Sauvie Island Farm

…go together.

June 1 was opening day of strawberry picking at my favorite pick-your-own farm. This means sinking your teeth into a sun-warmed Mt. Hood—the much-acclaimed Oregon berry. The berry that reminds you (or lets you know for the first time) just what a strawberry tastes like. Or should, anyway.

That my freezer is still full of last summer’s strawberries is only an indication of not knowing how to ration. Daiquiris anyone?

Just before my back said “enough,” I made my way to the rows of plump spinach, giving me the perfect dish for a friend’s party later that day.

Seasonal Salad: Spinach and strawberries with red onion and feta cheese

Fresh spinach (washed and dried)

Fresh strawberries (washed and sliced, not too thinly)

Red onion (sliced very thinly)

Crumbled feta (or goat cheese)

For the dressing:
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk the dressing ingredients together until emulsified. Toss with berries, onion, spinach and feta just before serving. Finish with freshly ground pepper.

good 'ole fashioned snail mail

Even as I help people unlock and articulate what makes them unique, there’s a simple truth that goes beyond crafting the perfect brand.

It’s about showing you give a damn.

It’s even better when it’s unexpected.

Maybe it’s a gift where a gift would seem surprising.

Maybe it’s helping a client to take a risk where you know they’ll benefit.

Maybe it’s fantastic customer service where people have stopped thinking they’ll get it.

Maybe it’s a personal note to one person even though you serve many just like her.

…………………

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New Flickr Page

The reason a small handful of design principles and devices stand the test of time is that they’re broad and non-prescriptive, helping us solve an unlimited number of visual problems.

White space is one of them.

It’s been a long time since a client asked if I could “get rid of all that white space.” Even so, I was surprised recently when a government client asked for a lot of white space. I felt like a kid in a, well, linen store.

The average person is becoming more sophisticated about design, and, perhaps due to content overload, has arrived at what artists and designers have long known. That is, how crucial white space is to a reading or viewing experience. Far from being leftover or empty space, white space, at its best, is intentional, helpful and often dynamic. It’s active, not passive. In reality, white space is a beautiful paradox because in all its lacking of content, it makes us pay more attention to the content that is there.

White space:

• Frames images and text (and the notes in music in the form of silences) drawing attention to them.

• Creates contrast, a critical device that wakes us up and makes us pay attention.

• Separates like bits of information from other clusters of information, helping us focus on one thing at a time.

• Creates a breather, the space to absorb information more easily.

Flickr unleashed not only a new website, but a backlash. Change incites naysayers and you can’t please everyone, but this designer thinks Flickr went overboard.

The old Flickr design had too much white space of the leftover and non-intentional kind. And, thumbnails were too small, requiring the user to click through every one, which was slow going.

Old Flickr

There’s no arguing the “wow” factor of a face full of pretty pictures. But think about the last time you strolled through a museum. The generous space between pieces of art was deliberate, framing and drawing your attention to the art in front of you. There was a chance to exhale before moving on to the next painting.

The new Flickr design sacrifices not only the ability to view an image and its related information, but it bombards you with all the images at once. Now, image trumps everything, overlooking how many users, including myself, use the site. Having tested a typical search I might do for a project, I can already see that load times for search results are much slower.

Pinterest, with its wall-to-wall content, has a lighter, less oppressive feel than Flickr, even though the general layout is the same. Images are large enough to see, you can focus more easily on a single image and you can find an image’s related information without scrolling.

Pinterest

What do you think of Flickr’s new design? Is it going to make it easier or harder for you to use?

20 leeks

What to do with a surplus of leeks

More elegant and refined than an onion, leeks become silky and sweet when cooked. They’re the base of soups or risottos, partner to fish or potatoes. There is no shortage of recipes for leeks. But just in case you come into a surplus, as I just did in my garden, here are a few ways to use them in a hurry.

Dry leeks

Rehydrate them later for use in recipes. Here’s an oven method for drying leeks but you can also use a food dehydrator.

Freeze leeks

Clean and chop leeks. Pre-freeze them on a cookie sheet on a single layer (to prevent sticking together). Then put them in a freezer bag.

Make stock

With leek recipes, you generally use only the green and light green part. But don’t toss the dark green parts. They’re great for making stock. There are a million variations on vegetable stock. The easiest is to toss leeks, potato, carrots, celery and garlic (for starters) into a pot with water and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and discard the vegetables.

Nip the bud

As if having too many leeks weren’t enough, you might also have let yours begin to flower (the Dr. Seuss-like tips shown above), as I have done. Like garlic tops (or garlic whistles), leek tops are delicious grilled or roasted. Chop them up and add to green, grain or bean salads. Toss into eggs or pasta. Or just eat them like an asparagus spear.

Let ‘em bloom

Forget eating, leave some leeks in the garden and let them bloom. The long flower stems are just what the Dr. (Seuss) ordered for a wacky and wonderful look.

asparagus hazelnut mint pesto

…………………..

Why wait to make pesto when the basil is abundant. You can put to work those long-awaited bundles of asparagus. You can pesto just about anything using a basic recipe as a guide and substituting similar ingredients. Here in the Northwest, I like to substitute hazelnuts for pine nuts to give dishes a more local flavor. Mint makes this pesto even more bright and springy.

Asparagus Hazelnut Mint Pesto Recipe Read the rest of this entry »

I can see the overwhelm on people’s faces as we talk about building their small business brand in ways they never thought they’d need to. I can understand. It takes a little discipline.

Your self-imposed plan to tweet once a day will slip. You’ll fail to write that weekly blog post. You’ll get the monthly newsletter out late. It happens.

You want to spend your time doing the work you’re meant to do. Read the rest of this entry »

Pick me!

…………………

If all you have is the desire to get picked, that’s not sufficient.

—SETH GODIN

Wandering the aisles at a craft show a while back, I was surprised that the same styles and motifs appeared over and over. Most likely, each artist thought of himself as different. But why didn’t anyone want to stand out, especially in a creative industry?

It is said that there are very few original ideas. But there’s plenty of room for a different kind of originality. Put two or more existing ideas together to form a new product or service. Put a new spin on an old idea. Use your voice. If you’re an independent business owner and you’re not putting your unique voice to work, you’re overlooking the one tool you have that no one else does.

What is something more? Read the rest of this entry »

More than ever before, businesses put a high value on connection and collaboration in order to thrive. And we expect information (including advice) to be largely free. This new way of interacting has allowed us to connect in ways that would have been difficult in years past, making it easier now to reach out and ask if you can pick someone’s brain.

I do it. We all do it. But it’s easy to forget that some people make their living problem solving and using strategic thinking. I’m flattered when someone asks to pick my brain because it means they desire my opinion. The key word here is desire. Desiring and valuing are two very different things. We value what we pay for. Giving away too much of your time affects not only you but the people you aim to help, not to mention the people who do end up paying for it.

It’s a challenge to draw the line, especially for do-gooders. Bernadette Jiwa puts it beautifully here why it’s important to value yourself enough to put your energy towards high-impact work. If the goal is to help people, you can’t very well do that if you don’t value your time and expertise. The little dribbles of advice here and there don’t add up to much…for anyone. Read the rest of this entry »

exclamation points

We all need to express alarm or enthusiasm on occasion.

The operative words are “on occasion” to avoid the one-who-cried-wolf syndrome. Alarm or enthuse too much and you’ve numbed your audience. Even one exclamation point should be a rare thing.

But what are your options in the face of information overload from every corner? How do you get people to pay attention long enough to click to read more or to stop scrolling for a minute to see what you have to say? Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had a growing fascination with what’s left behind—traces of life, flour clinging to a cutting board, a stubborn leaf imprinted in cement. The leftovers of the process of making.

These fragile decayed Chinese lantern blossoms are like miniature bird cages, each home to a red berry. How thrashing rain, snow, ice and winter wind left them intact is a beautiful little mystery.

………………….

Decayed Chinese Lanterns

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