Do you like to do it yourself?

We've mentioned Jaimee a couple times on the blog, but I thought I'd give you a little more insight on her little project. Ever since we started Glad Rags Ink and L&O, we've been encouraging others to start their own personal endeavors. I love having those engaging conversations with people about the things that they're passionate about because that's when you know what you really want to do with your life. The reason I started a band, a brand, and our own DIY company is because I'd rather do something that I absolutely love than have to do something I don't entirely enjoy just because the paycheck is fatter.


My girlfriend Jaimee is currently an art major at Cal State Fullerton for graphic design and she's having a lot of fun, but like me and almost any other college student, she wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to do. When we started dating and talked about all of our hobbies, she would always get really giddy and tell me about all the little projects that she does on her own time. She would work for hours on end making stuff for friends and family and never gets tired of it. It was that sparkle in her eye that reminded me of the way I felt when I knew I wanted to start all of my own ventures. I started encouraging her to start a simple website with a catchy name that she could use as a portfolio for all her works because you never know when one little idea may become the next big thing.


Now Made By Mee has become a reality and she's already been busy making trinkets for a few different people. You may recognize some of her work from our 1 Year Anniversary BBQ Sale where we had a custom made zipper pocket with our logo on it. Yup, she made those all by hand. As a gift for our 1 year anniversary, she also made custom L&O notepads for me, Matt, and Brian. She even made this amazingly cute penguin zipper pocket for our friend Chris as a gift for his grandmother. Jaimee now offers a simple service of custom products so if you ever need anything with that home made touch or just need a cute gift for a loved one, go to MadeByMee.com and check out her work! She loves what she does and would be more than happy to help you out.


This weekend has been very inspirational for me. Yesterday, we had our booth at the Glasshouse Swapmeet and it was really awesome to see all the different vendors coming together for a really fun event. I love seeing how different people are taking their hobbies and turning them into potential careers. Oh yeah, I'm sure Brian will be posting photos from the swapmeet along with some updates so watch out for that. Anyway, later that day our band Dear Life played a festival event in L.A. which was free admission and for a good cause. It's always nice to see people doing things for the right reason - because they love what they do. And when I finally got home and made by rounds on my favorite blogs, I found out that our buddy Johnny is one of the finalists for BusinessWeek's America's Best Young Entrepreneurs. I get really excited when I read about all these young people doing the things that they love and succeeding. It just fuels my fire and inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing. Go check it out at Mr. Cupcakes' blog and vote for him!

(photo: www.johnnycupcakes.com)

To everyone out there thinking about starting their own band, brand, project, company, hobby, or anything at all - DO IT! What are you waiting for? This life is too short to be caught up living under the weight of false idols. Do what you love and live for the experiences. If it is something you're passionate about, you won't have any problem doing it everyday. Sure, it can be a lot of hard work. Sure, it can be tougher financially. But at least it will be more fulfilling and worth it in the end. As long as you still have that sparkle in your eye, you'll keep shining.

You are the tip of the iceberg. Untapped potential waiting to be unleashed. A mass to be reckoned with.

Carpe diem.

- Vince