The April Jotter
To jot is “to make a quick short note of something.”
The monthly jotter is a collection of things that have piqued my interest, sparked a thought, or compelled me to do something.
This is the one of many ideas that have been inspired by the The Keyboard CEO course (more on that next month).
01. A business - Vitsoe
They make metal shelves. Based on designs from 1959. Which doesn’t sound very exciting. However, what appeals to me is that they are a brand that instils purpose (popular buzz word alert), right through their business. I’m lucky enough to have their shelves lining the walls of my study.
Their ethos - “Living better, with less, that lasts longer.”
Their timeless, beautifully made, reusable, endlessly configurable shelves.
02. A Book - Failed It! by Erik Kessels
With nowhere to go, lockdown has meant some freeing up of time. It provides an opportunity to take half-read books down from the shelves and finally finish them.
Failed It! celebrates failure and shows how it can help the creative process.
Some choice quotes:
“Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.” - Salvador Dali
“The blot on the landscape might just change the way you see the world.” - Eric Kessels
And the classic from Samuel Beckett … “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter.Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
03. A Design - Fake Public Health Posters
04. Talented friends - a handmade notebook
I am fortunate to know many talented people. Meet Rob Kendrew, aka paperwallah, who loves letter press and hand-making notebooks. They really are a joy to hold, open and write in.
05. Something about April. The Waste Land by T.S.Eliot
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
06. Learning
For the last two weeks, for an hour a day, I have been taking part in the Keyboard CEO course run by Do Lectures. It’s about learning how to write your company into growth and it has been truly inspiring.
My head is buzzing with ideas and I need time to tame them into something orderly. I hope that by the time of the next Monthly Jotter, I can share with you what I am doing.
07. Wisdom
The author of 1000 True Fans and self described Senior Maverick at Wired, Kevin Kelly, is 68 and he has shared 68 pieces of wisdom. Here are one or two favourites:
”You can obsess about serving your customers/audience/clients, or you can obsess about beating the competition. Both work, but of the two, obsessing about your customers will take you further.”
“Learn how to take a 20-minute power nap without embarrassment.”
“Pros are just amateurs who know how to gracefully recover from their mistakes.”
“Don’t trust all-purpose glue.“
08. Work
We have started work with two new clients this month. One is a sports massage therapist starting up a new business in Bradford on Avon (we love working with new businesses. It’s such an exciting time in one’s life). The other is a property developer who has lots of photos of nice homes to coo at.
We are also helping to launch a new charity called care4carers. This week we designed a new logo and launched the landing page. We are now working on the full website with a view to launch it in the next couple of days. This has been a quick turnaround and demonstrates that when you work with a motivated and enthusiastic team, anything is possible.
It also helps that it’s for a very worthy cause which you can support here.
