Whether an independent creative professional or the big cheese in an advertising and communications firm, when you live and work in New England, Summers are slow.

The reason for this is quite apparent. It is a beautiful time of year and thoughts go from the boardroom to the beach. Besides, these few weeks of glorious weather are the primary reason why we suffer through the long gray months of February, March and most of April.

However, for those like me, who were infused Puritan work ethic from birth, there is a particular bit of agony as projects, and new business opportunities slowly grind to a halt. When the email refuses to ping and phone barely rings you sometimes get that pit in your stomach, and one of the little voices in your head says, "Perhaps I will never work again!"

Flip the calendar ahead a couple of months, and it all goes away as worker bees return to the hive and the presses begin rolling again.

A few years ago, one of our competitors went as far as to promote a Summer Design Sale. Another well-known local Boston harborside annual report design firm allowed employees to take a significant amount of time off for windsurfing (knowing that these hours would be made up during the height of annual report season).

During our EYMER DESIGN days (nestled six floors above the majestic Boston Harbor), we sent out promotional t-shirts with a "Camp Eymer Design" graphic. In other words, "Send your grooviest projects to camp!"

The good news for those with a project in mind, this is the perfect time of year to engage. Speaking for myself, you are guaranteed to receive more than my full attention as well as some special reduced summer pricing. – Doug.