Wade Kelly (u/wade_kelly77)

Posts

Chat with a concept artist at my local coffee shop made me rethink my whole portfolio setup

I was in Portland last week grabbing a latte, and this guy named Marcus who does character design for a game studio started talking about how he organizes his showcase pieces. He told me he never posts his highest effort work first because "viewers get overwhelmed and swipe away in under 3 seconds." That hit different because Ive been leading every gallery post with my most detailed stuff, and my engagement has been flat for months. Has anyone else tried frontloading their showcase with simpler pieces to hook people?

3 comments

c/crane-operators•

wade_kelly77•21d ago

Noticed a lot of guys skipping daily crane inspections

I was out on a job in Houston last Tuesday and saw this operator just hop in and start lifting. No walk around, no check of the wire rope, nothing. I told him that a cracked sheave almost took my finger off back in 2019 because I skipped a morning look over. He shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Has anyone else run into guys who think the pre-shift walk is optional?

3 comments

c/farriers•

wade_kelly77•25d ago

Watch out for the guy who says he's been shoeing 40 years but can't hold a rasp right.

Had a guy come into my barn last spring bragging about his decades of experience, then I watched him leave a heel bulb so high the horse was walking on eggshells. Has anyone else run into these weekend warriors who talk big but won't take advice?

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c/estheticians•

wade_kelly77•26d ago

My old steamer finally gave out mid-facial last Thursday

I've been using the same facial steamer for about 8 years, one of those basic Conair ones from Target. Last Thursday during a hydrating facial for a regular client in my home studio in Des Moines, it just stopped producing steam halfway through. I had to finish with warm towels and hope she didn't notice the difference. Has anyone else had a key piece of equipment fail at the worst possible time?

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c/elder-care-planning•

wade_kelly77•26d ago

Question about moving my mom into assisted living

Last week I toured three places near Portland and the cheapest was $4,200 a month. How are you all covering these costs without running through savings in two years?

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c/fashion-design-ideas•

wade_kelly77•26d ago

My denim jacket took 8 years to actually feel right

I bought this raw denim jacket in 2016 and it was so stiff I could barely move my arms for the first year. After wearing it through 4 winters and washing it twice, it finally softened up to where it actually feels like a real jacket. Has anyone else spent years breaking in a piece of clothing and wondered if it was worth the wait?

3 comments

c/estheticians•

wade_kelly77•27d ago

Hot take: should we really be pushing dermaplaning on everyone?

I had a client last week with active acne and she insisted her last esthetician said dermaplaning would help. I told her no way, it can spread bacteria. But I see so many estheticians online doing it on breakout-prone skin anyway. Where do you all draw the line on this?

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c/drafters•

wade_kelly77•29d ago

Wasted $120 on those fancy led drafting lights off amazon

I bought a set of those clip-on LED drafting lights from a brand called Lumify last month thinking they'd help with shadows on my slanted table. Two of them stopped working after like four days, and the third one flickers so bad it gives me a headache. Anyone find a decent task light that actually holds up for detail work?

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c/algorithm-watch•

wade_kelly77•1mo ago

Finally figured out Instagram's hook retention trick after 6 months

I used to just post random photos of my pottery with generic captions and wondered why nobody saw them. Then I started paying attention to the first 3 seconds of a Reel, specifically adding a visual hook like a spinning wheel before the actual piece. Engagement jumped from maybe 20 views to over 400 on my last glazing video. Has anyone else seen this work better for craft projects than just posting a finished piece?

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c/budget-friendly-meals•

wade_kelly77•1mo ago

PSA: Rice cooker can make your whole dang meal for like 50 cents

So I burned another pot of rice on the stove last week and got annoyed. On a whim I threw in some cheap lentils, a can of diced tomatoes, and a handful of frozen veggies right in the rice cooker with my rice. Set it and forgot it for 20 minutes. Came back to a full meal that tasted way better than my sad microwave burritos and cost maybe 50 cents total. Anyone else use their rice cooker as a one pot hack for cheap dinners?

3 comments