

Publicist?

The more I think about it, the more my potential book really does have a market. The things that I need help with are just plain getting my name and my ideas out there. I think I really do need a publicist. If I want to go Martha Stewart big then I'm going to have to do more than just write this blog and do some cool houses. I need a show on HGTV, I need NPR interviews, and I need coverage in magazines like Cookie, Dwell, Working Mother, Metropolis, and BHG. I'm not sure how to do that, but it needs to get done and I have no idea how much it would cost, or if I could even do it myself. I need to just keep writing and send some stuff off to the magazines and see what happens. I can do this, I just need a very elaborate plan.

I know it's been a while. The holidays is my only explanation. I should hav a good solid 3 weeks now before the kids are out of school for Christmas. I hope I can get a few things accomplished.
I've decided I still love architecture, I just don't like building. So I'm going to do my best to make a living being an architect and not being responsible for actually building anything. Is it possible? I'm not sure, but I'm going to try.
I've got to finish my book still so that I can combine my love of both books and houses. It should be fairly natural for me to do it, I've just got to put forth the effort to get it done. I know I can do it, it's just a matter of time.
Nothing else is going on.....just trying to make money so that I can take my family on a real vacation and pay off some bills. I guess that's the same thing most of this world is trying to do.....why does it have to be so hard sometimes?
Ugh.

I'm home again today. I haven't had a full week in my $1200/month office in weeks and probably won't until after Christmas. The little one has a stomach bug. I had completely forgotten that she was the queen of throw-up until she started barfing last night at 11:00. All was good until my husband went to drop her off at daycare and she threw up all over his jacket and then brought her directly to my office to take her home while he went off to work. Ahh the joys of motherhood.
I guess it's not like I had anything to do today anyway.....just another day of internet surfing and reading and deciding what I'm going to do to start making $3000/month since this whole architect thing isn't paying the bills.
I like the idea of the web site that gives away free architecture advice. Of course I had to e-mail the AIA and find out if that is legal. I'm sure that if I do start giving away info they will find a way to revoke my license. They are so stuffy, those architects. I'm still waiting for their response. Should be interesting. In the meantime I'm still exploring the whole cool architecture web site idea. It just might work if I can work between naps and all of the various days off of school for my 3 childrens' 3 different schools. I keep bringing that up. It's an obvious detrement to my lucrative career as a successful architect. HA
Anyway like I said yesterday if anyone is actually reading this, I am offering for a limited time (until someone tells me I can't) FREE Architecture Advice. I know it sounds too good to be true, but I am willing to answer any questions at all regarding your specific project. I can't draw anything for you, but anything else is fair game. Try it. I just might suprise you with my vast knowledge.

Free Architecture Advice

I've been reading a lot lately about starting and owning an e-business and wondering if architecture has any market for such a thing. I would like to give away free advice on designing houses and working with contractors and getting plans thru the city. I would also like to have cool architect related products and cool architect designed stuff as well as sell my services as an architect for creating plans ---design only---no construction documents, for people who need the work done and need a little bit more hand holding than some architects are willing to give. I think it would be a cool place to hang out as an architect and as a person who would like the help of an architect without plunking down thousands of dollars for our services. It sounds cool, but can I do it? Has it been done before? I could have cool architecture inspired toys and books and just cool things related to architecture. I would like to try it out here first if possible. I'm not even sure if anyone is reading this, but I would really like to be an accessible architect. I will answer any questions pertaining to architecture. I would absolutely love to help. I've seen some pretty monstrous things built recently and if my free advice can help to stop that, then I am all for free advice. Do you need to move a wall, find a contractor, remodel your bathroom, get a permit for a water heater? Those are all things that people need help with and that architects are uniquely qualified to answer, but most won't take the time out to help people like that with little questions. Half of my time in fielding new phone calls to prospective clients is given away free answering these same questions. Most are related to timing and budgets and they just need someone to talk to and let them know their budget and or time frame is unrealistic and most do not turn into actual projects. If architects had a place to send people with questions to weed out the people who need a little guidance first it would save them a ton of time. That just might be my way of combining architecture with a good solid on-line presence. Wow that really sounds pretty cool. I'll have to investigate it further.