This past month, we celebrated Shelley Skinner’s one-year anniversary with Powerhouse! We are incredibly fortunate to have this talented graphic designer on our Powerhouse team. You should see what this powerful design maven can do when she puts her talents to serving our amazing clients like Cape Henry Associates, for whom Shelley designs social media ads, desktop backgrounds, marketing slicks, and press releases. Shelley holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in design and visual communications from Belmont University and brings well over a decade of experience in visual design and communication.
Shelley describes what she loves about Powerhouse: “I love that Powerhouse is a female-owned business that works with clients who are making a positive impact in this world…but that also empowers everyone to work in a way that flexibly fits into their lifestyle, while they get to work with people they love, on projects they love.”
Earlier this year, Shelley and her partner, Sean, purchased a new home in Virginia, where they enjoy hosting 
their friends for barbecues and sports on the weekends. They have a seven-year-old Labrador mix named Liam, who loves finally having a backyard to run around in and play fetch, which is apparently his favorite thing in the entire world (other than cheese).
When Shelley’s not working, she enjoys traveling, visiting museums, learning new things, cooking delicious food, spending time with friends, and playing with her dog. She really loves her location and says that living near Washington, D.C. is great. “There is so much to explore (much of it free!), great restaurants to try, and lots of nearby outdoor activities: from kayaking/SUP on the Potomac River, to hiking in the Shenandoah, to biking along the many trails, such as south along the Mount Vernon Trail or west along the old Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) railroad trail.” Listening to Shelley’s ideas makes us think she would be a pretty awesome travel guide in addition to her already being such a gifted designer!
We asked Shelley to reveal one fun fact about herself that possibly no one else knows (even her Powerhouse compatriots). She tells us, “I do not watch scary movies under any circumstances. I almost always listen to podcasts while I cook, but when I’m cooking, I’m particularly drawn toward listening to podcasts that are a bit on the spookier side. Maybe the act of being at home and cooking makes me feel safe and comforted, making me feel less anxious about listening to something spooky.” Shelley’s favorites include LORE with Aaron Mahnke, Serial (season one) from This American Life, Dirty John from the L.A. Times, and The Clearing from Pineapple Street Media/Gimlet.
This month at Powerhouse we are focused on the topic of self-care, so we asked Shelley what self-care means for her and how she makes it happen. She says, “In my professional life, self-care means getting all of the information that I need for a project up front so that neither myself nor the client are scrambling to gather/provide extra info closer to the due date. She continues, “I also say ‘no’ to projects when I know that I won’t have the time or energy to give it what it would need. When I schedule my work hours around the ‘life’ activities that I already have planned, have been looking forward to, and need in my life, it helps me maintain a feeling of ‘balance.’”
For Shelley, balance is essential. “I’m a big fan of the word ‘balance’—I guess you could say it’s the closest thing I have to a mantra. For me, it’s very important to have a balance of work and fun, whether that means a balance of work and fun at work (i.e., working on less exciting admin tasks and having fun designing something beautiful and impactful) or a balance of work and non-work activities.”
Shelley offers this advice for other freelancers: “When you start feeling things moving out of balance, try to think of something that would start moving things back to a balanced state. Maybe that means taking a day off to do something that brings you joy or setting aside a larger chunk of hours on a weekend to get caught up on a work project.” She also says, “Make sure that you’re working on projects that you love. Maybe it’s not every project, but strive to keep getting more and more projects that are bringing joy and fulfillment into your life. There are always dry spots and tough times, and when you hit those, carve out time to do something you love, even if it’s pro-bono or a personal project that may never see the light of day.”
Shelley tells us that she loved being profiled for Powerhouse’s month focused on self-care as it’s something that is important to her both in her professional and personal life. She even discloses these self-care practices that work for her: “Face masks. Yes, I look silly, and I know dermatologists say they don’t accomplish much, but they make me feel SO relaxed. There’s not much you can do while wearing a sheet mask, other than lay back and relax for a few minutes. Try talking or running around the house to do something and that mask is going to slide right off!” She reveals that she loves “drinking a nice Pinot Noir and chowing down on some cheese—I love the ‘Unexpected Cheddar’ from Trader Joe’s—or listening to an audiobook (Circe by Madeline Miller was a recent favorite) while I run around the house dusting and vacuuming (yes, those are self-care activities…because I actually enjoy cleaning and LOVE having a clean house!). I started following Melissa Maker’s blog and YouTube channel Clean My Space years ago, and she does a phenomenal job about getting you excited to clean, in part because you learn the right way and most efficient way to clean!”
Now you know why it’s so easy for us to love Shelley and you can benefit from her awesome tips and recommendations! Thank you, Shelley, for your creative and positive approach to life and work. The Powerhouse team is amazing because of individuals like you. Keep on shining and rocking the balance game—and we hope to have many more wonderful years working with you on the Powerhouse team!
