Writing Samples
Client web copy + brand story
Kate Peiler spent five years falling in love with augmented and virtual reality technology during her tenure in-house at an interactive agency that was leveraging these tools for corporate marketing campaigns and training programs. Throughout that time, she saw the power of AR and VR, but she also realized that the corporate market wasn’t ready to invest yet. People simply didn’t see the value.
Around that same time, Pokemon Go exploded into a $600 million app, and Kate found herself inside the New York art studio of the renowned illustrator Ed Heck. While the whole world was abuzz with news of the “Pokemon technology phenomenon”, Kate’s mind couldn’t stop buzzing with visions of Ed’s characters jumping off the pages of his children’s books. It was clear that the world was finally ready to welcome AR and VR tech to market, and kids were the earliest adopters of all.
This beautiful right place, right time “aha” moment started us on a journey to introduce this technology to children, but also to create an entirely new immersive learning language. We knew we needed to go beyond the AR “wow” factor and create an educationally-sound program to support learners of all types.
Through months of conversations with educators and parents, we realized that we could use the vehicle of AR and VR technology to introduce educational games, activities, and standards-approved content for young learners. Since 2016, the disruptED team has formed to rally around this mission. We are a team of award winning experts from the worlds of education, marketing, interactive product design, AR/VR gamification, and entertainment, who are all coming together to create something bigger than ourselves –– the future of learning.
Client Editorial blog Content
The days are longer and hotter, life moves a little slower, and everyone’s a bit more chilled out than usual –– summer is here in full force. Though it can be a magical season of swimming pools and barbecues, sparklers and vacations, it can also feel like an unproductive slump of a season. So how can you make the most of the summer? How can you make it through the long, slow, sweaty days and still feel like you’re making progress in the big picture? This awkward 12-week season of a changed pace doesn’t have to be a waste, and it doesn’t have to look like the other 9 months of the year either.
Here are 5 tips for a successful and super-fun summer:
Focus on daily rhythms instead of schedules
Create themed days and batch your work
Achieve a big goal with an end-of-summer incentive
Let it all hang out and slow things down a bit
Say “yes” to spontaneous summer adventures
Focus on daily rhythms instead of schedules
In the busiest seasons, it can feel like every single minute of the day has to be accounted for on the calendar. Sometimes, even a lunch break has to be scheduled in so you don’t forget to eat. During the summer, things typically move at a slower pace while people are in and out of the office on summer vacations and family trips. Take advantage of this change of pace by allowing yourself to ditch the super strict daily schedule, opting instead for daily rhythms.
Daily rhythms are the daily elements that need to be present for you to feel like you’ve had a successful and fulfilling day, without having to micro-manage every minute of the day in a rigid manner. These rhythms are different for each person, but may include things like: going on a consistent morning walk, 15 minutes of meditation before working, having dinner with the kids each night. The key here is that these particular elements don’t have a scheduled time that they have to happen every day, but rather, should be incorporated each day, but with a flexibility to take place whenever is most convenient. Another way to think about rhythms could be by the week or month during the summer –– for example, this week I’m going heads down on a big project, but next week I’ll create more space to play and have fun with friends.
Sticking to rhythms instead of a strict schedule is meant to create a bit more breathing room and flexibility so you can be present to the spontaneity of summer, and still have a bit of consistency in your days.
Create themed days and batch your work
When your brain has to switch tracks many times in a given day –– from meetings, to writing, to number-crunching, to emails, back to meetings –– it can be hard to focus and get things done. Add to that the increased temps and a never-ending summer daydream about being poolside, and it’s even harder to be effective.
So instead of fighting yourself and constantly switching tracks, have fun with it and theme your days of the week, working in batches and doing like work all at the same time. For example –– maybe you have Meeting Mondays, and you try to schedule all your meetings back to back on Mondays. Perhaps you go with Financial Fridays, and you save all the money-related or number-crunching admin work for Fridays. Another way to approach it could be picking one or two days per week where you have a different work location than normal. Maybe Coworking Wednesday brings you into Atmosphere for the day, or perhaps every Thursday you check out a different local coffee shop and post-up to get things done there.
By allowing yourself to have a bit of fun with themed days, you’ll mix up your normal routine while also injecting anticipation into the mundane day-to-day. You’ll also give your brain a break from having to switch tracks all the time by lumping like tasks with like tasks.
Achieve a big goal with an end-of-summer incentive
Summer is typically either a busy whirlwind of keeping kids entertained while trying to manage life and work, or it’s a slow sweaty slumpfest with little motivation or progress. Either way, it can be hard to move forward on big picture goals or personal projects during this season. But you don’t have to let these weeks slip through your fingers leaving you empty-handed in August!
So how to move the needle? How about attaching a big, fun, end-of-summer incentive to big progress on your goal? Pick a project or goal you’ve been wanting to tackle –– launching your personal blog, doing a refresh on your LinkedIn page, reconnecting with key people in your network, or refreshing your client acquisition process. Whatever your goal may be, make sure it’s realistic, measurable, specific, attainable, and for goodness sake –– make sure it’s something you actually WANT to spend time working on. It’s time for summer fun, right?!
Once you’ve picked your project, pick a valuable incentive that actually matters to you. Maybe it’s a weekend getaway with your partner to a new city, perhaps it’s a solo spa day, maybe a spontaneous family road-trip. Whatever it is, you must clearly define the terms –– write down how you’ll know you’ve accomplished your goal, when you have to have it done by, and what the reward is. And then, if you don’t get the goal done, you don’t get the reward. Simple as that. When a fun end-of-summer reward is what awaits, you’ll likely feel more motivated to put in the time on that project or goal.
Let it all hang out and slow things down a bit
Okay, so maybe you grab drive-thru dinner or let the laundry pile up a bit more than normal… where’s the harm in that!? Even the most regimented folks can benefit from a summer slow-down. It’s not the end of the world if you get a bit more casual with office attire or opt for easier meal prep. The point is: it’s summer and you can let it all hang out. Give yourself the freedom to slow down, lower the standards, and enjoy the people all around you.
It might sound cliche, but life is too short to sweat the small stuff, especially when you’re already sweating bullets in a Texas summer. Take the slower summer pace as a season to rest a bit more, give yourself more space to be a messy human, and loosen the reigns a little. Allow yourself to be fully present as memories are being made with family and friends. Freak out a little less if you spill barbecue sauce on your white t-shirt. Breathe deep the hot air and cultivate a moment of gratitude for all the good you have in your life. Slow down, stress less, and find yourself refreshed once the pace begins to pick back up in the fall.
Say “yes” to spontaneous summer adventures
There’s always more work to be done, but sometimes, life calls and you have to make a choice between being “responsible” or giving an enthusiastic spontaneous “yes!” to the moment. This summer, commit to saying “yes” more often to the fun summer activities all around. If your neighbor invites you over to grill-out, throw together and easy salad and show up at their front door. Hop on your bike and take the kids for a ride around the block. Agree to a last-minute trip to the river for tubing or the lake for stand-up paddle boarding.
If you’re based in Austin, there are tons of fun, affordable ways to really soak up the summer days! Head to Barton Springs from 5-8am or 9-10pm for free swim, beat the heat and catch an afternoon matinee at Alamo Drafthouse, grab a partner and go dancing at The White Horse on a weekday night, or catch a local artist playing at Unplugged at Shady Grove. No matter what you like to do, saying “yes” to adventure is sure to fill your cup! Plus, you’ll make precious memories with your people and maybe even discover a new favorite spot in town while you’re at it.
Enjoy the summer!
web copy + brand story
potential: something that can exist or become reality, a promise, or perhaps, a block of raw materials containing diamonds.
Every idea, every human, every business, every brand, is united by the reality of potential hidden within. We each contain a promise, diamonds stuck in the rock below the surface, an undiscovered reality waiting to be revealed. Most of us are aware of this Diamond Block, this sacred promise. But the development process is painful. The heat and pressure, extraction, chiseling, and polishing required to let our diamonds shine is painful and scary.
And that is why Diamond Block exists.
personal social media post
HERE’S YOUR PERMISSION SLIP
This week marks six months since I woke up with distorted vision because of a hemorrhage in my left eye. Though my physical vision is 75% better than it was (thank God!), my metaphorical vision for my life all but disappeared through this season.
For most of these months, it felt like I was walking down a winding path in the jungle with eyes blindfolded and no sense of the final destination. Like I’d been kidnapped from my own life.
Stress being the primary cause of this whole ordeal has made me seriously committed to learning healthy stress management skills and frankly, a whole new way of living. I let the pressure valves open up and the steam escape from my tightly clenched fists of control. I learned to plant my feet on the foundation of deep trust that all things are working together as they should, in the exact right timing. I took the permission slip that’s always been available to me — to live fluidly, rolling with the rhythms and waves of joy + disappointment.
And now, I extend that same permission slip to you, sharing what I needed to hear in this blurry season:
You have permission to not know the answers. To not know how to proceed. To not know what’s next, or even what you want next. You have permission to just ~*be*~ a human: to breathe, walk, eat, sleep, and not make much “progress” for days, weeks, or even months. You have permission to enjoy daily walks, morning smoothies, rich conversations and naps and be unapologetically thrilled by simple things. You don’t owe anyone an explanation. Wear what you want, eat what you want, do what makes you feel alive. You don’t have to make everyone happy.
BUT — please DO stay connected to your heart, to the REAL you. Set your personal boundaries. Decide on your convictions + stick to ‘em. Find people that really see you and know how to ask the questions you need to keep growing. And then: just put one foot in front of another + keep showing up. My vision is finally coming into focus again, and I feel light, free, alive, and in the exact right spot for ~*me*~ today. I hope the same for you, and I give you permission to land there too.
brand editorial blog content
WHY YOUR SOCKS HATE YOU
We care a lot about socks here at Sock Club. And chances are, if you’re taking the time to read this blog, you do too. But here’s the thing –– your socks probably hate you. Here’s why:
They don’t have a comfortable resting place.
Unless you’re an absolute sock-drawer all-star, your socks probably aren’t being stored properly. Most people pair their socks, fold the cuffs over, stretching the elastic and exposing their insides. Some people throw their socks into a drawer, loosely unpaired. Others just leave their socks mixed in a laundry basket amongst other clean clothes, picking them out when they need a fresh pair.
One of our favorite commentators on storing socks is Marie Kondo, the brilliant woman who came up with the KonMarie Method. Here’s an excerpt that perfectly captures the sock-drawer struggle from her best-selling book, ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’:
“The socks and stockings in your drawer are essentially on holiday. They take a brutal beating in their daily work, trapped between your foot and your shoe, enduring pressure and friction to protect your precious feet. The time they spend in your drawer is their only chance to rest. But if they are folded over, balled up, or tied, they are always in a state of tension, their fabric stretched and their elastic pulled. They roll about and bump into each other every time the drawer is opened and closed. Any socks and stockings unfortunate enough to get pushed to the back of the drawer are often forgotten for so long that their elastic stretches beyond recovery. When the owner finally discovers them and puts them on, it will be too late and they will be relegated to the garbage. What treatment could be worse than this?”
We are proponents of proper sock storage, and we implement the KonMarie method in our own sock drawers. Learn how to fold and store your socks by watching this video.
They lose their solemates in the laundering process.
It’s an age-old tale: the single sock. We’ve all been folding a load of laundry, only to realize that one of our socks has gone missing. As with any close-knit relationship, your socks don’t want to live without their significant others in a cold, dark box with other sock orphans in the bottom dresser drawer.
There are a few simple ways to keep your socks paired and happy. Before you throw your socks from the hamper to the washing machine, pair them up. This will prevent them from getting put into different laundry loads. Once they’re paired, put all of your socks into a mesh garment bag for the washing process so that they don’t get stuck to the inside of your fitted sheet, which you won’t use for the next 3 months. After your socks are finished washing, do not put them in the dryer –– hang them up to air dry. The high heat of the dryer can cause the cotton fibers and elastic to weaken and break down faster.
They’re forced to endure long-suffering at the end of their lives.
If we searched through your sock drawer, would you have any holey or damaged socks? Most people probably have at least one pair that’s in bad shape. The truth is –– your holey socks hate the drawn-out suffering that they experience as they try to shield your feet in their final days. If it were up to them, they’d have you lay them to rest, thank them for the memories, and find a replacement pair that makes them proud. Life is too short for holey socks, and we believe in keeping your sock supply fresh and healthy.
We care about socks, and we don’t want your socks to hate you. They might hate you now, but it’s never too late to start again on the right foot. Throw away your old socks, wash, hang dry and fold up your existing socks, reorganize that sock drawer, and show your socks how much you care. And, if you really want a fresh start, pick up a new pair. If you buy a new pair of socks from our store, use the code “SOCKDRAWER” at checkout to get a 2nd pair free. Your sock drawer will thank you and so will we.
