Tulip Paradise

If you have ever seen Sherwood Garden in the Guilford area of Baltimore during late April, it can only be described as tulip paradise. Each spring, the park comes alive in shades of pink, yellow, red and cream. The legendary tulip gardens date back to the the 1920's, when they were developed on the grounds of a filled-in pond by John Sherwood.

When Sherwood died in 1965, he left enough funds to continue the garden for one year. since then, it has been in the hands of Guilford residents for its care and maintenance.

Approximately 80,000 tulip bulbs are planted annually along with other spring flowering bulbs. Dogwoods, flowering cherries, wisteria and magnolias bloom throughout the garden.  2013 marks the 100th year of the Guilford community, and residents have created the Guilford Centennial. Part of this 100-year celebration is the continuation of the lush tulip gardens.

As a fundraiser for the garden, the Guilford Centennial created the Bloom candle in collaboration with Pritte. The candle is 100% organic, domestic beeswax and is scented with gardenia and tuberose, as well as undertones of royal green frankincense, myrrh, and white sage. It is designed to purify your living space with a light, floral fragance.

balance was honored to do the promotional photography for the Bloom candle. I can officially tell you that it smelled heavenly and even the box was gorgeous.

You can buy the Bloom candle from the Pritte website. It's available for pre-order right now and is well worth the asking price - especially as 20% of the fee goes directly to supporting Sherwood Garden.  We have had beeswax candles in the past, and they burn longer than regular candles and even longer than soy candles.

More than six acres in size, Sherwood Gardens has no gates, fences or other barriers. The public may stroll at leisure through the grounds. There is no admission charge and a reservation is not required. Sherwood Garden has always been at its best toward the end of April and beginning of May and after one visit, I know you will agree that this special public garden is worth your support - especially when you end up with an amazing candle as part of the process.

~Rissa

Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman...

Sometimes the trickiest thing about getting professional promo photographs done is knowing what to do with them later. After all, how do you really go about promoting yourself?

There's social media, of course - like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram. And you can set up a personal website. What next, though? Because most likely, the folks who "friend" you on your social media already know you. You need to drive new people to those pages, make new connections. You need another way to show off your range, talent or product.

Many of our clients have had incredible success going the old fashioned route: postcards. There's a wonderful nostalgia and classiness to a paper postcard. It brings back memories of childhood vacations and greetings from family and friends.

Postcards can be an announcement, a thank-you or an introduction. There's nothing like a handwritten note to truly say you have invested time and care. Postcards imply a personal connection more than an email, Facebook post or Tweet ever could.

 Any mood can be created with a custom postcard mailer. You can say "Serious business person" ...

Or "Talented artist creating beautiful pieces of eco-friendly, one-of-a-kind jewelry"...

Or  "Fun, professional model with range to do lots of castings" ...

Or even "Delicious, handcrafted chocolates, perfect to make your loved one smile on Valentine's Day."

We love when we see our clients put their images to work for them. And we love creating, simple, classic postcards to help achieve their goals. Our in-house graphic designer makes all of balance's postcard designs from scratch, based on the needs and wants of the client.

Cards are then printed in batches of 100 or 500 on 100% recycled stock with vegetable inks to keep the carbon footprint of such a paper product in-check. The backs are blank, so cards can be mailed with personal messages or used at auditions, networking events, expos or any other business situation.

Sitting there thinking about your own headshots or promo/product shots? Get them out in the world! Gorgeous, custom and eco-friendly postcards are a terrific way to announce that you are ready to go!

~ Rissa