25 Years Ago Today I Graduated From High School
As my sister so aptly put it when I texted her this big news this morning, YOWZERS!
I can and can’t believe it’s been 25 years.
I remember it quite well… I remember being rather sad that the boys got to wear red since (a) it was my favorite color and (b) I looked much better in red than that muted gold. I remember getting a “fake” diploma on stage – we got the real-deal when we returned to the school after NOT throwing our hats. Safety and liability issues but darn disappointing! I’m so enjoying the pictures I’m seeing on Facebook of schools that do allow their graduates the Hollywood cap toss in the air.
But then a lot has happened in the 25 years since high school graduation day…
I’ve been married, had a child, divorced, lived in 3 states 6 different times, lived in 10 houses, experienced Match.com, (it’s ok to look but keep your eyes open – it’s a crazy ride!) I’ve been in sales for a temporary help company (so I basically sold people), I sold college textbooks, I tried my hand at cake decorating but it hurt my wrist so that didn’t last long… I’ve tried a few MLM companies, built a lot of Lego projects with my son, watched a lot of little kid sports. Now I own my own business, am engaged and very, very pleased with my life!
I’m happy to say that I don’t look back at high school with longing.
While the memories are good, I’m glad I don’t long for the “glory days” like you see in so many movies. It would be sad to have the best days of your life done at 18! I’m looking forward to heading to the 25th reunion over Thanksgiving weekend (you coming, class of ’86?) and getting tired of the crazy looks I get from people in Oregon about the timing – they’ve never heard of a Thanksgiving weekend reunion - where on earth did you grow up? I’m asked.
Next year I’ll be the parent in the bleachers, drying my eyes and wondering where the years have gone as I watch my son get his high school diploma. (Christine, can I have another YOWZERS! please??) It is so exciting to see him grow up and prepare to head off to college and start the adventure called his life. I can get teary-eyed about it now if I think too long but I’ve been warned, with a smile, “You’re not allowed to cry THIS year mom!”
Anyway – I’m just feeling a bit nostalgic, as these milestones have a tendency to do, and thought I’d put some of my thoughts down in pixels. Here’s to cherishing each day, looking to the future with happy anticipation (try and you might you can’t stop it from coming!) and remembering the past with a smile on your face.
Here’s to the West Chester East Vikings – Class of 1986!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Here’s a great song for the day – no matter what things do or don’t go the way you want or expect them to, you end up where you belong in the end!
Following my dreams…
“If you want something, you gotta go get it. Period.” That’s the advice Will Smith’s character gives his son in The Pursuit of Happiness – go after your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.
Well this week, I’m in Santa Monica at the Factual Entertainment Forum in pursuit of my dream. I feel like I’m way out on a limb and the doubting voice inside my head is trying to get my attention, saying things like, “Who do you think you are? YOU can’t do this…” but you know what? LA-LA-LA-LA… I’m not listening.
I had an idea. It turned into a dream. The dream was shared. And now we are trying to make it a reality. When is the last time you really went after your dream – no matter how crazy it seemed?
Please send your positive vibes my way that I may connect with the right people to make my reality tv show concept – The Money Tree – a, well, reality!
I’ll keep you posted on the progress!
– Tara Reed
P.S. If you have any connections in the tv world, I appreciate an introduction or send them to www.TheMoneyTree.tv to check out the concept. Thank you in advance!
Wine Enthusiasts Rejoice!
I was very excited to get two emails about my melamine wine dishes…
The first was from the manufacturer telling me they would be in the Wine Enthusiast Catalog. I quickly went to the website and couldn’t find anything. Life and preparing for trade shows took over and I sort of forgot about it.
Yesterday email #2 came in from my artist-friend Sue Zipkin – complete with pictures! She had received a copy of the Wine Enthusiast Catalog and recognized my art on page 5! How exciting! This also shows what I love about what I do – as you get into the art licensing industry you begin to network and make friends with other artists. Sure we are all trying to license our art but we can also be friends and supporters of each other as well. Sue didn’t have to email me and she certainly didn’t have to take the time to scan the cover and the page with my plates! Here’s to you Sue – I’m so glad you did!
So if you or someone you know is a wine enthusiast, here is what they can get with my art on it.
Cheers!
– Tara Reed
Off to SURTEX
It’s that time of year again… I’m packing my bags and portfolios and heading to New York to exhibit at the SURTEX show. SURTEX is one of the premier shows for the art licensing industry. With their focus on the artists rather than artists and big brands from television and movies as well, it’s been a great fit for my business over the years. This is the 7th year I’ll be hanging my shingle and hope that it is the best yet! (I’ll let you know!)
I am also very honored that I’ve been invited to be on the SURTEX Advisory Council.
I have been involved with the show for the past few years, teaching live at the event and also doing pre-show webinars as part of my Art Licensing Info business.
This is how they explain what it is and who is involved:
‘Credentialed Leaders’ In The Industry Join SURTEX® Advisory Council
Six new Advisors, chosen from the US and abroad to represent all aspects of the industry, will join the SURTEX.Advisory Council this month.
- Tara Reed, Tara Reed Designs, Inc., of Portland, OR, known for themed collections that appeal to women.
- Sam Abell, President of Courtney Davis, Inc., a 30+ year-old art and licensing firm located in Franklin, TN.
- Steve Greenberg, President of Pointcarre North America, developer and provider of CAD, and other software systems for weaving and knitting.
- Michelle Klein of Klein Designs, Ltd., a British studio producing coordinated designs for all paper products.
- Henny Lakin, VP/ Design at Creative Bath Products, Inc., for 35+ years a market leader, designer, and manufacturer of decorative home furnishings bath products. She also served as a judge for the 2011 designext® student design competition.
- Chris Verbeek, an owner at Verbeek & van den Broek, a Dutch design studio located in the Eindhoven area of The Netherlands.
Who do you know?
Today my friend and colleague, Marty Fahncke, will be testing the power of networking and connections. We hope the “6 degrees to Kevin Bacon” theory works in our favor but instead of reaching Kevin Bacon, we are looking to find a television producer that is interested in a reality tv concept that we have been working on for the past few months. (However, if Kevin Bacon is in the production game, feel free to call!)
As you may have guessed from my many reality tv related blog posts and video spoofs in the past, I like to watch reality tv. One day I was sitting sketching and watching something and a light bulb went off in my head: No one is doing a show about how to make money online.
So I picked up the phone and called Marty Fahncke – we are in a mastermind together and he has experience in the infomercial world – and told him my crazy idea. He thought it wasn’t so crazy and we’ve been working on it ever since. We are calling it “The Money Tree”.
THE CONCEPT
Who hasn’t looked out their window and wished to find a money tree? While The Money Tree team doesn’t provide magic seeds, they do help people across America who need it most. The stories will tug at your heartstrings, but by the end of each episode, you will be exhilarated as Marty, Tara and their team of experts help restore hope to those who thought all was lost.
Each week The Money Tree team helps someone who desperately needs to find a way to earn income from home: the soldier who has returned from the Middle East with injuries and needs to supplement disability income or the single mother of five who hasn’t gotten a raise in 2 years and is at risk of losing her home. Each submission video is more compelling than the next: stories of regular people trying to overcome challenges and make ends meet.
Marty and Tara jet in to the rescue – armed with multiple ways to make money online. Part therapist, part investigative reporter, part problem solver, part business trainer – they learn about each family they work with and create an individualized blueprint for success. Tears will be shed, broken dreams mended and foundations laid for a brighter future the participants couldn’t have imagined just a week earlier. They are fighting for their financial life, and if they use what The Money Tree team teaches, they are sure to win.
THE DEMO VIDEO
Here is a video we produced (I’ll have to blog about this amazing experience later!) to show what they show is all about. It is meant to be a sales piece to get interest in the show and not an episode that you would see on tv.
We have a website all set up for anyone in the television biz to learn more about the concept and to contact us to discuss. www.TheMoneyTree.tv
There are also two submission pages – one for online experts who want to be a part of the show and one for people who want The Money Tree team to come help them.
SO DEAR BLOG READERS, my question to you is, WHO DO YOU KNOW?
We would so appreciate you telling anyone who might have any connections to production companies or television networks.
Send anyone and everyone to www.TheMoneyTree.tv – you just never know which connection with be the golden ticket! I think it’s appropriate to close this post with a quote from Pablo Picasso – “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
Here’s to the power of networking – thank you in advance for your help and well wishes for this project! From your friend who feels like she’s way out on a limb… 
– Tara Reed
P.S. Here’s a photo from the filming of the end footage – it was an amazing experience and quite outside of my comfort zone!
Happy Easter!
Just a quick pic to wish you a very Happy Easter!
– Tara Reed
Who inspires me? Jill Seale
She also makes me laugh… and apparently, do crazy things. Like find my girl scout vest and film videos like the one you are about to watch. I don’t think she believed me when I said I’d do a video review of her book – Stark Raving Motherhood – in my girl scout vest but I did!
This book is sure to make any mother smile – and cringe – at the joys, challenges and realities of motherhood.
Check it out on Amazon – and buy a copy or 10 – you’ll be glad you did! http://amzn.to/StarkRavingMotherhood*
Easter Towels and Apron by Tara Reed Designs
If you are lucky enough to live near a Kroger Store, you might be able to go grab one of these cute flour sack towels or dotted frilly apron for Easter! (You might guess that I don’t live near a Kroger store – so sad when I can’t go “visit” my designs.) Also available, so I’m told through my Facebook friends, through some military catalogs – how cool is that?
Happy Easter – it’s Sunday, April 24th!
– Tara Reed
Posted in Product News | 
apron, Easter towels, Kay Dee Designs, Kroeger, Tara Reed, Tara Reed Designs | 
Leave a commentSome safety tips for Facebook users
I posted this last week on my Art Licensing Blog but thought the information would be equally useful here. I love social media but don’t use every feature blindly – some need a little reflection to decide if they are maybe making you a wee-bit too vulnerable!
My friend Barbara Rozgonyi recently had her Facebook account taken over by hackers and she’s been frozen out of it for over a week. (Read her saga here – complete with some good advice .) We got to talking and I went in and upgraded my security.
Then my parents sent me a scary video about how bad guys (or gals) can find your kids bedroom from the meta data on photos you post on the web.
My brother asked my opinion and I gave the following advice to him and the rest of my family, since I consider you part of my art family, I’ll share it with you as well. (Mind you I’m not a security expert so these are my opinions – do with it what you will or do more research on your own.)
Here is my sisterly/friendly safety advice for Facebook:
DON’T use the “places” feature - people don’t need minute by minute descriptions of your whereabouts. Then they know how long they have to rob you. I often say I’m somewhere before or after I’m there… just to be safer. I think that’s a very unsafe feature. (Ditto to FourSquare – I know many of you are using both of these so don’t get upset with me – again, my opinions and I just want everyone to be safe!)
Be sure you have your security settings updated. Go to:
> Account
> Account Settings
> Account Security
Place a check mark in secure browsing and I would do the “when a new computer logs in” – get an email, text or both. My friend was hacked and her account is still frozen. This helps with that.
Check your privacy settings. Go to:
> Account
> Privacy Settings
See what yours are set at. I recommend you have Friends only for status, photos & posts. If you click on “Customize Settings” you can say “Only Me” for lots of things… disable places.
Securing some of the information attached to photos from your iPhone:
On your iPhone, click the “settings” icons (looks like gears)
> General
> Location Services
I don’t want to turn mine all off or I can find the nearest RedBox or use Google maps, so I choose by application.
Turn OFF the Camera, Facebook and any other app that you have that you don’t want posting your location. ( I turned off Hootsuite which is a Twitter app but I think I’m the only Twitter user.)
If you don’t have an iPhone, you can go here to see how to disable some of the settings on your phone as well. http://icanstalku.com/how.php
So, be social but be safe!
– Tara Reed
Want to bring the jungle into your bathroom?
Check out these fun, framed bathroom prints just spotted in a Home Goods Store! (by moi!) Go forth and hunt some down for yourself.
Have a wild day!
– Tara Reed
Posted in Product News | Bath Art, Bath Wall Art, Home Goods, Tara Reed, Tara Reed Designs, Zebra Print Bath Art | 5 Comments