Looking back at 2013 – No Grey Creative turns 10

2017 marks 10 years for No Grey Creative. As part of the celebration I’ll be bringing you a series of blog posts with the purpose of sharing my unique business story and also with the hope that you can relate to, learn from and have a laugh at (along with me) my experiences. 
Here’s a look back at 2013…

Designed my wedding invitations: 2013 was the year I married the love of my life, Paul! Organising the wedding was a fantastic creative experience and it also helped that I had 3 graphic designers for Bridesmaids. The wedding was to be held at Lindenderry on the Mornington Peninsula on the long weekend in March. When you are a Graphic Designer and your Bridesmaids are Graphic Designers the pressure is on to design the perfect weeding invitation. In fact, to my surprise it was quite an overwhelming experience to do so. I think at one point I considered outsourcing it because it was too much. Anyway, I sucked it up and the final result is what you see below. A honeymoon to follow for 3 weeks in NYC then after a long break, the longest I’ve ever taken away from No Grey it was back to work now as Mrs Tzaras.

My grandfather passed away: I have been very lucky in my life and up until 2013 I still had all 4 of my Grandparents alive and in pretty good health. Sadly, only a couple of months after our wedding my Grandpa Jack (who was well into his 90’s) passed away. 2013 was proving to be a big year for life events.

I have the loveliest clients: Because of the wedding and a huge amount of time off before and after, the first half of the year was almost completely absent of work. To be expected and at this point 7 years in to the business I really needed and took the break. When you run a business you always worry about taking too much time off as clients might go somewhere else or you may become forgotten. My clients were so lovely and generous with taking the time off and I was very grateful that when I finally returned they were still here waiting for me to pick up where I left off.

Stand out client of 2013: Probably one of my most famous and predominant branding jobs which is Richmond Panels. Towards the middle of 2013 I was referred to Garry from Richmond Panels by a colleague. I instantly liked with Garry. A fantastic business owner, visionary and all round lovely guy. He was in the market for a graphic designer to re-brand a business he had just acquired on Swan Street in Richmond. The business was then called Zebra Panels and was in desperate need of some help. After much discussion, brainstorming and hard work the Richmond Panels brand was born. Below are some highlights of the brand including the photoshop job of 40 of their loan cars imposed on famous Gosch’s Paddock – an icon of Richmond.

Online print ordering: Systems and processes in any business, big or small can be a really great way of saving time and providing a more productive and convenient service to clients. When you’re a small business like me, sometimes creating and implementing any process can be a bit of a challenge because you are only doing it for yourself, so it often doesn’t seem worth it. I was approached by a cold call one day from a new printer that was trade only and about to launch their new online ordering system. Like most cold calls from printers ( I get one a day pretty much) I quickly said not interested. The man on the other end persisted and offered me 30% off all my printing for the next 6 months if I created an account with them. I thought ‘what have I got to lose?’ so created my account and tried them out. Hands down one of the best systems I’ve ever implemented. I’m still with them 4 years on and it has changed the way (for the better) I run the print side of my business. Automated ordering and delivery, plentiful paper options and sizes, instant quotes and fast turnaround times. It seems obvious that I should have had something like this from day one, but sometimes you don’t realise how valuable a small system or process can be until you’ve implemented it. I now listen to cold calls a bit more carefully before I hang up, but not from other printers 🙂

Fav design work from 2013: