biznik

event calendar: april 18 – 24, 2011

| heather parlato
happy monday
thinning the garden beets

despite having done my taxes weeks ago, i had been catching up with straggling details right up until last friday when i noticed that my menacing list of things to do had finally been finished. so, today i get to enjoy the first admin monday i’ve had in months—cleaning, organizing & getting ahead, both in the office and in the garden. i’m hosting my monthly biznik mixer, but if you’re looking for more design fun, the LA design events, april 2011 wrap-up is ready for your plan-making at LAist.

here’s what i’m doing

tuesday, april 19, 5:30-8pm LA east-side mixed up biznik mixer at the griffin in atwater village. take this tail end of over-castedness to cozy up to one last fireplace before we go strictly patio until november.

event calendar, march 21 – 27, 2011

| heather parlato

artist's palette, death valley
[artist’s palette, death valley]

i just got back from a weekend in the eastern sierras and death valley, with a matinee at the amargosa opera house. i’ve also been on a bit of a blogging hiatus, so it’s time to change that and jump back into the swing. good thing i’ve got just the thing for that.

what i’m doing:

wednesday, march 23, 6:30 – 8:30pm shine: the entrepreneur’s journey screening at blankspaces, FREE with rsvp! a short documentary produced by biznik, stories of solopreneurs and indie pros and how they got started, how they keep going & why they do what they do.

other design events for this week:

tuesday, march 22, 6:30 – 9pm, adobe illustrator users group LA, FREE with rsvp.

thursday, march 24, 7-9:30pm postmodern suicide FREE at art center.

event calendar, february 7 – 13, 2011

| heather parlato

parlato design studio valentines

getting down to the last chance to order valentines in time for me to ship them for valentines day. if you want ’em, get ’em today!

here’s what i’m up to:

tuesday, february 8, 5:30-8pm LA east side mixed up mixer FREE! this month we’re meeting at the den of hollywood with special co-host, dave waite! join biznik and join in on the fun!

sunday, february 13 27th annual wild mushroom fair FREE with admission to the LA arboretum.

other events for this week:

thursday, february 10, 7-10pm behance / aiga meetup FREE! A casual evening where members of the Behance community and AIGA LA can gather and mingle over cocktails. Not a Behance member? No problem! JoiningBehance is free.

event calendar: january 10-16, 2010

| heather parlato

clearing rainstorm
[late afternoon in a clearing rainstorm]

it’s gonna be a great week, and a busy one! when i get a chance to wipe the deadlines from my eyes, there are a lot of great things to do around LA!

here’s what i’m up to

tuesday, january 11, 7:30am la area chamber referral network FREE with chamber membership. it’s been almost 2 months since i’ve been able to check in with the chamber, looking forward to saying happy new year to everyone!

thursday, january 13, 7-10pm béhance/aiga january meetup FREE! come to intelligentsia in pasadena and meet the LA design community!

friday, january 14, 8:30am creative mornings with andrew gibbs FREE with rsvp [sold out but you can waitlist if you want].

more events for this week


wednesday, january 12 5:30-8pm biznik mixer at jerry’s FREE with rsvp! go out and mix it up with a great group of people at jerry’s in the marina!

every day is another opportunity to register for AIGA LA Fellows: Speakeasy!

event calendar: december 6 – 12, 2010

| heather parlato

raindrops on echeveria
[raindrops on echeveria]

the holiday onslaught is here! it’s going to be a lot of hard work and a lot of socializing!

here’s what i’m up to

monday, december 6, 8:30pm sifr-cipher-zero: cyber-shamanizing at betalevel, FREE!

tuesday, december 7 blood is the new black pop-up shop cocktail party. this cute, tiny storefront has a temporary pop-up shop for the holidays, and i’m gonna go scope it out.

wednesday, december 8, 5:30-8pm biznik happy hour at jerry’s deli in marina del rey. FREE! join myself and colleen wainwright for our last hurrah as the dynamic duo hostesses of LA’s longest-running biznik mixer [i’ll be bringing back the east side mixer in the new year, so this is my last time on the west side].

thursday, december 9, 7-10pm behance/aiga december meetup FREE! behance and aiga bring together creatives from all over the southland for their monthly meetup, this month at my favorite highland park pub, the york!

saturday, december 11 8pm-midnight the love art show FREE at pehrspace.

sunday, december 12 hitting the road bright and early for my year-end retreat!

event calendar: november 8 – 14, 2010

| heather parlato

eucalyptus bouquet
eucalyptus bouquet

we’ve changed our clocks and the official word is: it’s dark! but in the morning, it’s also light, bright & sometimes rainy, which is a lovely thing for the LA landscape. hope you have a fantastic week!

here’s what i’ll be doing

tuesday, november 9, 7:30-9am la area chamber referral breakfast FREE to la area chamber members.

tuesday, november 9, 5:30-7:30pm the valley networking mixer, autumn edition FREE! & a fun mix of people at a nice tapas bar in studio city. come meet my lovely friend, lelah baker-rabe, who hosts this biznik mixer, and add yourself to the great crowd she’s attracted.

wednesday, november 10, 5:30-8pm november LA biznik happy hour at jerry’s famous FREE! it’s double trouble for biznik this week, i’m attending tuesday & hosting wednesday. if you’ve on the west side, join myself & colleen wainwright for fall networking fun.

other events for this week

thursday, november 11, 6:30-10pm behance/aiga november meetup FREE! meet the LA design community over drinks!

saturday, november 13, 11:30am-2:30pm the new downtown lapd headquarters: architectural talk Free for SAH/SCC Members; $20 for non-member guests. join SAH/SCC on a tour of this new leed-certified gold project for sustainability.

event calendar: october 18 – 24, 2010

| heather parlato

kale with raindrops
kale with raindrops

welcome, fall rain! even though design week ended yesterday, there are still all kinds of fun design things to do, check it out.

here’s what i’ll be doing

monday, october 18, 7-9pm AIGA LA monthly programming meeting FREE and open to anyone who wants to work with the AIGA LA programming committee. this month, we’re meeting at two west in hollywood. email me if you’d like to attend.

tuesday, october 19 robert glasper at catalina jazz club. tickets available through the catalina site, don’t miss glasper on his visit to LA!

wednesday, october 20, 5:30-8pm october 2010 biznik mixer at jerry’s deli FREE! join biznik and come down & hang with us!

saturday, october 23, 7-10pm an evening with michael doret FREE! join the graphic artists guild and hear from designer michael doret.

saturday & sunday, 11am-6pm artisanal LA $10 advance / $15 on-site at the cooper design space penthouse. learn about, try, taste & support artisanal foods from a great selection of local producers!

other events for this week

tuesday, october 19, 6-9pm content without borders or how to design beyond social media with advine. prices vary.

thursday, october 21, 7-9pm a night of conversation with margo chase FREE!

biznik article of the week

| heather parlato

friday afternoon marketing: tips for weekly small business marketing maintenance by Lidia Varesco Racoma

i met lidia last year when we both chose the same roundtable breakfast group at my first creative freelancer conference in san diego. she’s a great designer and it’s been interesting to watch her launch a product line and develop her practice. this article, friday afternoon marketing, is a great way to set aside time you might be less productive with work and switch gears to do something for your marketing efforts. great list!

biznik article of the week

| heather parlato

If You Want Something Done Right, Hire an Entrepreneur to Do It! by Caterina Rando

if you’re in the position of running a business and need specific work done, but it’s not enough to keep an employee busy in the long term, there are all kinds of solopreneurs who probably focus on the exact task as a niche. rando takes the position that employees can’t serve every purpose, so why not divide what you might spend on payroll and go to the experts. she maintains 15 entrepreneurs as vendors rather than having employees and her article is a great list of criteria she looks for when deciding on who to work with.