Rock Out Interview: The Languid Lion

 

Quick rundown: Your name, your business name, what you do & who you do it for:

My name’s Geri Jewitt & I own The Languid Lion, which is an Etsy shop dedicated to eco-friendly Wedding Invitations, Reception Stationery & Event Decorations, geared primarily at anyone who loves good design, is getting married or celebrating love & is interested in keeping their carbon footprint down by supporting eco-friendly printing & practices.

 

 

1) If you had a theme song every time you walked into a room-slow motion, perfect lighting, and wind in your hair-what would it be and why?

I have absolutely no idea… ummm… ok, what’s coming to mind is En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind”, but that’s mostly because of the slow-motion, perfect lighting, wind-in-your-hair reference! Such a great video & song (those of us that remember it are aging ourselves, I guess!) but now that I think of it, I think India Arie’s “Video (Main)” would be more fitting. It’s all about substance vs flash & staying true to you, despite all of the pressure out there to be “glossy”, and she’s got a beautiful voice and it’s got a beautiful rhythm to it, but it’s got that funky hitched beat running through it… love it.

 

 

2) What do you love most about your business?

I love being surrounded by love & celebration every day! I also really enjoy being my own boss… I spent MANY years working for Corporate and was always a square peg in a round world. I have truly found the best outlet & environment for my particular skill set, attitude, work ethic, drive, boundaries & ambition.

 

 

3) What can clients and customers expect when working with you? (Feel free to talk about how your people love, love, love you!)

I’m a fairly easy person to deal with & I’m not precious about my designs; if they need to be tweaked to make it special for someone, I’m more than happy to do so. I value great customer service and so I tend to treat people exactly how I’d like to be treated.

 

 

4) You have so many beautiful projects. What’s a client/customer favorite? What’s your favorite?

Why, thank you so kindly! The most favourited item, by far, in my Etsy shop is my “Ralph Lauren Heart Garland”, followed by my “Ampersand – this is us…” & “Be Kind, Be Brave, BELIEVE” art prints, as well as my “… quite a Pear” card. I’ve also recently gotten quite a bit of positive feedback about my “Origami Geometric Hanging Decoration”. As far as my favourite? I think my “Be Kind, Be Brave, BELIEVE” print, as it resonates strongly with me and its design is deceptively detailed, but looks simple

 

 

 

5) Not only do you make beautiful things, your photography is deliciously soft and lovely. Any tips for other creatives who want to up their photog skills?

Again, thank you! I had to learn how to photograph my shop items & had to wait until those skills caught up with my vision for what I wanted… I’ve always been very visual & am always learning new skills to make those visuals a reality. As far as photography skills, specifically? I use the Exposure & Offset adjustment in Adobe Photoshop (CS5) to effect that dreamy quality you mentioned. Honestly? I play & simply “try” in order to acquire the final look I already had in my head before I even took the picture!

 

6) Name one thing you totally embarrassed yourself doing in your business, how you overcame it, and what you learned from it-go!

BLAH-CUBED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

I actually not only spelled a customer’s name WRONG in a custom “Ampersand” Art Print project, but I shipped it to her that way! Can you believe it?! Thank goodness she emailed me to let me know of the error and I, of course, immediately replied with my most sincere & profuse apologies, then promptly sent her a new one free of charge & delivery, along with some extra goodies to appease such a grievous error… she wrote the following as feedback, so I’m fairly certain that I redeemed myself! “AWESOME print! Love THIS SOOO MUCH! WONDERFUL customer service! Couldn’t have chosen a better company to buy from!!!! Thanks SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING ”

 

I learned that I’m human and I’m just as capable of making mistakes (even ones as big as this), but I think it’s important to own up to them & to the fact that you’re human and simply go from there.

Mistakes will always happen (it’s one of the great things about not being a robot!) but it’s how you deal with them that defines you, I think. In this case, I completely owned the mistake, apologized sincerely, dealt with it quickly & graciously and sent a correct item free of charge… and sent some conciliatory goodies as a tangible representation of simply being human!

 

 

 

7) The best advice you’ve ever received in life, business, or anything in between?

“We (as a human race) will never be able to know all of the stars in the universe, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying; it also helps to remember that our earth is bound by gravity”, by my science teacher in highschool. To me that resonates, as it allows me to entertain my constant stream of big dreams, but it keeps me grounded in my immediate reality.

Put another way, be an optimistic realist!

 

 

What does self-love mean to you?

To me “self-love” means that without taking care of you first, you can’t really take care of or offer anyone the best of you… which is what I strive to do. It’s knowing when to say “no”, what your limits are, when to go the distance, when to just “be”, to believe in yourself & NOT that little gremlin who tries tries to steer you in the wrong direction or simply tear you down – I had to learn some serious kick-boxing skills to keep him under control – and to give to others, for no other reason than just because…

 

 

9) Name one big dream outside of your business. What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?

To be happy… so far, so good!