Roofdog Design is back.
Possibly.
Probably.
Well, I’ve opened WordPress, sworn vengeance on various menu items… and their children… and their children’s children, changed the colours once or twice—is #edbf4a just the right shade of kowhai yellow?
Is it!? What even is colour? Does it exist? Do we exist? Are hex codes even real?
Anyway, I’ve decided that counts as meaningful progress.
Welcome to the freshly painted home for Roofdog Design, a home for creative digital resources and an outlet for (at least some) of the inordinate number of creative projects I insist on… starting?
What will you find here? Retro, kitschy, bold and bright arty type things for people who like making their own things, because together, we can make even more and better things.
Roofdog?
The name Roofdog comes from our Pan-American trip, when Benjamin and I spent three years driving from the top of North America to the bottom of South America. Arguably this should take less than three years if a sensible person drove directly. But I suspect it’s not a road trip undertaken by sensible people.
We lived out of our vehicle, slept in a roof tent, crossed a surprising number of borders, took approximately nine billion photos, and —our peak achievement— abducted Kaylee: a tiny street pup from Guatemala who decided travelling south with us was preferable to living out of a roadside trash bag.
Out of context that may sound crazy.
No, wait. Even in context that sounds a little crazy.
Kaylee now lives a slightly less adventurous lifestyle, but is enjoying her retirement roaming the Port Hills of Christchurch.
I’m slowly working on an illustrated children’s book about her: how she started life in the shadow of Fuego volcano in Guatemala, found her way into our lives, and travelled with us through Latin America. So if small dogs, big landscapes, volcanoes, road-trip shenanigans and picture-book sketches start appearing around here, that is why.
Roofdog Design is the creative ‘brand’ (project? excuse?) I started while we were on the road. Named for both the many, diverse and charming roofdogs of Latin America:
and our very own roofdog:
These days we live in Christchurch, New Zealand near the Port Hills, which means Kaylee and I start our day outside with trails, birds, dramatic sunrises over the city and usually a thick layer of sheep poo caked on my trail shoes.
There is also less border paperwork now.
An improvement.
I also finally have my own wee studio space. There is room for craft supplies, drawing supplies, fabric samples, half-finished ideas, barely started ideas, bad ideas, good ideas, things that barely qualify as ideas… and Kaylee, by all accounts the very best idea.
What Roofdog Design is now
Roofdog Design is a place to share the things I create. And my own space to share and sell digital resources to help other creators create creative things.
So it’s a very… creative… space.
In practice, it means I’m making things like: Digital paper packs, clip art, surface pattern designs and a steady stream of nonsense doodles that serve no purpose whatsoever.
What I’m working on
At the moment I’m uploading all the resources I have already designed into the shop. Which, let’s be honest, has involved more website admin than is healthy, but so far I’ve only cried twice.
Then it’s back to the bit I actually enjoy. Designing the digital papers, creating the silly surface patterns, drawing cute little (moderately judgemental) critters and sharing these things with the world. Or at least the three people who follow my blog. (One of them is probably a bot, but bots are welcome too. If they’re into craft).
The aim is to make resources that are genuinely useful. Files that crafters, small businesses, teachers, scrapbookers, planner people, digital designers and people who forgot they’d agreed to that project until the absolute last minute can pick up and actually use.
Not just pretty things for a mockup.
Although pretty things for a mockup are all good too.
The blog bit
I’m not planning to become ‘A Blogger™’ in the dramatic sense.
This is not going to be one of those websites where every week I apologise for not posting, announce a new content schedule, immediately fail to follow it, and then disappear into the wilderness. That’s what our travel blog was for.
The blog is mostly here for useful things, I’m thinking:
- Product updates.
- Design tips.
- ‘How to’ guides
- Freebie announcements.
- Behind-the-scenes design bits.
- Possibly dogs.
- Definitely dogs.
Almost certainly some craft supplies, drawing experiments, general rants and ramblings and whatever the latest project tangent that has lured me away at any given time.
This site has existed in a few half-finished forms over the years, but never quite made it fully into the world.
I have too many creative interests, unfounded optimism about how long “quick updates” will take, and a long history of underestimating website admin.
But this version is intended to be a work in progress.
More products, freebies and how-to posts are coming soon. Or not. But at least the site is live.
No posting schedule is planned.
Maybe I should download a planner page and see if that helps…