New Member Profiles: Upstream Advertising and Paint Relief

Creative Energy Combo - Painting and Advertising Design

(10/7/09) The combination of advertising/graphic design and house painting may seem strange to some - but to Diana Hardina, owner of two businesses: Upstream Advertising and Graphics, a full-service advertising agency,
and Paint Relief, a full-service painting company - it's totally natural. "It reflects my sound-body / sound-mind philosophy.

While working on her Master's in Communications from Syracuse University, Hardina started painting houses as a way to pay for her courses in journalism, marketing and advertising and then to supplement her adjunct professors salary. "I guess it's my Yankee personality," she says, "to do what's necessary."

Today with her family grown, she now balances the two businesses. While she enjoys the creative challenges of marketing, she also likes to work outside, particularly in the summer. "When a house is completed, I get to drive by and take pride in my influence of landscape.  To me it's my own Christo piece of environmental art," she says. "I enjoy designing on a screen just as much. It's more immediate and satisfying and a different way. I need the balance of physical intensity and creative focus."

 "I do some of my best thinking and design work while painting," she says, taking back creative ideas and words to later craft into advertising slogans, designs and ad campaigns. She also loves the detail of old houses. Currently she is experimenting with making her own paint using natural ingredients. She has worked with colored plaster technique for new homes. Hardina has studied and taught color theory in her career. "I love offering suggestions to homeowners. I try to guide them through interior color choices. Find a favorite object, usually sentimental, and use that piece as a starting point."

Her preference as a marketing professional is to work with small businesses, and in particular, "I love to work with a new business to create an identity," she says. She wants to help women-owned businesses succeed, and is willing to donate time to such ventures. A few of her marketing/advertising projects include CD packaging and marketing for Archguitar Music, packaging for Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters and many other area artists and businesses, Web designs, radio and print copywriting and ads with a twist of language.
 
"I like to explore humor in language," she says, "to make a more memorable impression that reflects the brand image of a product or service" That philosophy is evident in the names of her businesses, and in her creative Website, http://www.dianahardina.com.  The name 'Upstream Advertising,'  she explains, "came from the symbolism of the river I live on as the 'channe'" in a communications model, playing with the idea that the flow of information starts Upstream."

The name 'Paint Relief' comes from the concept of 'sunburn relief' for houses whose 'skin' has been weathered by the elements. "As a painter, you're not just reapplying protection but exfoliating and cleaning. My strategy is to hijack the messages from skin care marketing and redirect that toward getting people to think about taking care of their homes with the same thoughtfulness as they do their skin," she says.

Diana Hardina: Upstream Advertising and Graphics, and Paint Relief
21 Main St., Shelburne Falls MA 01370
413-625-9921

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www.dianahardina.com