Galison is a gift and stationery publisher, that partners with both legendary and contemporary fine artists and aims to bring art into everyday life. As the art director, my tasks ran the gamut from product, package and graphic design to artist commissions, brand partnerships & licensing, copywriting, production specs, sample approvals, photo shoots, photo styling, catalog design, trade show set-ups and more. I also helped manage a team of designers and freelancers and collaborated closely with the Mudpuppy, production and marketing teams.

Full catalogs live here.

Creative Direction: Susanna Ko

PROUD MOMENTS:

Helping to grow the puzzle business and then watching our amazing assortment of puzzles sellout and bring joy to families all over the world during quarantine! #galisonpuzzles

It sometimes felt like nothing short of a magic trick to complete a season: art directing various artists and managing licensing partnerships via internet waves– maintaining quality and consistency across tons of different materials by reviewing and approving product samples from multiple vendors overseas– taking sales and marketing feedback and cost margins into account–all the while producing the catalog for the previous season.

The magic at play was teamwork, kindness and dedication!

NOTABLE PARTNERS:

The Andy Warhol Foundation, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, MoMA, Cooper Hewitt Museum, The V&A, Cheree Berry Paper, Phatdog Vintage, Natalie Stopka, Lorena Siminovich, Elizabeth Grubaugh, Ladyfingers Letterpress, Ben Giles, Troy Litten, Julie Reams, Oxford Pennant and so many MORE!!

I had the opportunity to assist in managing a team of designers (and awesome interns) as the Senior Pets Designer at Martha Stewart for two years.

We produced a wide range of products for the brand’s exclusive line at Petsmart. Through the creation of style guides, graphic design, and product specs, we brought seasonal collections to life from the inspiration phase, through to product sampling and onto Petsmart shelves across the nation.

Working on this specific category made me realize that the design processes I have developed throughout my career, can be applied across many product platforms.

We designed clothes...and toys!

For dogs! And cats!

As the lead designer and second official hire at Bloom– a white label, online stationery start-up– I take pride in helping to define the culture, building a library of art assets and creating a design process and workflow from scratch. I assisted in managing and art directing a team of freelancers to create fully customizable, seasonal stationery and invitations. I also worked closely with the production team to develop best practices and test product and user experience prior to publishing the online suites.

Creative Direction: Susanna Ko

Photo Styling: Craig Bailey

PROUD MOMENTS:

We were tasked with giving the consumer a range of options so they felt the benefits of customization without giving them the opportunity to make any bad combinations.

Instituting “Cookie o’clock” for a team morale boost in the afternoon!

Notable Partners: Walgreens + Costco

As a graphic designer on the product design team at Martha Stewart, I helped produce a wide range of crafts products for the brand’s exclusive line at Michael's stores. Through the creation of style guides, graphic design, and specs, we designed seasonal collections that included: scrapbooking papers and tools, stickers, party kits/accessories, and more!

PROUD MOMENTS:
I once glittered 3 dozen eggs for Martha to use in a demo on a late night show and told everyone I knew to stay up to see my handiwork. The segment got cut short in the end, but my eggs were almost famous!

NOTABLE PARTNERS:
Michael’s Crafts, Kodak Digital, Shutterfly,
Martha Stewart Living & Weddings

A mailer for the National Council of Jewish Women about advancing reproductive justice.

Concept + Crafting + Design

A silly notion come to life (on a shoestring budget), Bananaphone NYC is an interactive street art project intended to incite smiles and inspire kids-at-heart.  Upon ordering 100 foam bananas and a bunch of curly shoelaces, we installed them throughout NYC, Brooklyn and beyond!

Each bananaphone has an Instagram prompt for sharing. So far, we’ve landed bananaphones in the NYC Google offices, in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, in phone booths in Paris, and even one as far as Iceland! 

As Andy Warhol famously stated, “You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.”

:: Created with partner-in-art, Ian Duerr ::

As a graphic designer on the seasonal gift packaging team, I helped design and spec brand relevant packaging solutions for special promotions, point-of-purchase, gift sets, etc. from concept through to production.

An imaginary mini world invented by yours truly!

I'd heard of the magical and mysterious Superhero Supply Store in Brooklyn, but never really understood what exactly went on there. A friend worked at The Museum of Unnatural History chapter in DC and invited me to tag along to a volunteer potluck where I had a blast and pieced the whole operation together. Soon after, I was looking for a creative outlet, a selfless hobby and a way to test whether or not I possessed the patience for hanging with kids. It was not without fear that I attended volunteer orientation behind the secret bookcase and fell in love with the program. I informed my boss that fate called and I needed to use my vacation time to start tutoring weekly!

"In her two and a half years with 826NYC, Valerie has volunteered more than 100 hours of her time across a wide variety of programs. From weekly tutoring in Park Slope, to leading workshops, to designing student publications, Valerie has impacted the lives of countless students and made a huge difference in the work we do here at 826NYC. Most recently, Valerie has worked alongside 826 staff and students to design a poster detailing our commitment to openness and inclusion which will soon hang in all of our permanent sites, and has successfully guided eight-year-old Noah towards completing many hours of writing and math-based games – no small feat! We are as lucky as ever to have Valerie, so thank you and congratulations on becoming our first two-time Volunteer of the Month winner!"

-- Liz Levine, Volunteer & Programs Coordinator

No budget, apartment productions!

Tales of friendship, adventure and treats!

Illustrations by Christina Frayne

I seek magic in the mundane and everyday hustle-bustle and am always on the lookout for lost playing cards. I have found and collected about a hundred to date!