A house is a house is a house is a house
So, the good news is we got the house. The bad news is we decided not to take it. Sigh. I asked the agent if she wouldn’t mind letting Big-P have a look through the property before he signed a lease and I am so glad we did. He thought it was a big disappointment and as we looked around I could see what he meant. It was shabby and it was small. I guess it came along after a week of looking at really crusty old houses and it was the first remotely ok one, but for the hugely inflated price that we ended up offering it was no where near good enough. So it’s back to the hunt. We are seriously considering putting our stuff in storage and staying with my parents for a while so that we don’t end up signing a lease on a place out of sheer desperation. Perhaps we will stay there until we have enough money saved to buy a place! (Dad, if you’re reading this, I’m just kidding).
In other news; just to add to the general stress levels around here, I have so much work on that my ears are bleeding. Well, not quite but almost… after spending a day doing scary web design I have to spend this evening cutting out folio mounts for my work for the last one and a half years. I have an appointment to show it on Thursday and it is severely out of date.
kathryn – have you really? that’s too bad! How long is your lease? We were going to sign a two year lease so it would have been awful.
Claire, I saw your illustration in that new Creative Knitting mag. The mag is pretty pathetic (really just Lincraft marketing, if you ask me), but I love your pic!
Agh, folio mounts freak me out, i just don’t have a straight eye. i’m so sorry about the house, it’s a good thing you had another look at it. You might consider ringing the real estate and begging for more time, this sort of thing happens all the time and there’s not much they can do to move you if you’ve got nowhere to go! (Hope my landlord isn’t reading this.)
Hey! Well done, Claire! If you don’t love it, you’re better off without that hugely expensive house. I think. And glad to hear that you have so much work. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Good luck with all of it.
***Hugs***
Hang in there, things will look up.Good Luck!
Oh Claire, I really know how you’re feeling right now…except I never had to go through that with an infant in tow. Really, things will look up very soon. I’m sure of it. It’s great to hear that you at least have lots of work, though — better to have lots than none, which is of course the nature of the freelance world. Best of luck to you and your family, and if you DO have to move in with your parents temporarily, you’ll make the most of it. 🙂
sending good thoughts from singapore! =) luck with the house and your presentation!
maybe you’ve already thought about it, or it’s just out of the question – housesitting? i mean you’d have a great profile – 2 working parents + child – people would love to have you to look after their place rent free – something to think about.
yup, know the feeling. we got notice the day after getting back from honeymoon to say our house was bing sold. haven’t found anywhere else yet and we’re a bit sick of the 3 open house inspections a week they have on us.
portfolio samples? I never show anything over 6 months old. 12 at the most. even then I don’t trust anyone who wants to see a portfolio when they can view it online. i hate those people in agencies that want to look busy by arranging time wasting meetings with you.
hope we both find some place cool to live and work in.
About being overworked (and don’t laugh): get an intern from a local school or university art department. Say you have no money to spare, but you’ve got tea and biscuits and a real design business going, and that there’s no way to learn the business like sitting and helping someone work.
it’s not the worst idea in the world, e-p, except I would have to clean up my studio… or maybe they could do it for me! Hmmmm…
One of the reasons I continue to read this blog is because it’s nice to see the progression of your professional career as an illustrator; many illustrators wouldn’t want to share what goes on in their professional life and choose not to, so keep sharing, it is interesting. I also have to wonder why you would have to show a portfolio if it is already online; it’s this kind of chain yanking that keeps me interested in making only fine art.
Husband and I just went through traumatic looking for a new place. It doesn’t seem like it should be that hard but it is. We kept repeating your Dad’s “just have to find one house.” You’ll find it.
And the folio? Put together a sample of your best and don’t try to do it all. You’re talented and they will see that easily.
It is good that you got a chance to reconsider the house. I rushed into the place I am now because my old, lovely house was being sold and I was desperate. I have regretted it ever since.