It’s Friday night and I’m still at the computer tweaking things on the site and updating my computer with the latest version of Mac OS X. (Yes, I’m a die-hard Mac addict). Kim is cleaning like a fiend; I can tell because she’s got the CD player turned way up and the unmistakable aromas of bleach and Pledge are permeating the office. My parents are coming up to visit tomorrow – everything must be in tip-top shape…
Today I spent way too much time reorganizing things around here in the misguided pursuit of somehow creating space where there is none. Prints and mats and oversized boxes and packaging peanuts and my rubber Jabba The Hutt sculpture all demand precious square footage in this ever-shrinking apartment. I long for the days when we’re making enough to move the business into a dedicated office space and have a room just for boxes, and a table just for packaging orders, and a bedroom just for sleeping.
After finally getting all the prints and mats into what I believe appears to be logical order, I went to take out some frame boxes to the trash and try and find a place to stick some envelopes. It occurred to me that “Kim & Jason” and the business in general has completely enveloped this apartment. It looks more like a kitschy Disneyworld exhibit featuring your favorite comic strip about childhood. There is a 4×4 foot vinyl sign hanging in the living room over a six foot wide table my Dad made in the shape of the K&J logo. Almost all of the two tall bookshelves he made for our wedding are jammed with packaging supplies, PR materials, and sales binders. The Big Closet, as we affectionately call our once spacious walk-in closet, is choked with boxes and frames and bicycles we don’t get to use enough. And there is a fax machine in our bedroom, because that’s where the jack for the second line is.
As frustrating as it is to be constantly fighting for air and elbow room, I am reminded by how much this little company has grown in a short time. Less than two years ago, when Kim and I moved here, I was still planning on pursuing a lucrative career as a freelance illustrator and designer. The second bedroom was converted to an office and did a nice job holding everything pertaining to art and business. Heck, even the Big Closet had a much larger ratio of personal items and still seemed pretty big. What a difference a year and a half makes.
I’ve decided the good news is that we’re headed in the right direction. It’s exciting to think where we’ll be next year at this time. Will I still be sitting here, in this room? I’m not sure, but I hope that we are able to afford a bigger space before we are swallowed alive…
JK