This photograph of a runway model was only one of the inspirations for an article in the September/October issue of Windows Fashion Vision magazine. Several of the Minutes Matter team submitted designs. Look for Merlyn’s, Anna’s and Laureen’s post coming in the next couple of days. What a fun project!

Casey and I worked together on this project. We both love working on cool designs for an office. I guess it’s a passion for us since we spend so much time in our offices, we want that space to be as inspirational as possible. Casey even created a custom tile fireplace. Love it!

Below is the actual text for the article:

Debbie Green/Casey Green: The inspiration for this office seating room came from the variety of colors used in a dress from the Erdem Winter 2009 season. Their client, Roxi, is an executive for a high profile social networking website who wanted her office to have a seating area that would serve as a creative retreat. Debbie and Casey decided to echo the dress in the stationary drapery panels. They added metal wall rings in a nickel finish to give the drapery panels an extra punch. The bodice of the dress inspired the multi-colored tile fireplace. The velvet fabrics used on the sofa and chair add another texture to the room and give the same depth of color as the taffeta fabric used on the drapery panels. The mural on the wall was the final touch that added just the right amount of pizzazz the space needed to achieve that bold, yet warm, feel.
—Dandelion Interiors, Nashville, Tenn.

QuickBooks 2010 has been released! We will be sending an ezine out soon letting you know what features we think are new and cool. You can purchase QuickBooks using the links below to take advantage of special pricing, compliments of Minutes Matter.

To purchase QuickBooks 2010 Premier Edition, click HERE.

To purchase QuickBooks 2010 Pro Edition, click HERE.

The Power of I is the first-ever marketing book to address the specific needs of the Interior Design Industry. Detailed, step-by-step instructions and real life examples will be your guide to exponentially grow your business. Once you have the key concepts in place, you’ll be amazed how effortlessly you’ll generate substantial profits; even when others around you are struggling to break even. If you are serious about building a lasting and profitable business, this book will be your roadmap. The Power of I reveals the secrets of three of the industry’s award winning innovators, Debbie Green, Casey Green, and Jackie Von Tobel.

In this book, we will show you how to take Studio to the next level to expand your business! Studio is not only a perfect communication tool between you and the client, the workroom and installer, but it is also a fabulous marketing tool. Studio can be used in so many unique ways for marketing.

Power of I: Secret #1 Revealed . . .
Here’s a sneak peak of one of the marketing tips which uses Studio as a primary marketing tool. After completing a project, let the client know how much you enjoyed working with them by asking permission to post an article on your blog regarding their project. This is a win-win marketing idea! Not only do you show off your talents but also the clients LOVE to be published! The end result is they tell their friends, who check out your blog; opening the doors for tons of new potential clients!

Check out my Dandelion Blog to see some examples of how I use Studio to get referrals Blogs are a very economical but a highly effective way to market your business. If you don’t yet have your own blog, we can help you with that too! Sign up today and let us set up a customized blog for your company.

I can’t wait until you get a glimpse of our newest project The Power of I. It’s the ultimate marketing system, once implemented your business will never be the same.

We are thrilled to announce that we now offer Jackie Von Tobel’s newest book, The Design Directory of Bedding! As you may know, Jackie’s designs are exclusive to Minutes Matter’s Studio software. This book is beautifully hand drawn by Jackie Von Tobel and contains over 1,000 illustrations that are sure to inspire you! Order this fabulous bedding book today by clicking HERE. Minutes Matter will begin developing the bedding modules from The Design Directory of Bedding by Jackie Von Tobel starting in Spring 2010. The illustration above is an example of the pleated corona and bedding collection found on page 367. If you’ve not yet see Jackie’s Window Treatment Modules for Studio, click HERE to learn more. These break apart designs allow you to customize every detail of a rendering. Exciting News: The Design Directory of Window Treatments (Module 3) is expected to release next week! Take advantage of the introductory pricing before it expires on October 18th!

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Casey and I just returned from a week long “lock down.” We made the decision a couple of months ago that we had to get away for a week of uninterrupted time to work on our new Power of I marketing book for the interior design industry. A “lock down” for us means no phone calls and NO EMAIL. Yikes!!! That’s really hard for me.

WOW! We accomplished so much during our “lock down.”

The Power of I is authored by Casey, Jackie, and myself. Since we had already spent considerable time on our content, this past week we worked on additional text, graphics, and Studio templates. Not only will it include never before heard of marketing ideas but we are also developing a supplementary Studio Marketing Module with actual templates to create your own marketing materials within Studio. The templates will include electronic storyboards, numerous unique postcards, brochures, door hangers, gift certificates, request for testimonials, and magazine articles, just to name a few. This book is guaranteed to help you implement a marketing plan that works, looks professional, and will also help you establish processes to systematize all your marketing efforts. Look for more information on our exciting new project in the upcoming months.

About the Mayor’s Mansion Inn . . .
For our “lock down,” we knew that we needed a quiet place to be creative. We thought a bed and breakfast would be the perfect environment to keep us focused and inspired. We didn’t want to spend a lot of time driving, so Casey found a B&B in Chattanooga, TN, called “The Mayor’s Mansion Inn.” We made sure our room had a large table so we would have plenty of room to spread out our work. We took two 22″ external monitors and external keyboards, which made our work so much easier. My laptop served as an extended monitor; I loved it. We worked on the book for twelve hours each day of our six-day stay.

I took all the photos below with my iPhone. Hmmm, I couldn’t seem to correct the back light issue when Cindy, the owner of the mansion, took the photo of Casey and I.

All the rooms at the mansion had custom made window and bed treatments.

The bathroom had the longest shower curtain I have ever seen, I couldn’t capture the shower curtain in one shot. I think the ceiling was almost 12′.

I didn’t realize Casey had never stayed at a B&B until we were eating our first gourmet breakfast on Tuesday morning when she mentioned to another guest that this was her first stay at a B&B. At one point, Casey said “I am never leaving here.” I can certainly understand why she made that statement. The staff waited on us hand and foot and our wish was their command. We were both amazed and loved every minute of our stay!

Everyday, we were served a three-course breakfast. I know you are thinking, “A three course breakfast?” First, we were served an appetizer (fresh fruit in a stemmed glass on a doily), the second course was the main course (French Toast with Banana’s Foster), and finally the last course was a dessert (one day was Strawberry shortcake; shown below). Casey and I never knew we should be having dessert for breakfast. Getting back into reality after our fairy tale life at the B&B will be a difficult adjustment for the first couple of days. Who is going to bring my hot tea and Casey’s coffee on a silver platter? We need to book another trip soon!

We are excited to announce Studio’s second update is now available! Click on above image for a larger preview. This update includes:

• The second release of Jackie Von Tobel’s Module Collection from the her renowned book, The Design Directory of Window Treatments. Click here to view the new images in the second JVT Module. (If you would like to purchase one or all of Jackie modules click here.)
• We’ve made it easier to recognize Jackie Von Tobel images which now display as blue text; now you can quickly distinguish Jackie’s modules from the other images inside Studio. (Note: All Studio users can view Jackie’s images, however, only those who have purchase JVT modules will be able to drag them onto the workspace.)
• Components for Tied Back Draperies, Swags, and Valances have been included for FREE!

If you already have Studio 3.0 installed, you will receive a pop-up window notifying you of an available update. When the update dialog box appears, click “OK” to allow the update to install.

For more in-depth information, click HERE to read this week’s ezine.

What is the difference between a good photograph and a bad photograph? Usually just two things! First, proper lighting is the biggest culprit for a bad photograph. Once you learn how to properly light a room the rest is easy. Second, is the ability to edit/correct a photograph with a photo editing software. Even professional photographers edit their best shots to make them even better.

About Your Camera:

Of course, you need a good camera! Those of you that have been reading my E-Zines for the past several years know I highly recommend a SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. A digital SLR camera is very similar to a 35mm camera. SLR cameras offer the advantage of a detachable lens and faster shutter speeds. When purchasing a SLR camera, you can purchase the camera body and the lens separately. The advantage for our industry is the option of purchasing a good wide-angle lens when room shots are desired. I don’t necessarily have a favorite brand; what matters to me most is how it feels in my hand and the number of MegaPixels. I recommend you purchase a camera with at least 8 MegaPixels. I currently have a Nikon D80 with an external Speedlight flash that can tilt and swivel. In all of my seminars, I recommend that people purchase a camera from Ritz Camera or Wolf Camera. My reason is these companies include free photography classes and the cost of the camera is about the same. I also think the extended warranty is a wise investment since cameras are expensive to repair or replace.

External Flash:

An external flash is a must when taking interior room shots! Regular digital point & shoot cameras with built-in flashes cannot produce enough light to fill a room. All SLR cameras include a hot shoe which allows the addition of an external flash. There are many times I can use my Speedlight flash and tilt it straight up toward the ceiling and the lighting is perfect. External lights with umbrellas also produce ample lighting without the harshness of a direct flash.

Editing Photographs:

Learning how to edit/correct photographs is easier than you think. For the cost, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 is one of the most powerful photo editing software I have seen. You can straighten, lighten, crop, color correct, erase unwanted objects and so much more. Once you know the simple techniques you can produce professional results in minutes.

Learn More:

If you would like to learn more about how to use Photoshop Elements, purchase our Learning CD “Working with Photoshop Element.” We also offer a course, “Create a Fabulous Portfolio,” that goes into detail about taking photographs. Don’t forget that we have a forum dedicated to questions and answers for Photoshop Elements on The Lounge – Studio’s online forum.

Promote Yourself:

Once you have great looking photographs, it is easy to create marketing materials such as websites, portfolio books, etc. Here is the portfolio of Anna Davis. Her website was created by Simplified Websites and comes highly recommended by us!

Color schemes, graphics, and selecting the perfect words are important decisions when developing a marketing piece, but don’t overlook the importance of the fonts you select. Just as the tone in your voice dictates a conversation, the font selection plays a crucial role in evoking emotions within your reader. The use of the right typeface will not only enhance the marketing material but will also help your readers to absorb the message you want to convey. There are a few guidelines to effectively mix and match fonts to create the visual appeal that your readers desire. Serif vs. Sans Serif Fonts: One easy way to create a successful marketing piece is to mix Serif and Sans Serif fonts. Serif fonts are embellished with little feet or a decorative line at the top and bottom of the letter. The use of these little feet are preferred for the body of the text since the serifs tend to distinguish each letter and help create a visual line for the reader to follow. Sans Serif fonts (the term comes from the French word sans, meaning “without”) are used for the headlines and are plain block letters which do not have small decorative lines to embellish the font. Font Personalities: Just like people, fonts have personalities too! Fonts have different qualities and represent a variety of feelings such as friendly, traditional, cluttered, official, powerful, warm, or even scary. The wrong font can detract from your intended meaning so be sure to choose wisely. To eliminate confusion, it is best to limit the number of fonts used. I personally find that only using two or three varying fonts per marketing piece keeps the interest high yet maintains a uniform, pulled together feel. Serif fonts such as Garamond, Times New Roman, and Georgia represent formal, traditional, and refined qualities. Sans Serif fonts such as Arial, Tahoma and Verdana represent modern, uncluttered, and casual qualities. Script fonts such as Mistral, Rage Italic, and Hurricane are more fanciful, graceful, and should be used for embellishing since they compromise legibility. My Favorites: Sometimes the fonts installed on your computer aren’t quite right for a particular advertising headline or maybe a special letter you are sending to a client. Fonts101, Dafont.com, or Abstract Fonts has thousands of fonts to choose from. Best of all they are free! On each of these websites, you are able to preview your specific text before downloading the font. I’ve included a few of my favorite fonts to help you get started:

Quick Links to My Specialty Fonts: Jayne Print Will & Grace The King & Queen Luna Bar Hurricane Rilo Damned Architect

In this video Jeffrey Gitomer discusses my favorite concept. I seem to quote him in almost every seminar I present. A client must know, like, and trust you and then they may do business with you.