10 Things I can't live without - Jessica Burne Davis

Hi Everyone!  Some of you may have read my 10 Things I can' live without post.  Well, I thought it was a fun exercise and I thought it would be a great way to introduce you to my team and make them think about what fuels their fires.  First off is Jessica Burne Davis who I introduced a while back. Yes, you heard me right. We have the same last name.  Jessica A and Jessica B Davis - I could tell you all kinds of funny stories about this. But more on that later. Jess B is my right hand woman.  Here is her top 10 list:

Black Goody Hair Tie  - Since the age of 5 my hairstyle vacillates between being long and slightly less long. Yet I can’t go more than a few hours with my hair down. I buy these hair ties in bulk and have them everywhere in case a hair emergency strikes.  More often than not you’ll find me in a ponytail or bun.

Neostrata Bionic Face Serum - I am cursed with dry, oily and sensitive skin. This serum is a miracle. I apply it before bed and when I wake up my skin is smooth and flawless. It’s magic in bottle. Too bad it can’t take off those 10 pounds I would like to lose!

Keurig - Waking up in the morning for me is torture. I’m so envious of my bright-eyed non-coffee drinking husband. Since I am the only one who needs a caffeine jolt, my Keurig is a lifesaver.  I can brew 1 or 2 cups (ok – sometimes 3) in the morning without waiting for a huge carafe to fill.  I do feel badly about the environmental waste of the K-Cups, but I’m not ready to sacrifice the convenience.

Mac Eyebrow Pencil - My relationship with my eyebrows is complicated.  Let me preface by saying that I’ve always loved my dark strong brows.  Due to my sensitive skin, waxing makes me red and raw. So, I’ve been doing my own shaping for years. I even survived the 90s without over plucking.  But the left is high and the right is low. One is spiky and the other arched.  I discovered the Mac eyebrow pencil a few years ago when I went to Kelly Shultz of Julu Beauty. She’s an amazing local esthetician who taught me to use makeup to add definition and shape without overusing the tweezers.

White Cotton Bath Towels - My dream would be to have weekly spa appointments on my calendar.  Unfortunately, with my hectic schedule and tight wallet, this is an impossibility. So I pamper myself however I can. My morning routine is more indulgent using spa quality towels. My favorite brand right now is the Hudson Park collection from Bloomingdale's. They are super luxurious for the price.

Sunglasses - Sunglasses are accessories that I can't live without. Even on a cloudy day they are always within close reach. Most of the time, sunglasses will be either on my face or pushed up to keep my hair back. While I love the aviator look, I find the frame gets tangled in my ponytail.  Right now I love this retro cat-eye from Tory Burch.

Statement Earrings - I’ve discovered fun jewelry later in life.  When I was little I remember making fun of my mom when she wore statement necklaces.  Now the joke is on me because I can’t leave the house without wearing something bold. My latest obsession is gold dangly earrings.  They transform my black yoga pants and jean jacket into a stylish put-together outfit.

Microsoft Excel - I have to admit I’m a huge Microsoft Excel geek. There's nothing that a good spreadsheet can't fix. Pivot tables, vlookups and macros become my personal challenges. I'd like to say my nerdy tendencies are just limited to work but actually that’s not true. I use spreadsheets for birthday parties, menus and recipes, and if I go far enough back in time I can probably find the study guides I used in college.

Kindle E-Reader - I am a voracious reader and never thought the day would come when I preferred an e-reader over an actual book. Since most of the classics are free in digital form, I’ve rediscovered gems that I either never read or didn’t appreciate in high school.  Somehow it’s easier to tackle a 1,000 page tome without having to hold it in your hand.  On the flipside, I can discreetly devour the Twilight Series without any nosey passerby glancing at a trashy book cover.

Target - What can I say about the magical place I call, in a chic French accent, Tar-jay? This store fits every one of my needs.  A quick trip for milk and eggs ends with a hammered brass bowl in my checkout cart. Or I’ll go looking for clothes for my daughters and come home with a new shade of nail polish. Regardless of my shopping list, I’ll come home from Target with things I never knew I needed but that I am so happy to have.

Thanks Jess B! It was so fun to read this list. Several of these items (sunglasses! Target!) are high on my list too. Can't wait to see what the rest of the team comes up with.

New Year Resolutions 2016

Last week I posted about my New Years Business Resolutions. In previous years I usually posted my personal resolutions first but this year is so much about growing my business it was just an easier place to start (also business resolutions I find to be more concrete). That's not to say that I don't have personal resolutions for 2016.  Let's take a look back at the past year. Last year's resolutions were very simple: Exercise more regularly and Be more stylish.  Well, it would be sacrilegious to actually meet your yearly resolutions, wouldn't it?  I started off pretty good with the exercise.  And summer and spring are always a good time for me because I spend a lot of time in the garden, but I can't say I really stuck to any sort of "regimen".  As far as being more stylish, I did the whole capsule wardrobe thing for a few months which really helped clean out my closet and define my style, but I have realized now that I either focus my personal creative energies on my clothes or my house and right now it's my house.  So clothes have gone by the wayside. It's just too tiring to have to think about both.  But at least I'm happy thinking about my house and not thinking about my clothes for the time being.  So, on to 2016.

- Spend more ME time. I have come to realize that enjoying a glass of wine while feeding my children dinner does not constitute "me time". I always thought it was silly those moms that you'd see on TV shows who just didn't have time to take care of themselves because they were taking care of everyone else. Well the fact is, this sort of creeps up on you.  It's not that you don't want to take care of yourself.  For me, it's just that I can't find the time - between doing stuff for my house, business, kids etc. it just isn't feasible.  So this year I'm going to try to get the occasional massage (before I have a crick in my neck from carrying Lucy), a mani and pedi more than twice a year, and actually make it to girls' nights in the city with my besties.

- Get more regular exercise. I know - yet again (I hope I am not one of those people who constantly resolves to lose 5 pounds). I need to figure out what works for me exercise wise.  I don't know if it's regular walks, signing up with Team in Training to do another marathon or going to a yoga studio. But I do know that if I am held accountable to a partner or a group and if I have a goal (like a marathon) I usually do better. I'm competitive by nature so just signing up for a gym membership won't do the trick.

- Get our Airbnb suite up and running. I have always wanted to be an Innkeeper or own a B&B so I am super excited to have this little taste of hospitality.  I can't wait for our renovations to be complete, to get the space photographed and and to get the reservations coming in.

Of course I have a bunch of stuff related to our house that I hope to accomplish this year. All of that I consider super fun so I don't really feel the need to make resolutions around them (Except to make more money in my business to fund my projects :)  And I always strive to be a better mother - unwritten resolution - which I feel is helped along by also allowing myself to do some stuff for me. Already just emailed my neighborhood group to see if anyone wants to run or walk with me, so at least that's a step in the right direction.

What sorts of personal resolutions do you have for 2016?

MEET THE TEAM: The Other Jessica Davis

Back at the beginning of the year (well, actually, a couple months into the year) I posted about my business new years resolutions. The primary resolution I had was to delegate. With a baby on the way and an expanding business I knew there was no way for me to continue going it alone while keeping my head above water.  At the time of writing the post I had just hired a contract employee to help me with fulfillment, systems, admin and all the other stuff that I don't have time to do.  Funnily her name is also Jessica Davis.  Jessica Burne Davis that is.  Being that I am Jessica Ahnert Davis, we now have Jessica A and Jessica B.  Luckily she agreed to go by her maiden name Jessica Burne to avoid confusion at work :)

Now that we are nearing the end of 2014 and Jessica is officially part of the Nest Studio Team, I though I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to her. And here she is!

I'm sure she is mortified that I posted a large picture of her face here - although I think she looks pretty incredible.  For those of you who may have placed orders for our hardware or called with questions, Jessica Burne is most likely the person you communicated with.  As I mentioned back in my business resolutions post, Jessica is ridiculously overqualified for the job.  She worked for many years at JP Morgan as a consultant and then helped start their Private Bank Art Advisory Group. Jessica describes herself as an "art market sponge" and while working on that side of the business took every opportunity to visit client's homes and see their amazing art collections.  That said, Jessica says that the only downside to her job at JP Morgan was that "after admiring museum-quality works up close, my own taste level has exceed my budget infinitely.  My walls are decorated with family pictures and art from the kids because I cannot get myself to buy, what I call, CHART (cheap art)."  Jessica is also a self-proclaimed Microsoft Excel Geek.  According to her, there is nothing like a good spreadsheet to keep things organized. She uses Excel to manage everything from birthday RSVP's to dinner party food lists to garden plans.    

Here is a photo of Jessica and her beautiful family, along with some other fun stats

Currently hails from: Livingston, NJ 

Grew up: in London and along the East Coast of the US, moving often for her father's job

Attended: Lehigh University

Married to: Andrew Brian Davis (funnily, Jess A's husband Scott's middle name is also Bryan!)

Kids: Madeline 9 and Gabrielle 6

Loves: Family time; warm weather; beaches - lake and ocean equally; a good book; learning a new hobby (currently yoga and photography)

Guilty pleasures: Drinking a glass of wine during kids' bath time, listening to explicit version rap songs while exercising, buying too many shoes for her very difficult to find size 11 narrow feet

Hopes / dreams: To raise her daughters to be confident, successful, and empowered women; watching her major house renovation become a reality; helping Nest Studio grow into a hardware design powerhouse :)  

I hope you enjoyed meeting the other Jessica Davis (as our kids fondly call us both). As our business grows we hope to introduce you to more additions to the Nest Studio family!

It's official

I posted Lucy's stats and a few photos of her with big brother Bryan after her birth, but here is her official birth announcement and hospital photo (announcement design by my sister-in-law Soyoung Oh of Dogear Press)

WELCOME: Lucy Zhi-min Davis

For those of you who haven't already seen via Facebook or Instagram, Lucy Zhi-min Davis arrived on her due date: May 14, 2014 at 7:30 pm. She is a little peanut entering the world at 5 lbs 13 oz and 19.25 inches long.  Lucy is doing great already topping 6 pounds and giving us lots of smiles (or is it gas?).  Her big brother is thrilled and constantly wants to kiss "his baby", although we might have to set a daily kiss quota.  If the blog is a little silent for a while, you'll know why, but I'll try to keep you updated with fun content from our contributors while we get situated with the new little one.

New Years Business Resolutions

A while back I posted about my New Years Resolutions for 2014 most of which stemmed around work/life balance.  Well, I know it's already April but I figured I'd share some of my business goals with you guys as well.  I'd actually thought through most of these early in the year before I ever started putting my personal goals together. Although honestly when you run your own business and work from home most of these things end up going hand in hand.  So here goes:

Delegate. Up until about a month ago I was doing everything for my company by myself. That is the nature of the one-woman-show.  But with Baby #2 on the way and a growing business, I knew there was no way I could continue doing what I was doing.  So I'm delegating in a few ways.  First off, I hired an amazing employee.  Funnily enough her name is also Jessica Davis (seriously, it's like I asked to clone myself). She comes from a banking background, but also loves art which means she is great with money and super organized, smart and creative. She is also a mom of two so she understands what I'm up against.  She will be helping me with fulfilment and general admin and problem solving - putting systems in place to make things run more smoothly.  And I can hopefully focus more on creating new lines, sourcing manufacturers, and bringing in more business.

You might have also noticed a new look and feel to our logo and blog and our new url www.nest-studio-home.com .  I delegated that project to my friend Meredith over at the Killswitch Collective who has been doing my graphics for a while. I also had Carolyn Valentin update my blog so that the look is more tied in with the website. There are still a few things that need to happen (business cards etc) but overall I'm really happy with the look and how it reflects the feel of the hardware line.

Get organized. It's amazing how much being organized helps your peace of mind as well as your productivity. Even doing this blog post is an excercise in getting organized.  We recently moved my office to the basement in anticipation of the old office becoming the new nursery.  It was my goal to get the office much more organized than it had previously been.  Because we pretty much had been moving every 2 or so years before, our files were a mess and our office had always been the last space to be completed (or rather, just remained incomplete through every residence).  I really hopped on it this time (I guess having a new employee start also gave me some impetus).  Now all my design books are on one shelf, my hardware boards are on display and everything is in it's place (AND I got to go crazy with my label maker which always makes me happy).

Focus.   I tend to overcommit - A LOT.  Something sounds fun or interesting or I know I will be good at it and there I go volunteering to help.  Along with overcommitting in my personal life I tend to over-extend and spread myself thin on too many different work projects as well.  This year I'm cutting out much of the residential and commercial design work I had been doing and focusing on really ramping up my hardware business.  Last year I was trying to do both of those as well as work on projects around our own home while also volunteering on several committees locally. It was just too much!  On the business end, in focusing more on my hardware line, I have a few more concrete goals:

1) Double my 2013 sales figures: working on this. It's always hard to tell but this is definitely where marketing and PR come in.

2) Add 5 new showrooms: on the docket are Miami, Seattle, Boston, DC and maybe somewhere international like London or Hong Kong.

3) Add 2 new collections to the line: See my hardware inspiration posts!

4) Get my hardware featured in one my favorite Design Publications: Print publications are still the top place to get a product or yourself as a designer featured and this year I'm aspiring to Arch Digest or Elle Decor.

5) Partner with a large retailer to develop a line of licensed hardware: I've been watching the evolution of Joy Cho's brand first with her wallpaper for Hygge & West  and then her line of Oh Joy party supplies for Target and most recently her collection for Land of Nod.  I'd love to do something with a retailer that ties into what I currently do and what would be better than a line of Nest Studio hardware and accessories for West Elm? Hello West Elm?! Are you listening?

Thanks for letting me share a little of what my plans are for this year. What sort of business and career goals have you set for the rest of 2014?

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2014

I can't believe it's already mid-March!  We are almost a quarter of the way through the year and here I am just now talking about New Years Resolutions. Better late than never right?  I'm not much of a resolutions person.  I made some business goals for 2014 which I will share with you in another blog post, but I figured that this year it would also be good to set some personal goals as well.  In order to stick to my resolutions, I figure simpler and fewer is better.  Most of them center around work/life balance (or lack thereof).  So here goes. 

Separate home and work time.  It's hard to step away when you run your own business.  Because Bryan is at nursery school part time and with me the other 2 days of the week I try to shove everything into Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when he isn't home, but there tends to be A LOT of overflow.  As I grow my business there is a never ending list of things that need to be done, not to mention having to process all the orders that keep coming in (a good problem to have).  Because things keep piling up, I end up doing work after Bryan goes to bed and rushing to get things done while he's napping the other two days of the week. This year I'm trying to prioritize the work I need to dp (and get help on other aspects) so I can turn off when it's not work time. 

Spend more time with my husband.  Scott and I had been going out on fairly regular date nights but after I got pregnant, date night sort of fell off our radar. Perhaps it was the nesting instinct and all of the things we suddenly had to do to get ready for baby. Or perhaps it was the fact that going out to dinner and not being able to enjoy some wine with it didn't seem appealing.  However, we recently went on a little baby-moon to New York (originally we were going to Charleston but Mother Nature decided otherwise). Regardless of the thwarted plans, it was so nice to reconnect, wandering around the city and treating ourselves to some great meals.  After Baby #2 arrives I imagine it will be even more difficult but even more vital to find those alone moments, but I'm determined in 2014 to make that happen.  One thing that Scott and I are doing is scheduling Tuesday and Thursday evenings as family time - no staying late at work or bringing work home, no to-do lists.  This should help both with resolution #1 and #2. 

Take more "me" time. I am inherently a busybody - I just keep going - which allows me to get a lot done but it's hard for me to sit down and relax and stop working or doing house stuff.  Being pregnant makes this challenging and frustrating.  A good example is that I kept saying to myself that I needed to take a long relaxing bath.  How hard is that?  I literally had been saying this for months. It wasn't until we went to the city for our baby-moon at about week 29 of my pregnancy that I actually found time to do this.  There will always be things that need to be done but I need to move "me" time to the top of my to-do list from time to time.   

Be less jealous.  As a competitive person it's hard not to envy other people. I find that when I read other blogs, I often feel a pang of jealousy as I look at all the pretty homes people live in, amazing food people are eating, easy but stylish outfits people are wearing and generally how perfect things seem to be on the lifestyle front.  Of course, these feelings drive me to do things better in my own work and life, but sometimes they just aren't healthy.  I'm trying to be less envious of other folks out there and to remind myself that especially in the blog world, everything is seen through a filter.  You make people believe what you want them to believe with pretty photographs and inspiring text, but in the end everyone has their own challenges and battles they are fighting.  Along with limiting myself to reading just a few of my favorite blogs, remembering this as I peruse the web is key. 

Usually I don't talk too much about this sort of personal stuff on my blog, but I figured writing it down and putting it out there would help me stick to it.  I know there is no true work/life balance and it is what you define it as, but I'm hoping that by making these goals 2014 will be a great year. What resolutions have you made for the rest of the year ahead?

- artwork by Cori Magee