Who Am I

Somewhat of an introvert, really.  I spend almost all of my time at home and am a geek at heart.  In addition to web design and PHP application development, I am wildly passionate about computers and almost always in the middle of some personal hardware or system build project.  I have a PC or HTPC in just about every room of my house, all of which are networked to my home media server for convenient access to movies, music and internet.  My husband, who doesn’t share my enthusiasm for such things, jokes that the house will start talking soon.  I think he’ll have a heart attack if I ask him to run anymore cat6 cabling.

I live in a very remote location in northern Wisconsin.  The closest freeway is over an hour away and real sushi would require a two hour drive.  Our winters are quite long and cold, which works well given how rarely I feel compelled to leave my house.  I am an avid Science Fiction/Fantasy reader and have spent countless hours developing my own personal online library application for storing/reading ebooks.

I turned 34 in November, which means I’ve lost access to that ‘early 30s’ sweet spot response when asked my age.  However,  I’m still cute enough to get my drinks free on those rare occasions we patronise a tavern….but am sobered by the fact it’s been over a year since I was last carded.

Politically, I lean towards the left…though don’t consider myself a true liberal.  I voted for Obama, have a health care reform sign sitting in my front yard and don’t think gender should matter when it comes to marriage.  At the same time, I use disposable diapers,  support the death penalty and am married to a man who owns over 50 guns.

Family

I have two small children (4 and 2) who are both my greatest joy and challenge in life.  My husband, who I have known since puberty,  spoils me rotton and I’m pretty sure he deserves some kind of award for putting up with me.  Although I take great pride in my profession as a freelance designer, my family will always be the higher priority in my life. I feel that too many people are forced to adjust their family dynamic around their work schedules and consider myself very fortunate that this is not the case with me.

Why Veda Designs

Veda Designs was started in 2005 after relocating back to my hometown in Northern Wisconsin to be married and give birth to a healthy baby boy.  Although I had been freelancing commercial web design since 2000 from the west coast, I wanted to target a specific design market that would allow me to work from home, at a more relaxed pace, so I could focus on being a new mother.  I decided on companion web design because a) it was a market in high demand of qualified and discreet designers and b) the typical project requirements and time commitment worked very well with my domestic schedule.  As mentioned on my faq page, I also have a deep amount of respect for women who choose to work in this industry and don’t think there are enough safe and trustworthy options for them when it comes to advertising online.

Although there have been challenges along the way typical to any business endeavor,  I can honestly say that Veda Designs has been closest to what I would consider a dream job.  The vast majority of women I design for are intelligent, considerate and a true pleasure to work with.  The job challenges and stimulates my mind, yet the working environment is  flexible and informal enough so I can keep my family the higher priority in my life.

My business goals with Veda Designs are relatively modest and will remain so until both children are in school full time.  I prefer working with more low-key companions whose business goal is to provide a professional yet discreet online presence.  I find nothing wrong with companions who choose to make money online via paid membership systems or online shops, but this is not the design market I currently wish to target. This may change when both children are in school full time, but that won’t happen for a few years.