where do i go from here?

after being let go in october from the world's largest greeting card company (read about it in my daughter's blog here), i faced a dilemma. while officially "retired," i am nothing of the sort. aside from the ongoing need for food, clothing, shelter and ingredients for mixing up strange and wonderful cocktails, i get bored easily. and, like others, i believe that for baby boomers anyway, the idea of truly retiring is not only unrealistic in our current economic conditions but it is anathema to our exploratory nature.

long story short, after much consideration, i am entering into what is generously known as a "portfolio career." a portfolio career is one well-described here but is basically a multi-pronged approach to a livelihood based on what you really love to do. to the unimaginative it could also be viewed as dabbling in things, but that sounds so negative. i prefer the first definition. so, what do i love to do?

i love design for one thing. i was a designer at that greeting card company and truly enjoyed being one. do you need help with your logo? do you need menus and napkins designed for your restaurant? do you need wedding invitations? do you need designs for business cards and stationery? let me help you.

i also love junking. i mean really--how much fun is it to stumble upon amazingly wonderful, quirky old things? maybe it's because i imagine so many stories in a set of dishes, savoring all the conversations that took place while eating from them. i can't very well just keep everything i find, right? that's sort of pack-rattish. and selfish. so, i am setting up an etsy shop to sell the wonderful things i find. my current focus is kitchenware, since serendipity led me to the most wonderful place in kansas city, kansas, with a most amazing treasure trove of vintage dishes. don't ask where it is because i won't tell you. and if i find something especially fabulous, i may just keep it for myself! we'll see.

finally, i love to eat and drink with interesting people. during those first few months of unemployment, one of the first ideas that popped into my head was tending bar, at least for a way to pay the mortgage. drinking is pretty much recession-proof, right? in kansas city, there happens to be one of the franchises for the international school of professional bartending. so, i signed up and am now a certified mixologist. and i take my mixology seriously! while the bartending school's focus is on high volume venues, i lean towards the "slow food" approach to cocktails. there's a huge trend toward prohibition-style cocktails, using quality ingredients, interesting combinations of flavors and loving mixing techniques. i'd love to create signature cocktails for you and serve them at your next event.

so, that's my portfolio.

this blog will be the platform on which to display those different vocations. and hopefully it will inspire you to contact me to design for you, sell you some funky dishes, or create and serve memorable drinks at your next event.