I rearranged my tchotchke shelf after I put all of the Christmas decorations away. I end up doing this every year since I have to clear this shelf completely to accommodate the holiday decor. This shelf features a number of mementos from my travels, as well as various gifts from friends and family. (You can click on the photo to see a larger version on Flickr, as well as the notes.)
From left to right:
Elephant. This elephant used to belong to my Grandma Dusty. I inherited it after she died and I think of her whenever I look at it.
Surfer. During my trip to Maui, I picked up a couple of mementos to remember this chance-of-a-lifetime vacation. This is a little metal surfer carrying a colorful surfboard that says Maui on it.
Origami sphere. When my mom and I visited my Uncle and Aunt in Florida back in 2007, we went to Epcot. I found this in the Japan pavillion: It features an origami woman hanging in the middle of thread sphere suspended from a double arch.
Seagull/wharf. Behind the origami sphere. I have visiting California more times than anywhere else, yet I only have this to show for it. It’s a little wharf section with seagulls perched upon in.
Japanese change purse. This is a silk and finely embroidered change purse I got as a gift a long time ago.
Meditation balls. Underneath the change purse sits a pair of meditation balls. I don’t use them often, but they’re pretty.
Lucky cat. My visit to Chicago’s Chinatown, which has only been once despite my close proximity, led me to inherit a lucky cat. Lucky cats are just that: bring you luck. The color will determine the kind of luck you’ll have. Pink represents romance. (Gold is for money, white is all over lucky. The list goes on.) I can’t say I’ve been particularly lucky, but I guess I haven’t been particularly unlucky, so that’s saying something.
Ritual candle. This is a pretty purple candle with a pendant hanging from it. I’m not sure where I got it from, but I’ve never burnt it because I like it so much.
Eiffel Tower. Again at Epcot, I picked up this miniature Eiffel Tower in the France pavillion.
Native American Tom Tom. When I was young, I was really fascinated by Native American culture. To this day, I would be so blessed to visit a reservation and witness the traditional dances. This is a child’s toy that you roll in between your hands back and forth to make a drumming noise.
Tiger. The tiger is the newest to the shelf. My cousin and his wife sent it to me for Christmas. 2010 is the year of the tiger. It has a little bell inside as well.
Krinkle cat. A few years ago, I fell in love with Krinkles. They’re these ridiculous figurines dressed to the nines. This is a little white cat decked in red.
VW Bug. In the traditional bug model, this car has a surfboard on top that reads Maui.
Bear. Lastly, my dad gave me this bear from a trip to Colorado. I have been to Boulder, but I don’t think I got it while I was there.
Kind Words, Big Results
“I met Kate through the Association of Women Journalists (AWJ) and immediately was impressed (and inspired) by her creativity, drive, work ethic and use of social media. Her passion for journalism, digital media and communications overall is evident in the projects she takes on, including LoganSquarist, an online news outlet that she founded that uses social media to socialize the neighborhood. What I admire about Kate is her vitality as well as her desire to keep learning and growing personally and professionally. Kate is a modern-day renaissance woman who is multitalented (ask about her travel, knitting and marathon exploits!) and who brings instant value to any team or organization.”
“Kate has an incredible amount of drive when it comes to LoganSquarist. In the six months that I’ve been involved, I’ve watched the site grow from a pet project to a respected community publication. This success can be attributed to Kate’s technical and leadership skills. From building out the site to off-hours community management and a consistent flow of content, the site improves by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis. When it comes to team management, Kate delegates tasks in an organized and efficient manner, making her an all around great and inspiring person to work with.”
“Kate will be an instant asset for any company she joins. Her unique understanding of how the digital landscape and content play nicely together is second to none. Kate has the ability to jump into any conversation about digital strategy or tacos and feel at ease. I've enjoyed working with her in various roles and she creates and designs THE BEST presentations, regardless of the subject. As a team member or leader within an organization, Kate gets my highest recommendation. ”
“Kate is a natural leader and I can easily say the best boss I ever had. Kate hired me as the Director of Video Production at the agency Imagination where she was the VP of Digital. On top of Video Production, she also had reports from Audio, SEO, Analytics and Web Development divisions as well. She would consistently champion people she thought needed to be seen in leadership and client meetings where they sometimes might have been overlooked. Kate takes time to listen wisely and is always buzzing with ideas on how to make things more effective. Her energy is contagious and I’d work with her again any day.”
“Kate was a wonderful consultant to work with on my business web site project. She had fresh ideas, laid out a detailed plan of work, stayed on time and budget and presented me with a product that looked great and more importantly, has been easy for me to manage on my own. Will definitely send more of my clients her way.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Kate for just over a year and watching her in action. Kate is an immensely talented digital marketer, account manager and processes guru who balances a keen eye for detail with an almost intuitive grasp of the big picture. Her deep wells of industry knowledge allow her to bring a depth of expertise and professionalism to almost any task she sets her mind to. During her time at IntraLink Global, she was instrumental in implementing many integral processes that set a framework for how we operate. I learned a lot from working with Kate, and her guidance and mentorship was invaluable in my professional development. ”
“Kate has been a fantastic resource for all things digital, whether redesigning my website on Wordpress, fine tuning my social media profiles, or understanding Google Analytics. She's an excellent communicator, and I will absolutely hire her again in the future.”
“For nearly two years, I had the pleasure of working alongside Kate to develop social strategies. Kate has an extraordinary knowledge of the ever-changing social and digital media landscape. She has an endless enthusiasm for taking on new projects and effortlessly provides guidance for clients across a variety of industries. She's an excellent communicator, and will be a great addition to any team!”
“I worked with Kate during my time as a community manager at Lightspan Digital while Kate was my direct manager. Kate’s communication practices really taught me how to navigate the sometimes complicated agency world. As an account manger, Kate smoothly orchestrated 10+ accounts at one time as well as help me manage and prioritize tasks in my role. Kate was a role model during my first few years in the professional world and continues to be so to this day.”
“Kate is a real professional and a pleasure to work with. She is a great communicator and always put her client's (my company) interest first. She is tremendously personal and had a great understanding of our business and how she could help it. She is great and is a tremendous asset to any company.”
“Kate is a wealth of knowledge who served as a tremendous mentor for all of our team members while constantly improving processes and workflows. She’s a tremendous project manager, pays great attention to detail, and is able to demand results from her team with respect. At LoganSquarist she has built and led a team of dozens of volunteer contributors committed to her vision of a community resource. I would happily work with Kate again anytime!”
“Kate did and excellent job with our website. We have received several compliments on how nice it looks and how easy it is to navigate. She also went above and beyond to make sure that we were able to update and the website ourselves through Wordpress. I cannot gush about how awesome she is and how happy we are with the site and her dedication to the project.”
“One of the best things I've ever done in my career is work with Kate Hamilton. Her enthusiasm for all things editorial, not to mention her energy and passion for any project she's involved with, is contagious. In addition to being a natural born leader, she's also a creative type, a thinker, a stickler for details, and someone with incredible vision and the drive to get things done. I always marvel at how she is constantly teaching herself new things. She always seems to be ahead of the curve on anything related to social media, and she also has an eye for design. This lady rocks! And she continues to be a mentor to me and others in journalism and communications.”