Knock Knock's Blog, page 8
March 18, 2016
10 Heroines Who Inspire Us
We’re celebrating Women’s History Month by reflecting on (a very small sampling of) the accomplishments women have achieved throughout history—including the badass female entrepreneurs out there like our fearless leader, Jen Bilik. Several Knock Knock team members share their personal heroines and how each inspires us. If we knew them personally*, we would fill in the blanks of one of our You’re My Hero Fill in the Love™ Journals and present it to each of them!
1. Leslie Knope, character from Parks and Recreation
“My female heroine is Leslie Knope because she’s always on top of her shit, plans the best Galentine’s Day celebrations, and loves waffles.” —Jane Li, Marketing Design Intern
2. Shelley Dorrance, mom and role model
“My mother inspires me by always putting others’ needs before her own. She is a prime example of how we should approach each and every day!” —Conner Dorrance, Inside Sales Associate
3. Diana Vreeland, fashion columnist and editor
“Diana Vreeland is a style icon who forever changed the way we experience fashion, art, and life. She saw things in people before they saw it in themselves. My favorite quote of hers is, ‘I can stand good taste. I can stand bad taste. It’s no taste that I can’t stand.’” —Susanne Manheimer, VP of Design
4. Josie Villareal, mom and selfless motivator
“My mother is the true definition of what it means to be a strong, loving, confident, unapologetic, and independent woman. She’s selfless and always encourages me to follow my heart and my dreams regardless of what others think. Plus, she’s hilarious.” —Jill Villareal, Marketing Assistant
5. Amy Schumer, stand-up comedian, writer, actress, and producer
“As women—we receive a lot of messages and feedback about how we should think, behave, and look. As many women in comedy before her, Amy stands up against the notion that women should be meek, mindful, and demure. In her comedy (and life), she inspires women to be bold and unashamed (and hilarious if that’s what their heart wants!).” —Sara Hartman, Director of E-Commerce/Digital Marketing
6, 7 and 8. The Women of SCOTUS: Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (aka “The Notorious RBG”), and Elena Kagan
“They’re doing so much for gender equality and women’s reproductive rights right now. Having the voice of three women in this branch of government is unprecedented, and we women are so lucky to have them on our side (whether we know it or not).” —Janet Kim, Marketing Designer
9. Lise Meitner, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics
“Lise Meitner was the first to hypothesize the process of nuclear fission and observe its potential as a source of energy. We have since learned that nuclear fission is what fuels our sun along with all the stars in the universe. Unfortunately, Meitner was forced to work with a man named Otto Hahn who eventually won a Nobel Prize—only by taking credit for all of Meitner’s work. Although decades after her death, her amazing mind and hard work have finally been recognized in recent times. One honor bestowed upon Meitner was an element (Meitnerium 109) named after her, which in my opinion, is the coolest thing that can happen to anyone—way better than a Nobel Prize.” —Shane, Production Manager
10. Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate
“How does she not inspire me? She fights for education for all girls around the world every single day and is a never-ending voice for peaceful protest and gender equality. I can safely say the tip of her pinky finger has more courage than the whole of me, but she inspires me to change that.” —Melanie Gasmen, Associate Digital Marketing Producer
*We’d love to know them personally! Introductions welcome.
Who is your heroine? Tell us in a comment!
March 16, 2016
Makeover Your Desk With Our Less Piles, More Style Giveaway!
Want to spruce up your desk space for spring? Battle desktop clutter and chaos with our Less Piles, More Style giveaway prizes. You could win a $200 Etsy gift card to splurge on one-of-a-kind office and desk storage finds, plus $50 in Knock Knock organizational items (pictured below), including our new My Awesome Week Paper Mousepad and beloved Days of the Week File Folders.
How to Enter: Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter—and increase your chances with up to 12 bonus entries! Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 5 and winner will be contacted by email on or around April 6. See Official Rules for details.
Good luck and get to tidying.
February 23, 2016
Meet Artist Naomi Sloman!
Affirmators! illustrator, Naomi Sloman, is no stranger to depicting wit, whimsy, and playfulness throughout her projects—just look at her “Gangsters A-Z” chart, which envisions notorious pop-culture gangsters as lovable animals (Al Capone is a bulldog!). Read on to learn more about this Brighton, England illustrator’s daily inspirations and what makes her tick.
Q. How did you get into illustration?
A. Art was always my favourite subject at school and I was always drawing and making things at home. I ended up with a degree in modern languages though and then a job in business PR for a few years, but the lack of creativity didn’t suit me. So I went and studied part-time as a mature student at Camberwell College of Art in London. After that, I stuck with part-time jobs and spent the rest of my week working on building an illustration portfolio. When I felt ready I set up an Etsy shop, got some of my products into independent shops and approached magazines for commissions.
Naomi showcasing her stuff at the market.
2. Do you have any advice for aspiring illustrators out there? I think I would pass on two pieces of advice. Firstly, working a day job and trying to become an illustrator at the same time is hard work—do what works best for you! For me, working at the same time as becoming an illustrator has meant that it’s taken a long time to get to where I want to be. I would love to have ditched the day job to focus completely on illustration. Unfortunately, if you have financial commitments it’s not so easy to do!
Secondly, do things when you feel ready. I held back when it came to putting my illustration work out there. I had some pressure to start approaching shops with products and magazines for work before I felt my illustration style was fully developed. I trusted my own instincts and did so when I felt confident in what I had to offer. It made me much more certain that I could fulfill other people’s demands and produce quality work, and at the same time feel pleased with the end results.
3. Where do you find the most inspiration for your illustrations? I like mundane [things] made offbeat with unusual details or subtle humour. I like observing people—their physical attributes, style, character. Quirky people attract my attention and their characteristics often make it into my work. Travel also inspires me. I always take a sketchbook on longer trips, and I have work in one from Japan and one from Argentina that I particularly would like to develop . . . when there is time!
A peek inside Naomi’s travel sketchbooks.
4. What’s your favorite Affirmators! card? I think I would have to go with “Joy“. I didn’t know who Orville Redenbacher was when I first read the affirmation, and when I looked him up I knew I had to turn him into a piece of popcorn! I enjoyed drawing the joyful popcorn and I think the image succeeds in projecting that sentiment. I was also really pleased with my Viking cells for the “Vitality” card. They’re a happy bunch too!
“Joy” and “Vitality” Affirmators! cards—a few of Naomi’s favorites.
5. In a parallel universe, what other occupation would you have and why? Would this parallel universe be warmer? I’ve always liked the idea of working outdoors, but I don’t think I could handle it in the winter months! Something like a forest ranger or an archaeologist could be fun and interesting.
6. Do you have any hobbies outside of drawing? I recently started playing electric guitar again after quite a few years of neglect. I got myself a fantastic teacher and I’m really enjoying it and seeing huge improvements.
One of Naomi’s hobbies—playing guitar!
7. What is one random fact about you that no one necessarily knows? I have a large and growing collection of Spanish paprika tins, which I buy whether or not I actually need the paprika inside!
Naomi collects Spanish paprika tins. Here’s her collection so far.
8. If you could adapt any movie into a book illustration, which movie would it be and why? A film by Pedro Almodovar would be fun to adapt. His films are filled with complex characters and unusual looking people who would be fantastic to illustrate. And I love the humour in films like I’m So Excited! and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. So, one of those probably.
9. What’s your favourite Knock Knock product and why? Can I have two? I love Gemma Correll’s illustrations and I’m about to become a parent for the first time so 100 Reasons to Panic™ about Having a Baby is speaking to me! I also love the Fake-Jacket Journal to “disguise” your sketchbook. I’d love to see the look on someone’s face when they try to work out whether Autobiography of a Plant is a real book!
10. You mention in your bio that you like to cook. If you could cook dinner for any fictional or non-fictional character, who would it be and why? What would you cook? I do love cooking! And I would want my guest to really appreciate and enjoy my food, and I like serving up big portions and second helpings, so I think the perfect choice would be Joey from Friends! I would cook something not too fancy but really hearty and full of flavour like a good paella accompanied by a quality bottle of Rioja. For dessert, a Linzertorte—I made one the other day and it was absolutely incredible.
Naomi’s freshly baked Linzertorte—delicious!
11. What are 5 things on your bucket list? I don’t really have a bucket list. I’ve done quite a few exciting things so far in life and I don’t think there is anything I would be sorry not to have done if I ran out of time. There are always places I want to travel to though, so making trips to Southeast Asia, the Peloponnese in Greece, Lyon (the gastronomic capital of France), Norway, and revisiting Japan are high on my wish list!
February 19, 2016
Knock Knock CEO Jen Bilik at Her Corner
Our founder and head honcho, Jen Bilik, had the pleasure of speaking at Her Corner in Washington D.C. Founded by Frederique Irwin, Her Corner is a collaborative and supportive community of women entrepreneurs.
Jen’s talk “What I Knew, What I Didn’t Know, What I Wish I’d Known, and What I Knew Later” is chock full of personal lessons learned throughout her initial years starting Knock Knock. Here are 3 tidbits of entrepreneurial advice—only a small sampling of what she shared:
1. Be self-aware and build your team to compensate for your weaknesses.
“You can work on your weaknesses and you can make them better, but they’re not probably ever going to become strengths. But self-awareness can always be a strength.”
2. Have a point of difference in the marketplace and know what it is.
“I’d gone to the National Stationery Show in May of 2002 and didn’t see a lot of the kind of thing I wanted to do.”
3. When hiring, always listen to your gut.
“I was operating from a position of fear in the early days, not of strength. And when you make decisions based on fear that you’re not gonna be able to get the work done, that you don’t have the expertise, that you have to make a hire in a hurry, it almost never works out. It has to be coming from a position of strength.”
Want practical advice for entrepreneurs from someone who has truly lived it? Request Jen as a speaker or catch her in person at an upcoming speaking engagement!
February 16, 2016
Enter the Beach Bestie Giveaway
In Los Angeles, there are really only two seasons and they can be summed up into these phrases: “Oh my gosh, it’s 50 degrees outside,” and “Where are my shorts?” Right now it’s starting to heat up into the latter, so we’re radiating the SoCal warmth in our Beach Bestie Giveaway! Grab your bestie, have a mental spring break, and visualize the Venice Beach sun (even if you’re chilly right now—here’s looking at you, Michiganders!).
We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite things from brands in our Los Angeleno neighborhood for a stellar prize pack to share with your BFF!
How to Enter: Use the Rafflecopter form below to complete your entry. See below for all entry methods. The giveaway closes Tuesday, February 23 at 11:59 p.m. Read official rules here. We’ll contact the winner by email.
A closer look at the Beach Bestie Giveaway Prize Pack:
Two – What I Love about You Fill in the Love™ Journal:
Two – Surf Sand Love Beach Towel from Sisters of Los Angeles:
Two – Dogeared Best Friends Elephant Necklaces:
Why can’t life be a day at the beach? Good luck!
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February 11, 2016
12 Sweet Things to Say to Your Valentine
If you suffer from verbal clumsiness like me, telling your other half how much he or she means to you can sometimes end in self-loathing feelings of “WTF just tumbled out of my mouth?”
Here are 12 fill-in phrases from our Fill in the Love™ Journal series—What I Love about You, What I Love about Us, Why I’m Crushing on You, and Why You’re So Hot—to help you out. Use these lines in cards, as a last line in your sonnet, or perhaps to top off a stanza in a song. These are meant to inspire you, but you can also use these filled-in answers in your own Fill in the Love™ Journal (we won’t tell).
1. I love how you have such a great collection of bobbleheads.
2. I love to listen to you play guitar—even if you only play when you’re tipsy.
3. I love how you make such gooey grilled cheese sandwiches.
4. I love how we never get tired of binge-watching dramedies together.
5. I wish we were sailing to Santorini tonight.
6. It’s so funny when we pretend we’re not obsessed with our cat.
7. I’ve had a crush on you since we both realized we both buy the same obscure brand of yogurt.
8. I always melt when you kiss me on the forehead.
9. I want to tell everyone about your hilarious impersonations!
10. You look so hot in that pair of tortoiseshell glasses.
11. You have the sexiest come-hither face ever.
12. It’s so hot how you’re usually right about directions—you’re like an instant map!
Now go get ’em, tiger.
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February 4, 2016
8 Simple Tips to Improve Your Ussies!
Move over, selfie! The ussie El Niño is starting to pour more and more photos down onto social feeds everywhere!* How do you take a perfect ussie (also spelled “usie”)? Put away your duck face and use these tips to achieve true ussie greatness.
1. STOP—REARRANGE AND LISTEN
Reposition your group by height, especially if you have a large group! People in the back should stand and those in the front should squat (it’s an instant thigh workout).
Perfect ussies! (Pic by Yamil Ramirez | instagram.com/yixmal)
2. LONG ARMS ON POINT
Have the person with the longest arms snap the pic. Otherwise, your photo will be literally all smiles and cut-off faces—a classic rookie ussie mistake. The selfie stick, though painfully noticeable, was invented for this sole reason.
A family ussie for the holidays. (Pic courtesy of Melanie Gasmen)
3. THIS WAY NOT THAT WAY
Make sure your phone is in landscape mode, that way you can fit more people in the pic. Also, always take video horizontally. It seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised.
4. LIGHTS! BEFORE CAMERA
Great photos are all about the lighting. Face a window, turn on lamps, or go into the sunshine. (No more shall ussies stay in the dark!)
A bright, breezy, and beautiful ussie. (Pic by Jill Villareal | instagram.com/jillvill)
5. RAISE IT UP
Aim the phone or camera at an above angle—the higher it is above everyone, the more flattering it will be.
An ussie at such great heights—taken at Sears Tower! (Pic by Ben Fleck | instagram.com/benjammins)
6. READY? 3, 2, 1 . . .
Count it down so everyone knows when to smile (or not to smile). Some phones have voice-activated camera settings so you can control when the camera takes a photo by simply saying “cheese.”
7. SNAP AWAY!
Take multiple shots! There’s no such thing as one and done when it comes to taking group photos.
8. PRINT YOUR FAVES
Print your ussie and slot it into the Ussies Photo Album (which was recently high-fived by Real Simple).
Knock Knock Ussies Photo Album. Store your ussies for safekeeping.
BONUS TIP (EXTRA POINTS FOR THIS ONE!): SHOOT FOR THE MOON
Strive to make every ussie as cool as Ellen’s Oscar ussie, which became the most retweeted tweet of all time. Dream big!
The “David” of ussies.
*If you’re saying “WTF is an ussie, Knock Knock?” It’s a photo taken of oneself with one’s friends, family, significant other, pets, or random friend’s baby. (Basically a glorified group selfie.)
Become our friend with benefits and “Follow” us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and Pinterest . Also, sign-up for our weekly Knock Knock Scoop to get the first word on deals, giveaways, and much, much (one more much for extra emphasis) more.
9 Simple Tips to Improve Your Ussies!
Move over, selfie! The ussie El Niño is starting to pour more and more photos down onto social feeds everywhere!* How do you take a perfect ussie (also spelled “usie”)? Put away your duck face and use these tips to achieve true ussie greatness.
1. Stop—rearrange and listen. Reposition your group by height, especially if you have a large group! People in the back should stand and those in the front should squat (it’s an instant thigh workout).
Perfect ussies! (Pic by Yamil Ramirez | instagram.com/yixmal)
2. Have the person with the longest arms snap the pic. Otherwise, your photo will be literally all smiles and cut-off faces—a classic rookie ussie mistake. The selfie stick, though painfully noticeable, was invented for this sole reason.
A family ussie for the holidays. (Pic courtesy of Melanie Gasmen)
3. Make sure your phone is in landscape mode, that way you can fit more people in the pic. Also, always take video horizontally. It seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised.
4. Great photos are all about the lighting. Face a window, turn on lamps, or go into the sunshine. (No more shall ussies stay in the dark!)
A bright, breezy, and beautiful ussie. (Pic by Jill Villareal | instagram.com/jillvill)
5. Aim the phone or camera at an above angle—the higher it is above everyone, the more flattering it will be.
An ussie at such great heights—taken at Sears Tower! (Pic by Ben Fleck | instagram.com/benjammins)
6. Count it down so everyone knows when to smile (or not to smile). Some phones have voice-activated camera settings so you can control when the camera takes a photo by simply saying “cheese.”
7. Take multiple shots! There’s no such thing as one and done when it comes to taking group photos.
8. Print your ussie and slot it into the Ussies Photo Album (which was recently high-fived by Real Simple).
Knock Knock Ussies Photo Album. Store your ussies for safekeeping.
9. Strive to make every ussie as cool as Ellen’s Oscar ussie, which became the most retweeted tweet of all time. Dream big!
The “David” of ussies.
*If you’re saying “WTF is an ussie, Knock Knock?” It’s a photo taken of oneself with one’s friends, family, significant other, pets, or random friend’s baby. (Basically a glorified group selfie.)
Become our friend with benefits and “Follow” us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and Pinterest . Also, sign-up for our weekly Knock Knock Scoop to get the first word on deals, giveaways, and much, much (one more much for extra emphasis) more.
January 26, 2016
Win $350 of New Knock Knock Stuff!
Okay fine, here’s a giveaway. We’re giving away the Okay Fine, I’m Grateful Inner-Truth Journal, plus every single Knock Knock item from our new spring line. That’s $350 worth of stuff. (And 350 reasons to enter!) Gratitude’s easier to express after you’ve won free stuff, right?
How to enter: Use the Rafflecopter form below to complete your entry. See below for all entry methods. The giveaway closes Wednesday, February 3 at 11:59 p.m. Read official rules here. We’ll contact the winner by email.
Good luck and happy thanks-giving!
Become our friend with benefits and “Follow” us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and Pinterest . Also, sign-up for our weekly Knock Knock Scoop to get the first word on deals, giveaways, and much, much (one more much for extra emphasis) more.
January 12, 2016
The New Year, Same You! Fun, Free Printable Kit
Start your year off right with Knock Knock’s New Year, Same You Kit. (It may be a new year, but you’re not a shiny, new person just because the date changed—let’s be accurate here.) These printable goodies knit a positive mental cardigan to keep you cozy all year long. This new year free printable kit includes:
1. Five Affirmators! Cards by Suzi Barrett. Download here, print, and cut out.
A sampling of our Affirmators! Cards. Read one at random every day and let the positive feelings flow.
Try out Affirmators! with this printable sneak peek available only on our site. Includes Courage, Love, Gratitude, Love, No Need To Do, and Worthiness.
How to use them: Turn the cards facedown, and shuffle them around. Close your eyes and silently ask that the cards give you a message that will benefit you in this moment. Then pull a single card, and read your Affirmator—and for greatest potency, read it out loud. Say it as much as you like. Then say it again.
Get the entire Affirmators! Deck here. And tag your social pics with #Affirmators.
———-
2. Knock Knock’s classic New Year’s Resolution Waiver. Download here and print.
So you’ve tried and tried again—we get it. Sign this waiver to release yourself from your current resolution(s). Then, display it loud and proud. You’re welcome.
The New Year’s Resolution Waiver releases you from resolutions.
Become our friend with benefits and “Follow” us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and Pinterest . Also, sign-up for our weekly Knock Knock Scoop to get the first word on deals, giveaways, and much, much (one more much for extra emphasis) more.
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