The Hammock Blog

Especially at Halloween. Hammock’s annual Halloween costume party is the perfect excuse to take a break and gather in the hallway for some fun. This morning, several gung-ho folks arrived in their Halloween attire, and the rest of us enjoyed coffee and fruit while snapping pictures in the hallway.

Pictured here from left to right is John as a ninja, Rex as Titans' coach Jeff Fisher, Barbara M. as Sarah Palin, Barbara L. as a cow, Jamie as a Nancy Drew zombie and Kerri D. as the font Mrs. Eaves. Although there were no official winners today, most of us agree that Barbara M.’s Sarah Palin getup—and the rap she wrote about the Republican Vice President nominee—deserves a bushel full of treats.

Now it’s back to work for us. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Hammock Inc. recently received word from the Custom Publishing Council that work we have done for the National Federation of Independent Business and for the Daughters of the American Revolution made the finals in the CPC's 2008 Pearl Awards. The winners will be announced Nov. 13 at a ceremony at the legendary Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

The CPC didn't specify which entries were in the running. However, our entries in the contest included work on a special NFIB Web site and a department in NFIB's member magazine MyBusiness, and editorial and design creative for the DAR member magazine American Spirit.

In addition to the cover story of the issue celebrating quilt art and spotlighting the 20 DAR quilts on display at the festival, Hammock also designed several ads for The Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution (TSDAR) to run in the festival's program.

“I’m excited because the DAR quilt exhibit promotes the preservation of a part of our American heritage that is very connected to our families and is connected generationally,” says Jill Brooks, exhibit co-chair for the TSDAR. “Perhaps because it’s tactile, there seems to be something special about quilting and the fact that it’s passed down through generations. There’s a comfort factor involved.”

Congrats to the TSDAR for its part in a "show that even Hurricane Ike couldn't stop!" Here's to a great festival!

No matter what time of year I hear certain songs ("Gaia" by James Taylor, "Pinch Me" by Barenaked Ladies, "If You're Gone" by Matchbox Twenty), specific artists (Counting Crows, Katie Todd Band, Mat Pond PA) or even a single album (Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie), I immediately have a desire to don a hoodie and go camping, like I do most autumns.

To make sure I wasn't the only one who associated music with the season, I asked my fellow Hammockites if they had any songs that made them sentimental or nostalgic for the fall, and luckily I discovered I am not alone. Here are some other fall favorites from around the office:

Hammock Inc. runs SmallBusiness.com, a wiki-based site designed to connect small business owners and their expertise with others. The site covers any topic related to running a small business, and the wiki format lets small business owners contribute their knowledge to the community, as well as learn from the expertise of others.

A long-time feature of SmallBusiness.com has taken on renewed importance recently. We've had a small business news wire on the site for some time -- we tag the day's biggest headlines for small business and pull them onto the site. It makes SmallBusiness.com a one-stop shop for small business news and information.

We also offer those headlines via Twitter and RSS. Recently, as businesses large and small have focused intently on the daily economic news, the SmallBusiness.com News Wire has given small business owners an easy way to keep up with the latest financial events that may affect their businesses.

It's hard to believe that Hammock Inc. is 17 years old this month. However, when you publish recurring magazines, it's easy to prove. We've created a Flickr set (or at the end of this post) that includes a magazine cover from each of those years, starting with one from our first year in 1991.

Hope to see you in the Windy City!

Our client, NFIB, believes strongly that the decisions voters make on Election Day at the polls will have profound effects on their lives—and that the effect is even stronger for those who own or work for a small business. That's why we dedicated more than half of the pages of the October/November 2008 issue of MyBusiness, the magazine we publish for NFIB, to the election—specifically to the information small business voters should be armed with before making those important decisions on Nov. 4.

For those still trying to make sense of the issues and where the candidates stand, we compiled the reader-friendly Voting for Small Business feature, which outlines the issues (think healthcare, taxes, energy and labor) affecting small business and both Sens. John McCain's and Barack Obama's positions on them.