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A while ago (actually in the end of summer) I designed a Christmas card for the finnish branch of Amnesty International. Here’s a better look. It is now available here, but I am not sure if you can buy it abroad…

Today while packing I realised I usually travel in the summer and that wool jumpers take a lot of space! We leave for Lithuania tomorrow morning and come back the next Saturday. I am a bit nervous about the vegan food situation and whether or not I want to kill my classmates after seven days… but I intend to take a lot of pictures and eat at the Balti Drambliai (white elephant).

I am also taking my moleskine and hopefully be inspired to do some drawing. I’ve been so tired lately, having colds and allergy attacks, that all creativeness has gone out the window. But travel is always good.

take care <3

me at Berlin-zoo circa 1990

Yesterday I found some of that long lost travel excitement… We are leaving in a week (yep, next Wednesday). I’ve been to Berlin twice before, but I was so young I don’t remember much of it. I also used to speak german pretty well, but that’s long forgotten. I think I’ll go with my English.

So yesterday’s work avoidance was listening to my favourite german pop bands, like Juli, and looking for gigs we could go to while there. We will try to get tickets to see Daft Punk at Velodrom (their Paris gig looks incredible), I hope it doesn’t sell out!

Do you have any Berlin-tips for me?

Today seems to be full of exciting things:
- Sia and Floris coming to Finland in August! Can’t wait to show them around Helsinki. I hope they fall in love with it.
- With the mail came a magazine with one of my illustrations. Check out the real thing if you get the chance. It’s a full two page spread!

I got a new mini moleskine, so I could get some drawing done while on the go. Love the mini format.

To return to the pricing subject…
What I strive for most is to do fulfilling, interesting work. Work I can learn from. I’d love to do more work for charities etc, but like everyone else I’ve got a rent to pay. What I hope to do is get it all in a balance.

The pricing post was mostly about graphic design work and bigger projects. Magazines most often have a policy for different size of illustrations they use. So the fee is not up to negotiation.

…….
Recent inspirations:
- Quiet stillness is a brand new blog by my illustrator friend Hilda.
- Trade Secrets is my favourite place to visit these days. Meg writes there about all kinds of practical matters concerning the trade of illustration.
- design sponge: bizladies, a wonderful resource of tips.
- 3191, a year of mornings in photographs.

When you get your best illustration gig ever, three days before your entrance exam, do you refuse? Hell no! The work in question being banner-illustrations and banner design for one of the biggest (the biggest?) webportals in Finland, which is going through a complete site redesign soon.

A friend comments that the thing architecture school left me with seems to be the ability to deal with crazy deadlines. I think it’s more about learning the freelance desiger ethic: when you’ve got work flowing in, you push other things aside and do it. And when there’s no work, you resume other things. Flexibility, to some extent.

The entrance exams start tomorrow. Good thing I haven’t had time to be nervous yet. After Tuesday there will be another cut and only half will be picked for the final stage, which will go on from Wednesday to Friday. Yikes! Wish me luck! I will get back to work now…

my first illustration job, for an article on future offices. Yay!