MILESTONE MONDAY

I'd like to start this post by giving recognition to my husband... for after five grueling years at one location, he'll finally have an opportunity to showcase his skills and talent at another. Saturday he cleaned out his office, and today he gets to start a clean slate at another - which my old boss said is going to be under the radar and slated to be getting several visits. We drove up to tour the store (and check out timing for the drive because it further location). This was my first time stepping foot back in the store since my departure in November...

Autumn 2009

Autumn 2009

I thought I may have gotten emotional over it, but walking the store actually reassured me I made the right decision to leave. When my position was eliminated for the new company organization, my responsibilities were lumped into a developmental role of becoming a store manager - which they did offer to me - but that's not me. I have managerial and leadership skills yes, but that path would have taken me even further away from being able to be creative. So although the transition couldn't have happened at a worse time (with the economy being the way it is) I took the leap of faith - and I'm growing from it.

2009 Living space

2008 Cash Cab post featured in four spots on HGTV.COM

and viewed on Rate My Space over 131,624 times, with 1170 ratings and 437 comments - including last comment in March of this year.

(Cash Cab II has 84,303 views)

If I were still in the same place, I probably wouldn't have grown my network or my personal brand... which little did I know, I actually began growing when I made my first post on HGTV.COM at Rate My Space. Since late 2007, and with over 30 postings on the site, viewers have grown to 1.3+ million and over 11,500 have rated the spaces - which mainly have been the creative and economical transforming of our house to a home. I didn't realize at the time, but I was starting a following of people eagerly awaiting the next seasonal transformation (Thank you). And even some of the FOCAL POINT blog followers are actually from HGTV.COM - Rate My Space (Thanks for coming on over!!)

2007 living space decor transformed into

2010 styling

Over the past six months, I've done a lot of online reading about personal branding and building a brand awareness online. Apparently, this is where recruiters go to check out potential new hires. So to further my personal brand awareness, I joined other sites (and groups) on flickr.com, houzz.com, AVALiving.com, Design Stories social network, Retail Professionals network and even Activerain Real Estate network (to branch out into home staging).

Spring 2010 styling

Spring 2010 styling

It's pretty cool to see how within six months the numbers have grown (and are of relative connections with designers, bloggers, and other creative types):

• FACEBOOK friends 10.2009 - 76  TODAY: 955
• FACEBOOK FANPAGE 04.2010 - 145  TODAY: 264
• LINKEDIN connections 12.2009 - 34  TODAY: 300
• TWITTER followers 01.2010 - 24  TODAY 568
• TWEETS TODAY: as of today 3,899

I've also been blessed by having my photos, styling, and posts recognized on other sites and blogs - from Washington DC, to San Fransisco, to New Orleans, to Atlanta and down to Key West... I am ready for when things turn around, and people are hiring again...

2010 styling

2010 styling

2010 styling

Although there are somethings I do miss about working (like some of the corporate structure, the thrill of a deadline, problem solving, getting dressed up, and having a paycheck to go shopping with) I have had time to nurture my own personal development, advance my writing & organizational skills, attend webinars to learn more about inbound marketing, and explore different avenues of creativity (somewhat less risky than personally lifting a nested table stacked with dishes or shifting a tiered table stacked with denim).

2010 styling

2010 styling

2010 styling

"I have a dedication to improve the function, flow, and impact of a space. I want an opportunity to utilize my design talent and passion for design. My additional organizational skills, marketing experience, merchandising expertise, and passion for design can be an asset for the design or home retail industry to capitalize on. My interests are to share my passion and enthusiasm for creating environments that reflect the style and needs of what a person wants... be it for a store or a home. I've been recreating spaces for as long as I can remember and it just comes natural to me."

Check out my LinkedIn profile,

check out some of the albums on my fb fanpage,

checkout my flickr sets

or follow me on twitter @nyclq

And when you hear of any
professionally creative job opportunities in

the Ft. Lauderdale or Miami area,

please do not hesitate to send me an email

at nyclq@comast.net to let me know...

Thank you for your time today...
and speaking of time - today is not only
 the first day of Summer, but also the
LONGEST day of the year...

Happy Summertime!

and again - congrats to my DH - Jeff!!

All photos and styling by Lynda Quintero-Davids