Hello! I'm so glad you stopped by. 

I bet you're wondering what SnowMoon, LLC is all about. Some days, so do I (and so does my husband). But rather than have me bore you with the generic spiel, let me tell you the story...

It all began with a dog...

A Samoyed, actually. Tsuki. When we married nearly 20 years ago, we both wanted a dog and after quite a bit of searching and contemplating which breed(s) would match us, we settled on a Samoyed (Corgi's were a close second and we now have one of each breed). But we didn't just stay with one - we went back and got Tsuki's brother, Boss. Eventually, we decided to step into the dog world and at one point lived with a pack of 5 Samoyeds and with the neighbor's German Shepherd & Alaskan Husky here many days as well as the occasional transient rescue dog. 

We figured we needed a kennel name' to be official. We made a list of words that seemed express the various aspects of our 'us-ness.' We were always heading out at dusk to take a hike or a 4-wheel drive or some such thing and ended up coming back by the light of the moon. Winter and snow (we did a lot of skiing while dating) and of course, our name, White. Then we worked to find a combination that sounded nice. Snow....Moon. That's it. I looked it up on the internet (long before anime characters) and found out it was the February moon. Tsuki and Boss were born on Valentines Day. That sealed the name. SnowMoon is Us. All of us. 

After I left the dog world, and dove into previously abandoned passions, (photography, words, Yellowstone, just being outside more) they naturally developed into that 'something more' that became the business. The only name to give to it was that one we came up with years ago: SnowMoon - now with the LLC on the end. And the main website ending in .us - more 'us-ness' is always good.

So what exactly is it that I do?

In a nutshell: I create. I usually use words and images to create. But it's hard to pin down exactly all I do, so let me take you through an example from the other day...

An email showed up in my inbox from a client/friend (another creative) who took time to think about where she wanted to take her business. I called her up to see if she had some time to chat about all the things inspiring her these days. After catching up, we got to the work on her website. She needed to create a home for some memories she's finding are pestering her to have a voice, but don't fit with her current blog very well. We took care of some housekeeping things on her server and got the site up and ready to go (Wordpress is such a Gift). But it still needed a unique theme - something that comfortably embodies her and her work and her memories. She gave me some direction of the look and feel, and possible colors. 

After the phone call, I thought about getting back to the book I'm working on or processing that endlessly growing pile of digital photos I've taken.  I take fewer now than before - being more deliberate in what I capture, but life continues on at rocket speed and I can't just stop recording our life - or capturing that which enchants me. But I had an idea of what I wanted to do for for her - and I'm dying to hear some of her childhood stories. She's a great storyteller. So instead, I cranked out a couple of Wordpress themes for her as a jumping off point to find what expresses the essence of her idea. One along the lines I think she probably wants to go, but I also created a second one with a more modern feel to it. Other ideas came to mind and I think I ended up creating 4 or 5 starting points for us to work from.

It's crazy how the ideas just keep welling up. Designs and ideas pester me continually. We go to a restaurant and an idea of a design comes to me that would work for a t-shirt or bumper sticker. We go on vacation or I get to know a business well and the ideas just start to show up, unannounced, but ready to go. Most get sketched or jotted down in a notebook for later - or perhaps never, but the seeds are there to be developed later if needed. And I'm not even going to try to delve into my love of research - that's just something that my husband shakes his head at - and tells me he loves me anyway.  But that's how I learn to make things happen. I get an idea, and research it to figure out all the steps to the end product - or I make sure I know the in-depth background simply because I want to see the larger, overall picture.

My mind gets going and before I know it, the creative genie whisks me away into a dervish dance of creation. They're wildly fun rides, but the laundry pile seems to grow exponentially during them and some days I don't even have an inkling of what we'll have for dinner when I quit at 4:00. Thank goodness Mike's a fabulous cook or doesn't mind heading out somewhere for dinner. I'm trying to make more 'Martha time' to nurture the house (cooking, cleaning, arranging, remodeling), but that's still a real struggle when ideas lure me back to the computer or drafting table. I've learned to temper that energetic genie with down time. Usually I head outside to take time to just sit and observe - and be still. Nature calms the wildest of thoughts and brings me out of 'the box' and back to - well - the world. I still usually have a camera or notebook and pen with me, but it's a slower pace where I can savor things more deeply.  

My day is a balance of observing and creating - researching and creating - breathing in the world and breathing out creations.

I deeply believe we all need that - time in nature somehow - each and every day. Time to be still. And know. Because that's where the magic lies. 

When I look at the overall picture of what I do, I find I work to capture the essence. The essence of being in a location, or searching for just the right words to express how the chill hits my skin as I walk outside when the morning sun is burning off the river fog to make the 'fog drops' on the pine needles just glow. For myself, I do it to remember - and so I can accurately share it later with someone else or on one of my blogs. 

I work in a similar way when I work for others. I take time to observe and really 'see' them - their business as is or where it will be in the future, then that genie takes hold and I create some starting points where we can knead and work and tweak to end up with a product that expresses my client and the ideas they want to bring to life ... a theme for a friend who needs a new blog that reflects her, who she is, and what she wants to give to this world. 

That's my work. That's what I do.

What can I do for you?