Suede Studio

Why I Went Vegan

2009-11-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

I've always felt in my heart that all living creatures are equal and should be treated with courtesy and respect. Unfortunately, it's taken me 30-plus years to really get it.

My first hands-on experience with animal cruelty goes way back to the mid-70's when, as a little girl, my dad and I were fishing beside a pond in rural Nebraska. It was just the two of us on the edge of the lake that morning. Little did I know that Dad was going to show me how to bait my hook. Whoa! Say what? You mean I have to impale this poor worm several times to get it to stay on the hook? No way. I went ape-shit. Crying. Panic. Hysteria. Dad was irritated and probably wishing my brother was with him instead of me. The serenity of the morning was lost and Dad eventually caved and baited the hooks for me. So, after catching my dad in the back several times while attempting to cast a line, I finally settled down and began to fish. You can image how the rest of the morning went. Fish getting caught and me feeling miserable. And so begins a lifetime of hearing how animals "don't feel pain", "are raised for food", "are put on the earth for humans". The list goes on and I pretended to believe it for a long, long time.

A few years later, some friends of our family invited us out to their big 4-H event in Iowa. We got to meet their son, Troy's, "project" calf, Jessie. Troy was to raise Jessie for a grade, and I, being naive, thought Jessie was to become a part of the family at the end of the project. They did live on several acres in Iowa, so why not have a pet cow? Sadly, about a year later I learned that Jessie was slaughtered. I still, to this day, don't know how Troy could nurture his calf then oversee his death.

That's when I started to question why I was eating meat. I would inspect my food and started to notice things like veins in the steaks I was about to eat. Several times I went completely mental at the dinner table. More crying. More freaking out. And more of my family telling me to get over it. And so I learned to get over it and spent years ignoring what I knew in my heart ... that animals have their own lives and we don't have the right to take away their existence.

I ate everything. Meat, cheese, fish, dairy. Probably even some foie gras or veal here and there. I was completely callused to the whole situation from years of brain-washing, and I had tricked myself into believing that the production of meat and dairy is a painless process for animals. It wasn't until one Saturday night in late 2007, when my husband and I sat down to watch television. We didn't know what was showing, but we had a plate of cheese and salami and we were ready to settle in a watch something great. HBO was about to start "I Am An Animal". Being a documentary lover, I said "let's watch THAT!" About half way through the movie, I put down my food and tearily decided never to eat meat again. I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian for exactly 7 days, until the next Saturday when I decided to investigate the production of dairy. I was surfing the net and stumbled upon "Meet Your Meat", the 12-minute video that changed my habits forever. By the end of that video, I had decided to never purchase another animal product again. I was terrified. I thought "What will this new life be like? I am now one of those "vegans" and they seem so ... odd." I looked around my house and began to feel very embarrassed of my gluttonous behavior. Down blankets. Wool sweaters. Leather shoes. Remnants of living creatures were everywhere. I was surrounded by death and all of it my own doing.

It didn't take long to learn to be vegan. I love it. I can't image a better way to live. Previous stomach problems are gone. I don't have the old guilty feelings I had when eating artery-clogging foods. Dishes are much easier to wash. And best of all ... I know nobody has to suffer so that I can "indulge" unnecessarily.

It took some time, but learned to accept my past life and the reminders I collected along the way. Instead of throwing away the blankets and sweaters, I decided I use them, treat them well and mend when needed. Leather shoes get polished and repaired. Simply discarding these items because I finally learned of the suffering involved in making them would seem to me like adding insult to injury. They are, after all, the last animal goods I will ever buy and I want to honor the unknown friends who gave them to me.

Hiring a designer

2009-03-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

So many people choose design their own collateral pieces for their business. While I understand the desire to save a few bucks and take charge, this is usually very detrimental to a business. Even if the design looks ok, there's a huge chance that it won't quite match the other pieces that have already been designed, such as business card, letterhead, brochures ... even invoices. Little things like fonts, font sizes, text alignment and colors can make a huge impact on how the customer sees the business. Often times, too many design elements are put on the page. I'm talking about too many colors, too many uncorrected photos and too many fonts. Inconsistencies and over-stuffing the page may seem like small and insignificant details, but these beginner mistakes will ultimately make the business look disorganized and sloppy.

Why Soy Inks?

2009-03-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Vegetable or soy-based inks are better than petroleum inks because they have lower levels of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) than the traditional inks. They reduce harmful carbon emissions while creating a safer work environment.

New to blogging

2009-03-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows "I'm a listener, not a talker", This blogging thing is going to be out of my comfort zone at first, but I'm willing to take a crack at it.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a graphic designer in Henderson, Nevada. My company, Suede Studio, specializes in designing collateral and websites for small and start-up businesses who's owners who know the value of great design, but who don't have the budget for a larger agency. I also work with many other designers, artists and photographers, helping them build their portfolios, design mailings, logos, business cards and websites. It's all about organization, branding and great customer service. My goals are to create beautiful designs while partnering with environmentally-friendly printers who use soy inks, recycled paper, and other green methods. I also like to recommend to my clients that they use a balance of printed materials and web-based marketing techniques. On the Suede Studio website, you will find lots of cool tips for saving money, going green, and interesting things to do around Las Vegas. Suede Studio is a strict vegan company, so many events are based on design, the arts or vegan lifestyle. I hope you have fun searching through the info.

I look forward to blogging more and would love to hear your feedback, questions and comments. Thanks for reading! —Ann