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Hey Reader!
If you're in the US, I hope your Thanksgiving was good and you're recovering from your food coma. I can't believe we're at the end of November. I honestly don't know where the time goes anymore.
I'm still trying to find a flow for this newsletter, but with it being Black Friday/Cyber Weekend, I thought I'd go into full recommendation mode. I usually keep a list of deals and favorite shops, as well as note any small business guides I find, so I think this may be a good place to share those.
Until next time,
Paula
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November Update
Design Days are Open
The holidays are here, and there’s no time for drawn-out design projects. A Design Day lets us tackle a focused chunk of your marketing in just one session.
In a single day we can create social graphics, email templates, website updates, or promotional assets for your seasonal sales.
The next day, you’ll have ready to use graphics that help drive traffic and boost sales, all without the extra stress or last-minute scrambling of having to do it yourself.
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November Wins!
- I’m getting ready to kick off a new website project with a new client! Super excited to get started!
- I wrapped the details of my new branding and web design packages, so a website refresh of my own is officially on deck.
- Vintage Pet Rescue shared new photos of the freestanding mural I made for them last year. I can’t tell you how happy seeing these doggos pose with my mural makes me. Here's links to some Photos and a Video.
Recommendations
Let me put on my resource queen hat and share a few of my favorite resources or tools that I use and love that you may find helpful:
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Skip
I found Skip when I was hunting for grants and I have hung around ever since. They have a constantly updated dashboard of grants and funding opportunities and they keep rolling out tools to help small businesses get seen online. They even launched their own LLM, Cofounder, to help write grants, build business plans, and more.
I love Skip. Using the platform, applying for grants, and updating my business plan has genuinely helped me with my business. I won a $500 bonus round instant grant in June and a full $1000 instant grant in October. They release new tools and features for us “Skippers” all the time (like weekly) and the twice weekly Instant Grants are always fun, informative, and good vibes. Highly recommended.
Check out Skip →
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Contract Club
So many contracts for $200 ($150 during the Black Friday sale)! I have bought plenty of contract templates over the years and it gets expensive. Most of us need at least a solid client agreement, website policies, and terms. Add things like digital product terms or a testimonial release and it adds up. The Contract Club covers all of that for one price.
If the price seems too good to be true, it's not. It's legit. I have templates from several other shops and these are very comparable. They also include training videos that explain how to customize your contract, plus a library of optional inclusions you can add for certain situations. They cover a wide range of industries and new contracts are added every month.
Check out The Contract Club →
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The Color Palette Studio
I use Color Palette Pro all the time and it has made picking colors so much easier. And I love the focus on color contrast and accessibility with color pairings both here and in the Palette Fixer.
The Palette Fixer helps you refine an existing palette. The first few steps review your palette and help you balance it out by giving you suggestions and alternatives. Then you check your contrast, assign roles, and export. The additional export options here are awesome. You can get a PDF with a breakdown for your brand guide, CSS variables, or Adobe ASE files. The ASE option has been ✨amazing✨.
Their Black Friday sale is happening now and you’ll get 25% off all their design tools and an extra 10% off with my code SLIGHTLYSQUARE
Check out the Color Palette Studio →
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Affiliate disclaimer: The links above are affiliate links. I may earn a commission or credit if you choose to use them but I’m only sharing these because I use them and genuinely love them. If you have any questions about them, I’m happy to chat!
Other Finds
My tip this month is to support small businesses and independent artists if and whenever you can. Every purchase from a small business or independent artist helps fuel their craft and supports their community. Plus, you get unique, meaningful items with stories and people behind them and you just don't get that in big box stores.
BTW: None of the following are affiliate links. These are just places I've either bought from before or think have super cool stuff and wanted to share.
The Shop Small Guide
My friend Liz Volpi put together an awesome guide with 15 artist’s shops you can shop and find some unique gifts to share. I know several of the people on this list and they are all wonderful people and talented artists. Check out the guide →
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A Feminist Holiday Gift Guide
Created by Feminist Artists Christine Parker and Hannah Pearlman (Hannah’s a local artist in PVD!). Some places I’ve bought from before and some are new to me places to check out. They have plenty of feminist art, rebellious products, and bold, colorful gifts. Check out the guide →
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Hello Oregano (Montreal, QC)
This shop based in Montreal has the cutest desk accessories, headphone stands, and Switch covers. They also have some really cool marker towers for storage so you can store your markers properly, but have them ready to use and look nice. Seriously, I’m obsessed with all the things! Check out Hello Oregano →
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Calliope Paperie (Hudson, MA)
This super cute stationery shop has all kinds of original products as well as items from other indie artists. I’ve gotten some really fun cards and pens from here and probably some notepads too. They even stamp their own pencils! Check out Calliope Paperie →
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Frog and Toad (Providence, RI)
This is my go to for fun gifts! It's full of fun housewares, clothes, stationery, pop culture odds and ends, locally-printed and designed graphic tees. They also have a lot of Rhode Island themed items! I mean, where else can you get a Washington Bridge ornament (complete with road work!), Olneyville NY System Spice Mix, and a Rhode Island shaped cutting board? Check out Frog and Toad →
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Shop Bloom (Providence, RI)
This is a new place that I've been meaning to check out. They have a seasonally rotating roster of artists and businesses and they host workshops. I think the idea is super cool and the workshops that I’ve seen are varied and look really fun (from yoga to calligraphy to charcuterie). Check out Shop Bloom PVD →
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Do you have any favorite small businesses you want to shout out? Have you found a deal on something you’ve been eyeing for a while? Please spill! I want all the recs!
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