Between Us Girls

Today we are featuring another fearless woman that is throwing caution to the wind and following her heart.  Kathie and I first met in what seems like a traditional way in 2010, via the internet.  On my usual prowl for new blogs I came across one that I thought was interestingly designed.  Like I always do, I scrolled down to the bottom to see who designed it.  I came across the link simplyWP.

After browsing the site and its links for a while I contacted designer, Kathie and quickly filled out the job inquiry form.  Over the next five weeks we worked together to produce the exceptionally stylish and personal site that is sachkiabarnes.com.  In the process, I became one of their most particular customers as well as great colleagues with my designer, though separated by thousands of miles. Yes the internet has spawned personal and work relationships, but I would have never thought I would be working with someone in Malaysia, yes Malaysia.

As Kathie and I communicated about work, we began to learn a lot about each other including our fixation with wedding blogs.  Like me, she also threw the traditional route of employment out the door in search of better work/life balance.  She has willingly shared her experience so far of following her passion and developing a business with her spouse, who is the coding expert behind the duo’s web based company.  Here is my interview with Kathie, a woman following her bliss.

How did you become interested in graphics and web design?
I have always liked drawing and art related stuff since I was a kid. So when my parents gave me freedom to choose the course in college (in early 2004), I went for Graphic Design cause it’s the nearest that I could have gotten to my interest (drawing).

During college time, I started to be-friend Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator and developed my interest towards graphic design. Then I took advertising as my major. Cracking my brain to work on the ads strategy was fun and I thought that’s where my passion was. Until one day (around mid 2008), I just moved my personal blog from Blogger.com to self-hosted WordPress and I kept changing the layout design (using free themes) to find THE ONE that suits me.  My picky and perfectionist side can be very bad sometimes. I almost gave up and just simply used a theme. Then I thought, hey why not design it myself, since my boyfriend knows coding?

So I started to learn about web design + structure online to create my own blog design and that’s when my interest towards web design grew. Being able to create a blog design that isn’t only beautiful but also reflects the blogger’s character/blog topic and functional became my passion.

What were your past jobs like?
I created packaging design for the food and beverage industry; mostly snacks; and I also worked on some freelance work after office hours. That was my first 9-5 job. After 6 months I resigned as I was looking for a more challenging work which offers space to grow, and also time flexibility (it was hard to juggle a long distance relationship with only 12 days of leave in a year).

I took the plunge to become a full time freelancer; doing print design (brochure, packaging, booklet, logo, etc) and also blogging for side income.

How have you enjoyed working online so far?
I am loving it! I get to work from my home office or remotely from the road as long as I have the laptop and internet line with me. Best of all, I get to work with people from around the world (talk about varieties and learning different cultures). Working online opens so many possibilities for me, seriously.

How do you like the experience working with your husband?
We have been working together on web-design project since 2 years ago while we were in a long distance relationship. So being able to work side by side is oh so great! It makes the communication smoother and we get to spend more time together. But it can be quite tricky sometimes, we need to know our roles and to separate personal/romance from work.

What are your future goals for your company?
We are spreading our wings to not only carter for chic blog design but also website design for small medium business. We also aim to contribute more for WordPress community in Malaysia.

Would you encourage other women to begin blogging or working virtually?
Yes! Especially blogging. You can use it as a media to express yourself or share knowledge, gain more friends, and earn side income.

What are some of your favourite activities to do when you are not working?
Reading (chick literature and personal growth books). But most of the time you can find me facing my PC updating myself with freelance + design + WordPress articles, and reading wedding blogs. Yea, although it’s been 6 months since my BIG day, I still love checking out wedding photographs and card designs. I’m secretly hoping to venture in the wedding field in the future.

To learn more about Kathie, visit her blog at wiehanne.com.