gratitude. journal.

When word got out from a recent post, I can’t even begin to describe the response. My brain, and heart, are overflowing with joy and amazement. How do you truly say thank you for something like this? Or the forum posts full of concern? Or the vendor notes of support (like the one when Moo‘s Vice President alerted several colleagues on staff to make sure I was taken care of just because he could). Or surprise gifts in the mail. Or Tweet DMs to check in – one from Pixel2Canvas on vacation in the middle of the Grand Canyon. Or the dozens of e-mails we’ve received. Or a note from a photographer who had just lost her husband and the father of her 5 children, worried about MY FAMILY. (We are so ok by comparison.) Or the little surprises in our PayPal account just because. I mean, it’s more than the human mind can really wrap around.

You go through life trying to do good and just make it day to day. You stumble. Sometimes you stumble hard. Sometimes you even hurt people. You dust yourself off eventually, regroup, reprioritize, remember you’re not really all that (well maybe all that, but often minus the potato chips), and promise yourself that if you don’t learn from those past mistakes what’s the point of the future…so buckle down and get to it… That’s been my 2010. I’ve buckled down and got to it. I had another such gut-check / perspective experience on a CT-scan table just over a week ago to make me even more focused on what’s really important.

In my recent Rangefinder piece, I wrote about the photographer community and my close relationship with my vendors. While being interviewed about this website, the article opened and closed with the following:

I let ‘Fit to Print’ evolve into Paperie Boutique, a standalone blog, through which I’m paying it forward to those who helped me along the way…..What has this experience taught Robyn? “I’ve learned to never underestimate the generosity of people and their willingness to teach and share,” [Robyn] says. “Just when you think you couldn’t possibly be more proud of your professional community, something as simple as a ‘thank you’ or ‘I can help with that’ never ceases to amaze.”

How could I have known when I wrote that, just a few short weeks later…

I’m used to being on the organization and donation collection end of things. It’s been humbling to be on the receiving end to say the very least.

Then yesterday the latest ‘random act of kindness’ showed up on my door step.

It’s no secret that I love HB Photo Packaging, but this was just beyond unreal. This was a surprise just for me, just because. You can read more of the details over here at Flickr – please make sure to add to the comments and thank them on behalf of our professional community!

And shop their weekend sale—HB Packaging is having a 10% off summer sale!

And speaking of vendors, we have a winner in the recent Design Aglow contest! It’s Silvine Designs / Silvine Photography:

Congrats to Michelle and another huge round of THANKS to Design Aglow for being such big supporters of this site, and for donating such fantastic prizes! Thanks to everyone who participated as well, and have a great weekend!

tag you're it: Acrobat • bags • Bella Terra • bows • boxes • branding • Bridge • brochure • business • client • clients • contest • custom • Design Aglow • Fit to Print • gift • giftwrap • giveaway • guest post • h-bphoto.com • HB Packaging • HB Photo • HB Photo Packaging • HB Photo Packaging Store • Lightroom • Mac • magazine • marketing • materials • newsletter • packages • packaging • photographer • photography • Photoshop • Photoshop CS • presentation • print • prize • promo • promotional • ribbon • slideshow • studio • supplies • templates • THANK YOU HB! • vendor • Windows • wraffia • wrap • wrapping

EXTRA! EXTRA!

We’re back in limited capacity! Thanks so much to everyone for their well-wishes and support! To our new advertisers, welcome! We’ll do our best to get you added in the days ahead.

I’m happy to announce we have an awesome Design Aglow giveaway this week – their new Studio Newsletter Collection magazine-style marketing tool. Read on and see more!

Want to get in front of your target market and stay in touch with your best clients in the most beautiful way? Our quarterly newsletter collection is a must for the studio who wants to stay at the top of their market!

Pre-designed, pre-written, yet 100% adaptable, we offer up a bounty of fresh ideas for topics that easily market all aspects of your studio. Show off new products, your most current images, and inspire with fab session ideas while you keep in touch with clients and prospective clients.

Four quarterly issues used for marketing with a luxury feel, printed as quadfold and mailed to best clients or used in high-tech yet cost efficient way, online. We have included instructions to make sideways scrolling online newsletter to blow your clients away via the web.

This beautiful product includes:
• four sets (winter, spring, summer, fall) of professionally written and designed pages complete with patterned backgrounds, design elements, and space to insert your own images
• A full tutorial

PRODUCT DETAILS:
• Fully customizable, consisting of unflattened .PSD files to customize all colors, text, fonts, and images
• Each brochure contains 8 – 4 x 5.5 inch pages – easily print as an accordion at your favorite lab
• Includes product images, but not portraits
• Contains directions to make an amazing online pdf with Photoshop, Acrobat and Bridge, and a slideshow with Lightroom
• Compatible with Photoshop CS or newer, Windows and Mac

How do you win? It’s simple! Leave a comment here with a positive testimonial why you love Design Aglow.

Then go to Twitter or Facebook and post:

I love Design Aglow / @designaglow – visit Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog to win a new Studio Newsletter Collection

One lucky reader will be picked at Random by random.org from the numbered comments. Contest ends at 11:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 25, 2010. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has now been announced here – check it out!

tag you're it: Acrobat • branding • Bridge • brochure • business • client • clients • contest • Design Aglow • giveaway • guest post • Lightroom • Mac • magazine • marketing • materials • newsletter • photographer • photography • Photoshop • Photoshop CS • print • prize • promo • promotional • slideshow • studio • Windows