It’s been a long and interesting year for me. So many changes in both life and career. It’s been a year of choosing to live deliberately, not settling. Too often, I found myself settling, and distanced from my sense of self. This year has had it’s challenges but is equally balanced by life’s little successes.
A new home: that one falls squarely on Heidi’s great intuition. And great fortune of timing that we were able to find a home as unique as our family. While there is work to be done, it’s an amazing place to call home. I would have never guessed at the impact of living someplace designed with intent could have. It’s funny – I studied architecture, I sell the concept of design daily, but until I’d lived in a home designed with thoughtful intent, I would have never understood it. http://hoertdoerferarchitects.com/work/isle-of-palms-residence
Starting over: SPARC had been an amazing journey. The closest I can relate could be college – learning and experiencing so much at such a fast pace. There are many things I’m proud to have accomplished, growing a team and building a brand around a startup software company. But there was also the loss of self, getting a little complacent, and not having the projects to truly engage and grow. It was a hard decision to leave so many good friends, but a necessary one. Leaving a company changes many relationships, but strengthens others. I’m thankful for my friends & family who’ve seen me through this decision.
Finding great work: Taking Kaloupek Design from a side projects to full time consulting happened more quickly than I could have expected. In leaving Sparc, my mantra had been to do good projects with good people. A simple goal was to find several great clients with good design challenges to solve. Power Analytics and InKind are two new clients that have allowed me to do great design work again, and I’m thankful for it.
And being with family. With all the chaos in the world today, this is a time to be thankful & enjoy my family.