About me pages and bios are probably my least favorite things to work on, but here we go.
I have been playing with pixels for as long as I can remember. While other kids were getting in trouble for staying out late, I was getting in trouble for staying up late on our home computer (and occupying our phone lines with dial up internet) while creating custom avatars for chat programs. I learned how to hack Mavis Beacon while bored in computer class. For my career education class I created a website. In college I spent my free time split between being awkward at parties and creating custom furniture for my Sims. To say that I’ve always had a thing for computers might be an understatement — and if you are still reading, I think just maybe we’ll get along.
In 2009, I started an education website called The Eco-Friendly Family. I have called myself a blogger but that never quite felt right. This website was primarily an avenue to share helpful information in a mostly evergreen content way. It was built to be a resource for others looking for the information I found myself seeking and learning about. I wrote about various aspects of green living like cloth diapering, reusable menstrual products, non-toxic cleaning tips, recipes, DIYs, etc. This website still exists and receives a respectable amount of traffic. I’m so happy to know that others still find the resources there helpful.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with many brands, writers, and influencers. This opened doors to new and exciting projects and helped me begin to dabble in bigger graphic design challenges. In 2011 I started my own short-lived magazine. Turns out it’s much harder to run all of the parts of even a digital magazine than one would imagine — even with help! While short-lived, this experience led me to my first high-demand paid magazine design job. It was exciting and filled with new challenges to help someone realize their dream by translating their ideas into design. It was an experience that helped me grow my skills and step into new areas and styles of design. From this, I would have a new opportunity with a small, upcoming magazine called Green Child Magazine. Green Child would be my home for the next six years.
More opportunities have presented themselves since then, each offering a chance for growth and a fresh perspective. I’ve designed textiles and helped create entire media campaigns (from concept to marketing graphics). I’ve designed product packaging, trade show displays, catalogs, products, printed marketing materials, and even a program for a bar mitzvah. I can’t tell you how wild and amazing it is to see something you’ve created on another human being or sitting on a big box store shelf.
In addition to exploring my creative side for others, I am a founder (2015) and the owner of Put A Cup In It, a website where I educate and advocate for safer menstrual products and more comprehensive and inclusive education for all things periods. This work is where my heart lies and allows me to wear many hats so that things are never dull! I enjoy working with other creators to bring unique voices and experiences to the platform, collaborating with brands, creating educational resources, photography, and connecting directly with members of our phenomenally supportive community.
A large part of my passion lies in creating complex, self-sustaining systems that help me, and those I work with, work smarter instead of harder. I love finding ways to make the most out of resources, search engine optimization, common-sense design (what’s good for your audience is good for you!), marketing opportunities, and a whole lot more. When you have good systems in place you can focus your attention on growth elsewhere and be afforded the opportunity to exhale when you need to. It is the best feeling.
All in all, I truly love what I do. Of course there are times it’s more trying than others and I get my own version of creative block, but it’s a privilege to do this work and get to enjoy it as much as I do. The Adobe Creative Suite, Excel, and the back end of WordPress are essentially my second homes. If you’ve made it all of the way down here, thank you! I hope we’ll get to work together soon.