Chapter 50
Chapter Fifty
A fter breakfast, Frankie went straight to the office to get work done. Harper was once again in an odd mood. She had those same moony eyes that she’d had last night. Whatever was going on, Frankie didn’t have time to cajole Harper into talking. She had work to do.
And then she was going to see Lucas to surprise him with the portrait of Scout. She hadn’t said anything about going by but hopefully he’d be home and available. Maybe she’d send him a vague text, just to see.
Busy day?
She put her phone on the desk and returned to polishing the latest illustration. All she really wanted to do was finish the portrait of Scout, but she was trying to be disciplined. Working for herself meant she had to be.
More than that, like she’d told Harper, turning these illustrations in would result in her getting paid and, right now, money was important. Okay, maybe not as important since Buck had given her that incredible check, but that money was all going toward her attorney’s fees.
The portrait, while fun, was just her way of thanking Lucas for all he’d done for her, which was a big deal to her, although it wouldn’t bring in any money.
Lucas answered. Not super busy. Right now, I’m shopping for the ingredients Joyce and Beryl need. Pretty hyped up for that, I have to say.
Me, too! That’s going to be so much fun.
Are you working today?
I am. Tons to do. She smiled . Maybe I’ll see you later?
I’d love that.
So would I. Talk soon! She set her phone aside and checked email one more time. There were two new messages. One from Buck, which she read and found was an answer to her thank-you note. In his sweet reply, he told her he’d happily do it again if he could and how he wished he’d been able to do more.
He really was a wonderful man.
The second one was from Stacy, Lucas’s friend who’d been interested in a logo. Frankie had begun to think that was a dead end. She hadn’t heard from Stacy since responding to her.
Hi Frankie,
Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. My BFF surprised me with a hiking trip and I had no signal for two whole days. Not sure how I survived. LOL Anyway, I’m back now and catching up. Do you think we could do a phone call? I’d love to talk to you about my ideas and get started on this new and exciting project.
All the best,
Stacy
Frankie didn’t want to miss out on a potential client. She sent a response.
Hi Stacy,
I hope you had fun on your trip. We can definitely set up a phone call. Are you free now? If not, let me know when you’d like to talk. I’m working all day, so if I don’t answer immediately, that’s why.
Sincerely,
Frankie
Frankie added her phone number, then hit Send.
Another job would be great. She still had emails and sales coming in, all because of Lucas mentioning her on his live stream, but she needed to keep those emails and sales happening. She had several people thinking about pet portraits, someone who wanted a custom thank-you card made for their shop, and a few other odds and ends.
She stared at her inbox. She should probably follow up with those people. See if she could turn some of those thinkers into actual customers.
With a sigh, she started doing just that, crafting quick emails to see how they were doing, if they’d made a decision, and to let them know she was booking up.
Not completely true, but she was hoping to urge them into action.
As she sent the last one, her phone rang. “Hello?”
“Frankie? It’s Stacy! Hi, how are you?”
Frankie smiled. “I’m great. How are you?”
“I’m fantastic and looking forward to a new logo design. How soon do you think you could start?”
In all honesty, she could probably start today if she worked really hard, but that sounded a little desperate. “I think I could schedule you for tomorrow or the day after. It would take me a day or two to create the mockups, then you’d have to review them. Once you know what you like, we can go from there.”
“That sounds awesome. What about for the T-shirt designs?”
“Which do you want to do first? The logo or the designs?”
“I def need the logo first, as the company that’s creating my skincare line will need it soon. It’ll be used in a lot of places, like on the containers, but also on the packaging. And I can always put it on a T-shirt, too.”
“All right, then here’s what I’ll do. Once I send you the logos to review, I can start working on T-shirt designs. How many do you want?”
“At least three. But it could be more. Really depends what you come up with, I suppose.”
Frankie jotted a quick note down. Do five T-shirt design mockups. “And what kind of feel do you want for the T-shirt designs?”
“Pretty. Girly but not Barbie girly. Feminine without being overly sweet but with a touch of boho. I want them to be sophisticated in kind of an artsy way. Does that make any sense?” Stacy laughed. “I’d draw them for you, but my art skills are terrible.”
“That’s all right,” Frankie said as she hastily scrawled notes. “Do you have any examples of art that feels right? Anything like that you could send me would be great. Do you want words on the T-shirts? Slogans or anything?”
“Yes to both of those. Do you know the artist who does those art deco women with flowers? They’re all very soft and pastelly. Oh, what’s his name…”
Frankie had a feeling she knew. “Alphonse Mucha?”
There was a moment of silence, then, “Yes, that is totally him! I just Googled him. That’s exactly what I want but with slightly more vibrant colors. His stuff is great, but some of it feels a little washed out. Also, I wouldn’t hate a little touch of gold. Gotta keep it lux.”
Frankie wrote that down. “And the words or slogans?”
“One of my big sayings is, ‘Goddess on a Budget,’ but I don’t know if I really want that on a T-shirt.”
Frankie thought a moment. “What’s the name of your skincare line?”
Stacy sighed. “I don’t have one yet. I’ve really been trying to come up with something. I thought maybe that hiking trip and being out in nature would inspire me, but I’m still undecided.”
Frankie took a shot, digging into her extensive knowledge of art and history. “Antheia was one of the Greek Graces. She was basically a nature goddess and connected with flowers and gardens, as well as love. And she was one of the many goddesses painted by Alphonse Mucha.”
Stacy inhaled. “Oh, I really like that. Antheia, huh? That might be it. That might be the name I’m looking for. Wow, Frankie! Nicely done.”
Frankie laughed. “Happy to help. You’ve given me a lot to go on. I’m moving you to the top of my list and I’ll get started on your logo just as soon as I finish the book illustrations I’m working on.”
“You do book illustrations? Like covers?”
“Yes, but these are for a children’s book, so they’ll be the actual pages of the book.”
“That is super cool. So you do covers, too?”
“I can, yes.”
“I’m going to tell my friend Allen about you. He writes science fiction and he’s having a really hard time finding stock photos. I mean, he needs a spaceship, so you can’t exactly expect to find that in a photo, can you?”
“No.” Frankie chuckled. “I wouldn’t think so.”
“Is that something you could do? Create custom art for his cover?”
“Sure. It might be a bit on the expensive side. All depends what he wants, of course.”
“He’s got money.” Stacy laughed. “Or at least his father does. I’ll send him your info.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Then came the part that Frankie wasn’t as fond of. “I’ll need a deposit to get started on your logo. I’ll send the invoice to your email, unless you want it sent somewhere else.”
“No, that’s perfect. I’ll get it paid as soon as it comes in. How much do you think it’ll be?”
Frankie had already pulled up the page on her website with the new information she’d just added a couple of days ago. “If we’re doing one logo and three T-shirt designs, I’m estimating that will come in around three thousand. No more than four, I’d imagine, but it’s hard to say definitively until we’re further in. But the deposit will be for fifteen hundred.” She cringed. That was a lot of money. “How does that sound?”
“Sounds great. Thanks so much, Frankie. I am so excited about this.”
Frankie exhaled. “So am I.”