Back to work!

Sarah went back to work for the first time since Stella's birth and, as you might imagine, there were tears shed by all involved parties. I think, as much as Sarah is eager to get back to work, there is an equal part of her that regrets having to spend time away from Stella. And, it was only as she was walking out the door that I feel the reality hit me of how little time they'd spent apart since Stella's birth. Before yesterday, I think the longest Sarah had been away from Stella had been, maybe, and hour.

Luckily, her company is a small one that has allowed some flexibility with her schedule, so at least for the immediate future, she will only be working three full days, one half day, and get Friday's off completely!

As for Stella, she was quite a trooper on her first day away from mommy. The idea of being feed from a bottle for a better part of the day seemed confusing for her. But, she made do by snacking lightly from the bottle and saving the main feast for mommy's return that evening.

And, what about me? Well, on Monday, I sent out this message through email, Facebook, and several other venues:

Hello everyone,

As most of you know, the last few years have been eventful and exciting ones for Sarah and I. From our Round of World journey to buying our first house and the birth of our daughter, Stella Rose, just three months ago, life has been an amazing and ongoing adventure for both of us. It is with this same sense of adventure and optimism that I'm excited to announce my next big endeavour: the creation of Tyler Hill Illustration and Design.

After over eight years working as a contractor and in-house designer, I've decided to go freelance. I think that this will be a great opportunity to not only continue to grow as a designer, but also to focus more on illustration work opportunities.

To help kick off my new freelance career, I've redesigned and updated my portfolio website, General Theory of Creativity. The new site includes an expanded selection of illustration, design and Flash work I have created personally and professionally. In addition, it features my resume, contact information and a link to my ongoing art blog of the same name. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

So, perhaps you have a project I can help you on. Or maybe you know someone who might be in need of a designer or illustrator. Or, perhaps you are an illustrator, designer, developer or photographer yourself and are interested in working with me on a future project or just grabbing coffee and "talking shop." If any of these things are the case, don't hesitate to call or email me.

Finally, a quick personal note: I'd like to thank Sarah for her support on this decision. It takes a special sort of person to go: "Let's see, we have a new baby, a new home and the economy is in the toilet... Yes, I think now is the perfect time for you to go freelance!" I'm lucky to have found her! And this wouldn't be possible without her.

Thanks, everyone, for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you!

-Tyler
Tyler Hill Illustration and Design, LLC
206-375-0883
tylerhill75@yahoo.com

As you can imagine, and as I hopefully convey in that message, I'm really excited about trying to go freelance. After roughly eight years working for in-house design teams, I've been feeling like I've sort of explored that route as much as I'd hoped to. In addition, I'm using this as an opportunity to push my illustration skills, since frankly illustration was the reason I initially got into design in the first place, and has always been my "first love," so to speak.

Finally, and just as importantly, I'm happy that this will provide me a greater amount of be with Stella. Through some creative schedule juggling, and the help of a nanny who will be watching Stella for a couple hours a day, three days a week, Sarah and I have managed to engineer a schedule that should hopefully provide us both with plenty of time to focus on our profession, without having to leave Stella with childcare eight hours a day, five days a week. If everything works out according to plan, I will be very excited about the future! And for the lives we will have created for ourselves!

Of course, that is a lot of "if"s. And, if we've learned anything these last couple of years, life's fond of curve balls. So, we'll see how things go. But, honestly, I'm really optimistic.

OK, now I could ramble more about my new adventure into freelancing(and maybe at a later date I will), but right now, I feel like I should probably be working on getting some clients! Stay tuned!