HELLO INTERNET FRIENDS!
I’m a creative director/designer/lifelong learner with 18+ years of experience in corporate, start-up, agency and freelance settings. I’ve designed TONS of stationery and gift products, jigsaw puzzles, children’s books and even bikinis for dogs!
I’m passionate about creating unique experiences, have an eye for details without losing sight of the big picture, value process and efficient workflow and believe there’s fun to be had in solving problems.
A few of my superpowers include:
breaking the ice, connecting the dots, crafting haikus, riding learning curves, amassing Google docs, brainstormin’ and wearing my mom hat on top of all of the other hats!
I live (and play) in Saint Paul, MN with my jazz-musician-sidekick and our two toddler daughters! We are always on the lookout for new friends, faces in places & lost playing cards.
Roadmap Planning
Art Direction
Product Design
Packaging
Branding
Photoshoots
Print & Social
Copywriting
Experiences
Etcetera!?
I See Me!
Creative Director
Minneapolis, MN
2021–Today
Design House Greetings
Senior Art Director
Saint Paul, MN
2019–2021
Galison Gift
Art Director
New York City
2015–2019
Martha Stewart
Senior Pets Designer
New York City
2013–2015
Bloom Stationers
Lead Designer
New York City
2010–2013
Victoria’s Secret Beauty
Graphic Designer
New York City
2009–2010
Martha Stewart
Associate Crafts Designer
New York City
2007–2009
Fashion Institute of Technology
BFA Packaging Design
AAS Display & Exhibit Design
New York City
2003–2007
Featured in The New York Times
shopping section on December 11, 2008
OH HI THERE! ARE YOU STILL SCROLLING?!
Let me tell
you about
the time…
I helped build a team, defined the design workflow and created an entire library of art assets from scratch at Bloom Stationers.
As I was sitting on the floor of our new office space waiting for the internet to be installed and for the desk shipment to arrive, I thought to myself, ‘how in the world are we going to communicate these exponential design options to our developers and then to our customers?!’
It felt like we needed a roadmap that didn’t exist… Lightbulb moment! We created “design maps” that detailed each design suite’s mix and match combinations. We were personalized stationery cartographers!
Brand partners: Walgreens & Costco
I hosted a unique FUNdraiser for 826NYC through Airbnb’s Social Impact platform.
I was committed to volunteering weekly at 826NYC for four extremely rewarding years. I’ve never been as challenged and inspired by a group of imaginative kids and wonderful staff as I was in the tutoring center behind the secret bookcase.
In 2018, I hosted a series of fundraisers through Airbnb’s Social Impact Experience platform to raise money for the program.
Each event brought a random group of folks together to engage in creative writing and drawing prompts while enjoying live music. Participants went home with a bound book of their work from the evening to mirror some of the program’s workshops for kids!
I stepped in as the senior designer
on the pets product design team at
Martha Stewart.
There was a team in place already, I had never worked on this product category before, hadn’t owned a pet for years, and was totally up for the challenge!
I jumped in to help lead the team, redefine the design process and excitedly learned all there was to know about pet fashion trends which included–ahem–dog swimwear and Halloween costumes.
I found that my skills and design process were applicable to the broad range of canine/feline lifestyle products: dish-ware, clothing, accessories, bedding, furniture, toys, etc.
“May I borrow that teddy bear fur swatch?”
became just another day at the office!
I glittered 3 dozen Easter eggs in a pinch for Martha Stewart to demo on late-night television.
As an assistant to the editorial crafts team at Martha Stewart Living magazine, my days consisted of: running around NYC to shop for props and supplies, researching story ideas, helping to craft projects for how-tos, preparing for photoshoots, etc.
On one memorable day, I was calling every gourmet grocer in town to see if they had quail eggs in stock–these would later be included in my expense report. Martha was set to do a craft segment on a late-night show, it may have been Letterman, I’m not sure. What I do remember, is carefully blowing the yolks out of 3 dozen eggs–there’s a technique to this–and coating them in top-of-the-line, Easter-y, Martha Stewart glitter colors.
I told my whole family to stay up late to catch a glimpse of my glittery handiwork. In the end, the segment got cut, but my eggs were almost famous!
I wore ALL of the hats while pulling off an extensive moonlighting project in addition to rockin’ it at my day job.
A freelance client employed me to design and send out a holiday/moving/baby announcement bundle to 300 of her closest friends and family. In my spare time on weekends and evenings, I managed to:
concept, design and write copy for the pieces
hire and direct a photographer
build a set
shop for clothes and craft props
art direct the photoshoot with 2 kids in the client’s living room
edit and retouch the photos
source places to print/trim/sew custom fabric handkerchiefs + custom, screen-printed muslin bags
coordinate with a printer for the paper pieces
fold/stuff/assemble/address and ship
300+ mailers
...all in time for Christmas!
