Geez, I'm already late with my Momcrush of the Month and I'm only on month #2! I totally skipped over February. In January you met my first Momcrush (Tania Grant of Pure Play Kids) and now I'd like to introduce you to Tracie Valentino, my latest crush. Tracie is the lady in charge at TracieDesigns. She's an award-winning graphic designer and mom of 3 girls in Fairfield. I think I found her on Twitter. I was drawn to her funny tweets and lovely designs and the rest is history - total Momcrush! I really have a thing for graphic designers. They manage to have the whole artist thing going on (without starving) and they're usually impeccably dressed and very tidy (two qualities I aspire to and admire because I'm so disheveled!).
I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about how she juggles it all and what inspires her. Read on for some good laughs and inspiration!
Q: How many kids?
A: Three girls: a teenager, a first grader, and a toddler. Various stages of life? Yeah, we got that covered.
Q: How did you start your business?
A: Five years ago, I was working full time at a small design agency, and started freelancing on the side. At the time, my husband was working in the city, so it really made sense for our family for one of us to be home more. Since I was starting to build my own client base anyway, I held my breath, quit my job, and the rest is traciedesigns history.
Q: Do you work at home or out of the home?
A: I work at home; we're actually in the middle of a renovation (3 kids + 1 bathroom was not doing it) so I can have a proper office. And more bathrooms.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: As far as design projects, right now I'm working on 2 logos, a website, and some branding.In my spare time (heh heh heh), I'm working on a new site design for myself. I also have a new blog idea that I'd love to bring to life, but unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day.
Q: What do you think we (as moms) need to know about design? What's important to you?
A: I think that everyone needs to know that design does affect them. Think about food allergies--how well does the package design convey that the product is--or isn't--allergy sensitive? Object design--how easy--or difficult--will this product make my life?
Personally, the most important aspect of design to me is that people stop using the font Comic Sans. It's seen it's day--let's just all move on.
Q: What's your favorite thing about living in Fairfield County?
A: There's so many great things in Fairfield County, it's hard to pick just one! I love the beaches, the parks, there are so many towns that have great shopping and dining… But let's not tell my husband about the great shopping. Yeah, maybe we should just keep quiet about the great shopping.
Q: What's your favorite kid activity in FC?
A: I love bringing the kids to the beach. The only downside is bringing half the beach home with us.
Q: Of course I'm all about where to eat, so what's your favorite kid-friendly restaurant in FC?
A: Chef's Table in Fairfield--yum. Good food, good atmosphere, good tunes. And incredibly kid-friendly.
Photo Credit for Tracie's photo above: Justin Marantz
Here are some examples of Tracie's work:
Glow: Logo, website and packaging created for a gluten-free cookie company. They were just snack of the day on the Rachel Ray show! (I'm like a proud mother, I have to brag)
Hey Fairfield: Logo created for local website.
mari: Logo, stationery and soon to be launched website created for Fairfield salon. Stationery won a Connecticut Art Director's Club Award of Excellence.
melt: Logo and soon to be launched website created for AWESOME sandwich shop in White Plains (the owners are Fairfield County residents).
You can find Tracie at www.traciedesigns.net
Q: How many kids?
A: Three girls: a teenager, a first grader, and a toddler. Various stages of life? Yeah, we got that covered.
Q: How did you start your business?
A: Five years ago, I was working full time at a small design agency, and started freelancing on the side. At the time, my husband was working in the city, so it really made sense for our family for one of us to be home more. Since I was starting to build my own client base anyway, I held my breath, quit my job, and the rest is traciedesigns history.
Q: Do you work at home or out of the home?
A: I work at home; we're actually in the middle of a renovation (3 kids + 1 bathroom was not doing it) so I can have a proper office. And more bathrooms.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: As far as design projects, right now I'm working on 2 logos, a website, and some branding.In my spare time (heh heh heh), I'm working on a new site design for myself. I also have a new blog idea that I'd love to bring to life, but unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day.
Q: What do you think we (as moms) need to know about design? What's important to you?
A: I think that everyone needs to know that design does affect them. Think about food allergies--how well does the package design convey that the product is--or isn't--allergy sensitive? Object design--how easy--or difficult--will this product make my life?
Personally, the most important aspect of design to me is that people stop using the font Comic Sans. It's seen it's day--let's just all move on.
Q: What's your favorite thing about living in Fairfield County?
A: There's so many great things in Fairfield County, it's hard to pick just one! I love the beaches, the parks, there are so many towns that have great shopping and dining… But let's not tell my husband about the great shopping. Yeah, maybe we should just keep quiet about the great shopping.
Q: What's your favorite kid activity in FC?
A: I love bringing the kids to the beach. The only downside is bringing half the beach home with us.
Q: Of course I'm all about where to eat, so what's your favorite kid-friendly restaurant in FC?
A: Chef's Table in Fairfield--yum. Good food, good atmosphere, good tunes. And incredibly kid-friendly.
Photo Credit for Tracie's photo above: Justin Marantz
Here are some examples of Tracie's work:
Glow: Logo, website and packaging created for a gluten-free cookie company. They were just snack of the day on the Rachel Ray show! (I'm like a proud mother, I have to brag)
Hey Fairfield: Logo created for local website.
mari: Logo, stationery and soon to be launched website created for Fairfield salon. Stationery won a Connecticut Art Director's Club Award of Excellence.
melt: Logo and soon to be launched website created for AWESOME sandwich shop in White Plains (the owners are Fairfield County residents).
You can find Tracie at www.traciedesigns.net
