New Beginings

So we've finally decided that a move will do us good...we've spent almost 8 years here in Vegas and now it's time to continue the adventure...so in Spring 2007 we're planning a move over to Philly. We'll maintain a residence in Vegas while we get on our feet....

We've started apartment hunting already to see where we want to move to...we're thinking the Museum or Arts districts will be a good start for us. There we can be around other artists and creative types...these personalities will sync well with ours. Vegas has been a great place for us to begin and grow our business and for that we are thankful. We have grown weary of the intensely hot summers, all 8 of them have been brutal...and the inverted idea of staying indoors during summer versus going out and taking advantage of the weather totally contradicts everything I knew as a child growing up in Vancouver. I spent 33 years of my life looking towards the longer days of summer, no school work, lazy days in the park, walking down by the river behind my house, barbeques with my family, and spending warm nights at the beach. The past 8 years have seen a drastic change in how I approach the summer months...air conditioning, seeking shaded parking, underground parking, windshield shades, more air conditioning...there is no walking barefoot for fear of your feet melting and forget about heading outdoors without a 25 UV sunblock slathered all over any exposed skin.

The heat aside, Vegas has been good to us and made our dream of being able to afford a home a reality - it was a great market for us to learn and improve our photography skills. Half of the time people were just happy we showed up...the idea of a Vegas photographer covering their event had the majority of people half-expecting Elvis to appear with a camera...

Lately though attitudes have started to change...the past few years have seen the introduction of, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", into our vocabulary and subsequently into our collective thoughts - visitors and residents alike. The idea of no rules and no consequences, "Vegas will be your little secret" has had a profound effect on people both visiting and living here and how they conduct themselves in business and everyday life. Visitors have the attitude that Vegas is a den of sin and the residents, simply sinners who choose to live in this sesspool of iniquity. The attitudes start to rub off...sooner or later being bad becomes the norm...it's tough to take day in and day out. I can take the perceptual inaccuracy of general visitors still thinking Las Vegas residents live on the strip, but the idea that we all believe in what happens here stays here is too much for me to accept.

I appaud R&R Partners for coming up with truly a fantastic ad campaign...however, I feel the LVCVA (our local visitors and convention association) dropped the ball and has allowed irreparable damage be done to the reputation of it's current and future residents by allowing and perpetuating this false reality. What happens here does not stay here unless you can erase your memory - people take Vegas with them. Unfortunately that harmless little night out with the boys/girls ends up in the back of your mind for a very long time and when asked what you think about Vegas the age old "great place to visit but I'd never live there" has long term effects on peoples attitudes about working with Las Vegans.

I would like to get that sense of community again...the four seasons, the ability to walk to your local, being able to take a train to another world and only 6 1/2 hours to Dublin and when people ask where I live I dont have to answer a barrage of "How can you live there?" questions.

I'll miss the openness, the relatively unobstructed skyline and the newness to this vast desertscape. I'll take with me some very fond memories of different events we've covered, the travel adventure we began, the trials and tribulations of starting a new business with a spouse and much too much to immediately recall. And Friends...we've met some good ones and will stay in touch with them as we continue to move forward. We'll maintain our ties with the Las Vegas Blackjack Rugby club as their web designers and photographers and hope to expand our coverage in that forum back east.

Thats it for now and we'll keep you up to date with our news.

All the best,

VP