From “Just Kim” to just “Kim”

Life is a journey that includes the past, present and future. Being in business is just one part of it. Today’s step in my journey is the launch of the new me … simply “Kim Percival.”

Isn’t she beautiful?  I think so!

This step is the culmination of so many decisions, coincidences, meant-to-be’s and a branding process that started so long ago.  This is my journey …

• Buying a camera after my wedding because my wedding photographer had such an impact on me.  This was the reason that being photographer was added to part of who I am.
• I never blogged about it much, at all really, but I worked for Johnson & Johnson in their medical devices division.  It was a great experience and a great company to work for, but after a few years there I knew I needed more.  A bout of vertigo threw me off balance, but as mentioned in the post, I knew I needed more creativity in my life.  This was a turning point for me that had yet to be realized.
• I think this might have been my post where I opened up a little more about crazy me.  But really I, until recently, only scratched the surface of finding my voice on the internet.
• Tracy Tesmer. What can I say about her?  She was my designer for my first blog and logo, she became my friend and she (not even sure she knows this) changed the way I shoot.  I am much more deliberate when I press the shutter because of her and that’s probably enough said.  She will know what I mean by that.  Most importantly, she captured my family, no she SAW my family through the lens and has provided me some of my very favorite family portraits.
• Then we took a family trip to Germany (still need to share the images made there), then my journey continued just not documented on the blog and I tried, I really tried to be here, but I kept stalling and restarting.
• Then it happened, I found a muse and a reason to blog more often and show that when I am behind the camera … I really just try to photograph what I love and see the subject(s) and their interaction with me or each other with love. I call it Love Behind the Lens.
• I feel such clarity in the future and an amazing amount of drive towards my goals, both personal and professional, because of Making Things Happen.  You will see me mention it here, on Facebook and twitter for a long time to come.
• Making Things Happen and the community it has become has given me strength to share and dive inside and open myself up in ways I never thought possible.  Sharing my thoughts on faith was a scary, yet liberating experience.  This is the writer and photographer and human being that I want to be and share with the world.
• All of this leads me to this post and the many more to come after this.

Thanks for travelling down this road with me!

 

If you clicked on many of the links above you will have noticed that I decided with this rebrand to keep my blog as is, to not start from a clean slate  because the past, the journey that got me here, is just as important as being present in the now.  Embracing and embarking in the future with confidence and passion can only happen with acceptance of who you once were and who you want to be. [On a side note, this means that some link or post weirdness might occur on the older posts due to technical reasons from moving urls, etc.  So please accept my apologies. That is all!]  As beautiful as my visual identity is now, had I not taken the path I did, I would not be as proud of it as I am and as sure of it’s representation of me as I am … sometimes the journey is just as important as the end product.

 

I can’t even thank Emily Ley and Lara Casey of Making Brands Happen enough for putting up with me.  When I say I started this a long time ago, I am not kidding.  In retrospect, I was not ready or really, I was unsure of what exactly I wanted my visual identity to be.  Emily, Lara and Cathy Olson of Love Inspired took the following brand inspiration images and turned it into the beautiful design you see here and on my website.

 

 

I had a hard time going from “Just Kim” to actually using my name.  Being just Kim meant something to me (and I LOVED the logo).  A person is just the sum of their parts.  My parts are wife, mother, dog owner, Guinness drinker, home organizer, bright color lover, but prefers to wear black, boot camp aficionado, picture maker, coffee needer, wine drinker  and so many more things that really when it comes down to it … I’m just Kim.  That’s what it meant.  In the simplest of terms we are all just who we are.  So when Lara suggested I use my actual name, I was like HELL NO.  But after sitting with it, it made sense.  The same logic applies.  I’m still just “Kim.”

I can’t wait to see where I go, but no matter the direction this is what I am and will stive to be (right out of my Making Things Happen notebook) everyday …

 

Finally, I would love to hear from you, whether you want to hire me, inquire me or just say hi.  Just use the awesome links below.  That’s what they are there for!

More posts like this:

• Failure to launch
• Words & Inspiration
• Becoming Mother