Caroline's update: a week in Haiti

Hey friends! You might remember back in December we had a day dedicated in our shop to our dear friend/photographer Caroline. All profits from the shop went to raise money for her trip to Haiti. Today she's back to update us on how the trip went and what she's been up to. 

Caroline is one of the best photographers I've ever met and her passion is also crazy contagious. I'm so grateful she's one of my people and I'm so grateful she's sharing her story with us today. Enjoy, friends! - Jessi 

It’s been almost eight weeks since I returned from working in Haiti and I’ve been at a loss of how I should write about this trip, these people and these stories. I’ve had a ton of friends meet me for coffee or dinner to hear my stories which I am so grateful for and I’m an open book for wanting to talk about it. My people know that I don’t tell stories quickly-I tell them with all the detail for you to feel the moment, the situation, the intensity-I want you to love and ache and be as excited as I was. And putting all of those stories into words on a screen is hard. Anyone who has gone through an experience with a group of people that you’re no longer with knows how hard it is to come to terms with the real world after that experience is over. It’s a balance of wanting to let those experiences and relationships change you but at the same time, realize that the real life you return to is hard. Going back to running a business is hard. And time consuming. And frustrating when the world has taught us that emailing is more important that maintaining relationships and meeting deadlines is more important than being a part of a change in a broken nation.

So I’ll try to show you with pictures and with words because that’s what I do.

I could say that the heart of the trip was love or service or joy or any of the other genuine emotions that both our team received and we were able to give but from my perspective, it was about giving hope. Coming into the trip, our team didn’t know what we were going to be doing. Heck, we didn’t even know each other. We came from all across the continent as professional photographers and entrepreneurs (with a student, a firefighter and a few nurses sprinkled in) wanting to serve with the skills and talents that we had. What we didn’t want was be there without a purpose. We didn’t want to come in wearing matching t-shirts, hug the kids and disappear only to post photos on Instagram for our friends to double tap.

So we didn’t.

For the week, we worked with Child Hope International, an organization in Port-au-Prince that encompasses a school, a clinic, a boys home, a girls home, a feeding program and a transitional program. As part of their schooling, the older kids take classes to help bridge the gap between aging out of the orphanage and heading into the real world where the unemployment rate is 82%. But as we all know, there is a large difference between merely knowing the skills of baking sewing, metal working, jewelry making, screen printing and computer tech and being able to use them to profit, thrive and grow.

So that’s where we came in. Throughout the week, we were able to teach the kids business classes, help them verbalize and write down their why of why they do what they do and work with the staff to talk out obstacles and how to get over those walls. And of course, photograph/film all their programs for an upcoming project that we didn’t even know needed to happen until the last few hours of our trip.

And the people…the people on this trip…gosh. We came from all over and connected immediately on so many different levels that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain to those who weren’t there. They are SOLID, fearless, hilarious, boldly-loving, world-changing people that are some of my new favorites.

So here goes. The week in pictures from not only me, but my whole team of photographers (with a few stories thrown in). And team-thanks for helping me tell this story with your photos! Below you can also watch the video made about the Passion Project trip to Haiti! 

Passion Project // Haiti 2014 from Josh Newton on Vimeo.

Photos and adventures by this fearless team: Josh Newton, Dave Grube, Andrew Barlow, Chris Tyson, Jeremy Roloff,Jeremy Kester, Darryl Kuehl, Caroline Raush, Jessica Drogosz, Hannah Drogosz, Caitlin Woodsen, Taylor Jetton, Katie Eckel, Kate Meyer, Aundrea Shafer, Tamara Lockwood, Jane Ammon, Melanie Maczuga, Denise Saucedo, Alyssa Turner,Kelsey Goodwin or check out the hashtag #haitipassionproject2014 on Instagram.

In other news? Meet you guys back here Monday? It's a big, big day for Naptime Diaries blog + shop. We'll be launching two new websites and our spring line of prints and new products. 

PLUS a big sale! See you then! 

now, some AFTER pictures!

Yesterday I talked about before & after body transformation pictures, but how about today we talk about before & after OFFICE transformations? You guys. A month or so ago, my office was in BAD shape. 

It was part office, part church storage, part kids dumping ground, part Jessi's unorganized mess. I shared a sneak peek of how bad it was on instagram, but in case you missed it - here's what I was working with. 

I can barely look at that without getting a headache now. 

But now! Nick, Jacey, and I have worked all month and we finally have all three of our offices semi settled. Nick has an office upstairs off our kid's room and he built a little office for Jacey out of some dead space in our house that wasn't being used - we'll show off Jacey's desk soon! But my office is not just for me, it's for Jacey and I to meet in, it's for meetings, it's for creating, and it needed to be a good place for storage of a lot of the stuff we have to keep on hand. 

Soooooo, here is the after! 

These four 8x10 prints are currently in our shop and they're four of my absolute favorites. Clockwise from top left - Ephesians 5:8, Psalm 27, Grace upon Grace, and Free Indeed. That big old canvas over there on the left? That's one of our new spring line prints and it will be available April 7th! With many, many more new prints! 

That massive crate holds my kid's backpacks, jackets, and various things that don't have a place. You know how it is. Everybody needs a place to put things that don't have a place. 

I thought while I was showing off my office, I'd show y'all one of my favorite tricks. I keep two huge white poster boards in my office for staging photos. I use them myself for instagrams and quick pictures and our amazing shop photographer Caroline uses them when we do big product photoshoots! 

These rolling shelves (and the white desk) are all from CB2 and they're invaluable for us! It's so great to stack all our shipping supplies and other supplies and also be able to roll these in and out of the way as needed. 

Another thing I'm really excited about in the office is this huge content calendar Jacey and I had made. We needed something visible we could look at every day to connect over things that we have going on in all the different small business spheres - new product launches, Influence Network classes, or due dates for projects or writing assignments. We made it by designing a 24x30 calendar and then buying a plexiglass frame off Amazon. This way, we can write on the frame and easily erase it when needed! 

Lastly, everyone needs a soft place to land right? 

My favorite part of working from home is when a friend or my mom or my husband walk in my office and plop in that chair by the sun and chat for a bit. 

Thank YOU for stopping in and seeing our new office! 

let's get to the heart of it

For me, March feels like a good time to circle the wagons and get back to the heart of what's at hand. If you're a goal-setter or a plan-maker, you probably spent January and February taking steps forward and making things happen. Maybe some went well, maybe you feel like you're back to square one on other things. I have areas where I set goals and saw great fruit, and I feel like I had some plans or ideas that have needed restructuring or more heart-work. 

When we set out to make our Naptime Diaries Shop plans for the year, we set March as a catch up month. We obviously will still sell prints and run our shop, but we're not releasing anything new and we don't have any big projects planned. Our major goals? Clean + reorganize the office spaces (more on that next week), stabilize our rhythms as a business, freshen up our websites, and get back to the heart of why we do what we do. 

Scripture is crazy important to us. Knowing that people are reading, absorbing, learning, and being blessed by God's Word is the most important thing. It's a blessing to us that we get to do it creatively, in a way that hopefully is incredibly inspiring to people. So this month we're circling the wagons and getting back to doing what we do: working to get scripture in as many homes as possible, in the most creative + inspiring ways possible! And I thought I'd let you guys in on a little bit of that process this month. 

First up, we try to start most seasons or print releases with a mood board. For winter 2014, I was feeling crazy uninspired so my great gal Hayley at The Tiny Twig made a moodboard FOR us, which was a huge blessing. As we prep to release a spring/summer line of prints and as I design for the blog and style photos for social media + promotions, I'll try to rely heavily on the following moodboard! It's inspired by summers on the East Coast & West Coast and COLOR. When I made this moodboard I was thinking about picnics on the side of the Atlantic Ocean, afternoons painting with my kids, jeweltones, hiking in the pacific northwest, waking up in a cushy + classic bedroom, or taking naps in an eclectic bohemian bedroom. It might sound disjointed and crazy to you, but to me it all fits! 

Clockwise from the top: House of Rym blanket, one of my instagram pictures, Yolanda Sanchez painting, Nena & Co bag, Whitlock & Co pillow, driftwood shelf, sailing picture, pacific northwest,
bedroom inspiration, one of my instagrams of ocean

The next thing I did for this season was really get visual and specific about the homes we design for. I always tell small business owners they should KNOW their customer and bloggers that they should KNOW their reader. Where do they read your blog? What are they typically wearing? When they use your product, where is it in their house? When I worked at Anthropologie, I thought one of the wisest things they did as a company was name the lady they were designing + merchandising for each season. Each collection of clothing had a name, she had a whole story, a personality, a job, and we knew what her family was like. It was all imaginary - but it helped the company be intentional about their customer, their branding, etc. 

So I try to do the same and be intentional about who I'm designing for and what she'd like on her walls. While I like the customers that don't fit the mold and still love our product, here are some of the homes + ladies I tend to keep in mind when making our prints. You might recognize a few of these gals! 

A. This picture is straight from the home of Erin over at Blue Eyed Bride. Erin is a blogger & a sweet friend of mine. I haven't been to her new house (though I'd sure like to go), but I picture it classically decorated with a youthful flair. 

B. Next up, I love this picture of Jessica from Jessica N Designs sitting near her Ephesians 4:2 print. Jessica is a young mom, an entrepreneur like me, and when I see pictures of her home or studio - it looks really eclectic and bright. 

C. One of my favorite houses I've ever hung out in is my friend Ellen's. It's a crazy beautiful mix of traditional, creative, bohemian, comfortable, and on trend. It's the kind of house where you feel like you can put your shoes on the couch and talk for an hour - but you also look around and think, "I want to go home and do THAT in my house." Ellen was one of my first handmade business friends and I still design with her in mind - would Ellen want this? 

D. I've followed Promise Tangeman for years online and she is one of the most inspiring + creative ladies I know. When I see glimpses of her house on instagram or her blog, I take note. She seems to be edgy in her home decor, while also really organized and tidy. I definitely think of homes like hers when I design. 

E. Lastly, I try to watch women who are most definitely taste-makers like Whitney English. Whitney has impeccable style & is an amazing designer. Her home decor is really classic, but super timeless. I love some edgy, bohemian home style - but I still want our prints to be traditional enough to fit in a home like Whitney's. 

But again - the heart of it is the heart of it. 
No matter how people's homes look, our desire is to provide inspirational art that reminds people of God's Word and encourages them in their days. 

What's on your plate for March? We'd love to hear. 
And do you have a space you'd like us to keep in mind when making our prints?
Tell us about it!