Until Christmas 2007 I had been working for a few years at a design shop run by friends. We were winding up one big design project that had taken most of our efforts for months, and we'd been all but promised another big project to begin after the holidays. It didn't materialize, and I was laid off.
I'm shopping my portfolio around and talking to all kinds of folks, but the current economy seems to be making people skittish about the financial commitment involved in hiring someone on a regular basis. So it looks like back to freelancing for me. I'll do any kind of design and layout work over the web, but ideally I want steady part-time work here in Montreal so I can get on with other projects.
The problem is that so do a lot of other people.