CLIENT: Felicia Day
THE WORK: Website: Feliciaday.com

Before Felicia was a client, she was a hero of mine.  Frustrated with the roles she was offered or not offered as a young actress in hollywood, she created her own web series, The Guild, about the social lives of online gamers . It was a breakout success, and launched Felicia into the stratosphere of geek fandom.  She continues to develop tons of original content  and just wrote a memoir of her unlikely road to success. She came to us with the wish to integrate all of her social networks into one hub that she could manage internally.  We created the website from which she launches her ever expanding ambitions.    FeliciaDay.com

CLIENT: Yoga With Adriene
THE WORK: Branding & Support Graphics

No matter where in the world you are reading this, Adriene may very be your yoga teacher.   Yoga with Adriene is one of the most popular yoga channels on YouTube, with an average of 4 million monthly views and a total of 50 million views (!!)  Adriene and I met as actors years ago on the set of a film. We often talked about lack of agency to actors, especially actresses, to make their own way in the world.  We also talked a lot of the need to make the work yourself, rather than waiting for someone to give you the dream role that may never come. Watching her find success with Find What Feels Good, has been nothing short of inspiring.  I am lucky to count Adriene as my dear friend, my yogi, and my client.  Try one of her videos today.  It just may change your life.

CLIENT: Erin McKenna
THE WORK: Branding for Babycakes NYC, Cookbook illustrations

Erin was one of my very first Ladybosses. Now that she has bakeries in NYC, LA, and Disney, it’s almost hard to remember that she and I once conspired about how to make her vegan bakery happen.  We whispered over a bottle of wine at a little table at the Dumont in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She told me about her big family and love of baking. She wanted to create a place where parents could get beautiful and delicious baked goods for their children with allergies.   I designed the original logo for the lower east side bakery and subsequent cookbooks. Now Erin McKenna’s Bakery is the brand umbrella for this ladyboss that keeps her sweet empire growing, creating dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free & agave-sweetened cakes & cookies.

CLIENT: Brooke Nichol
THE WORK: Branding and website design and development

“You have to look good to feel good to do good,” says Brooke Nichol, Registered Nurse and powerhouse behind Saving Face, a boutique injectable lounge in central Austin.  In the historic cottage she offices in, her patients find her natural beauty and Mississippi drawl comforting, even as she sticks them with the needles that erase years off their faces.  Working with Brooke on her branding and website was an absolute pleasure from start to finish.  She wanted something that spoke to the completely unique approach she takes with every patient and the artistry she finds in creating natural-looking results.  A completely custom, hand-lettered logo and re-designed website was the result,  reflecting her brand: beautiful, inside and out.

CLIENT: Bridget McKenna, Briddie's Floret
THE WORK: Branding

My favorite new clients are referrals from favorite old clients.  Bridget McKenna certainly fits that description. She is the sister to one of my OG ladybosses, Erin McKenna, and I discovered while talking to her, that almost everyone in their family owns their own business, and they have an enormous family.  She opened her flower shop in San Diego after nine years of being a stay-at-home mom.  Her love of flowers was constant, and she loved doing arrangements for her friends and family’s special occasions, but when she saw an old florist location with a For Sale sign out front, something sparked in her, and Briddie’s Floret was born.  To fit the decadent, bohemian vibe, the logo was hand-painted and then digitized.  We also did a semi-scandalous custom illustration for her flower paper, featuring scantily clad Ziegfeld Follies girls.  Dream project from start to finish.

CLIENT: Nekisia Davis
THE WORK: Branding, Packaging, and original website for Early Bird Foods

Neki is the badass Ladyboss behind Early Bird Foods, the best granola in the entire world.  Originally, it had different packaging, much more traditional in look and feel.  She came to me wanting to refresh the look while retaining some of the brand elements.  The new line is bold and modern on the shelf, while still retaining some of those visual throwbacks giving it that familiar Americana feel.  Early Bird was born in Brooklyn, and is now sold in 38 states and Europe and Japan.  I am so proud to have played a small role in helping Neki grow her delicious empire. You can find it in Austin at Friends & Neighbors and at Central Market. It will ruin you for all other granola. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

CLIENT: Rebecca Layton
THE WORK: Letterpress hangtags & Identity Materials, Design support

When I am in Rebecca’s studio, surrounded by her beautiful textiles, I sink into a gauzy bubble of delight that is hard to leave.  The co-founder of Rekh&Datta, a textile company that produces “slow-made” small batch cotton clothing  and home goods block printed in India, Rebecca works harder than anyone I know.  Launching any new business is difficult, but the tremendous effort required to bring an ethically sourced, hand-printed and hand-made luxury line to market is more than most could handle.  I respect Rebecca as both an incredible artist, and as a business woman determined to realize her dream.  I will be there to help her as long as she needs me.  (And probably long after, twirling a Rekh&Datta scarf into the sunset.)

CLIENT: Beth Burns
THE WORK: Branding & Website for The Hidden Room Theatre Company, Logos and Posters for Theatrical Productions, Letterpress business cards

One of my favorite people in this life and the artistic director of the celebrated  Hidden Room, Beth Burns introduced Austin to Original Practices – that is, plays staged the way they were presented in Shakespeare’s day, with period costumes and music, and often casts composed entirely of men.  Our first big collaboration was her website, where her aesthetic arrived fully formed: mysterious, beautiful, dark, an online curiosity shop.  All I had to do was bring that vision to life, which has been my continuing pleasure.  Recently, The Hidden Room took their production of  ‘puppet Hamlet’ to the Globe Theater.  That’s right, a Texan theatre company performing Shakespeare for Brits in Shakespeare’s house.  If that’s not some Ladyboss triumph I don’t know what is. hiddenroomtheatre.com

CLIENT: Jennifer McCamish
THE WORK: Rebrand and web design refresh of Dancers Shape fitness studio

Dancer Jennifer McCamish is on her second dream job.  Her first was dancing at Radio City Music Hall as a Radio City Rockette.  Now her dream is building her fitness studio, Dancers Shape, specializing in barre, Pilates, yoga, and spin- the very same type of training that helped her body recover from a career-ending injury and keep it strong and flexible.  I was a client of hers before she was a client of mine.  I helped her relaunch her brand and website with the opening of her second studio.  Now it reflects the fun, youthful energy of her classes.  The same classes where early morning before the workday starts, you’ll usually find me at the barre.

dancersshape.com

CLIENT: Melissa Nicholson
THE WORK: Work Muse Branding

Melissa is a wonder.  She taught me about the practice of job sharing, or as she calls it, a “job share revolution.” In this brave new world of work, parents, caregivers, millennials, boomers, women and men that want better work / life balance are educated in how to achieve it through job sharing. Likewise, employers receive customized job share design with training, implementation & support to transform their workplaces into the most sought after place to work.  Melissa brought so much to the table.  My job was just trying to harness all the energy and ideas that spill out of her at every turn.  She is a dynamo.  I truly think she is going to change the world.

CLIENT: Lauren Reynolds Photography
THE WORK: Branding, Collateral

Full disclosure:  Before Lauren Reynolds was my client, I was hers.  She photographed my wedding and that’s really how I got to know her.   When she came to me to revamp her branding, she wanted to create something that was sophisticated, yet quirky, that also spoke to her Austin-based business.  Her new logo features a hand drawn mascot pair of monk parakeets, which are found wild in Austin.  We depicted them lovebird-style speaking to the couples she photographs.  The brand is high-end, yet completely friendly, warm, and unpretentious, just like Lauren herself.

CLIENT: Tere O'Connell
THE WORK: Reworked branding, business card design, letterpress

Architect Tere O’Connell worked for someone else for thirty years.  I met her as she was making the brave leap to working for herself, launching O’Connell Architecture in 2015.  Her focus is in the preservation of the historic buildings and the unique, old spaces that make Austin so beautiful.  She wanted to convey that preoccupation with beauty and detail in her business card, and letterpress was the obvious solution.  Tere is the exact sort of client that makes me inspired to do work together.  Her practice is now thriving, and she has a calling card that is as beautiful as the spaces she works so hard to preserve.

CLIENT: Christine Henry Andresen
THE WORK: Website Design chalaw.com/

“I help people make babies. And I’ll help your straight friends get divorced.” That’s how Christine describs her family law practice. Her support for LGBT families navigating the ever changing legal world of marriage and adoption laws affecting them is one of the services that really set her apart and made me want to work with her. I helped Christine create an online presence that reflected her focus and her personality that could also offer visitors tremendous resources without being overwhelming. I really loved working to infuse the site with Christine’s great personal style and an Austin sensibility.

chalaw.com

CLIENT: Sarah McIntosh
THE WORK: Branding & Website for épicerie

I love working on branding for brick-and-mortar businesses.  Being trusted with the logomarks, menus, signage and website for a new restaurant is at the top of my list as far as design assignments go.  When that restaurant is the very first such venture for an incredible chef like Sarah McIntosh, the job gets even more thrilling.  I can only imagine what it must be like to be a chef in your own restaurant.  The freedom and the responsibility and the risk inherent in being both the boss and the creative force behind its success or failure. I wanted to help Sarah fully realize her dream with branding that communicated the quality but also the unpretentious nature of her restaurant; this is French comfort food, after all!  The result is simple, inviting, and very much a success.  epicerieaustin.com

CLIENT: Janet Wallace
THE WORK: Branding for Social Deviants & Utopia Con

Janet is the mastermind behind Social Deviants, a social marketing company that teaches her clients how to build their businesses and stand out by celebrating what makes them unique.  She also founded Utopia Con, a convention for female paranormal YA books and the readers who love them, which is now in its fifth year.  Five & Four created the logos for both of these endeavors, and a big handful of others, going back to 2003.  Janet has a mind that never stops.  She’s always creating, always dreaming huge dreams.  I encourage all of my clients to talk to Janet about improving their online impact, and lives in general.  Janet has been making my life better since the day I met her.

CLIENT: Rama Tiru
THE WORK: Austin: East of I-35, a photo essay coffee table book

Rama is a force of nature.  I’ve never met anyone like her.  A talented photographer and teacher, she has a sparkle that is hard to resist. In our first meeting, she told me that she wanted me to help her create a book.  She had hours of untranscribed interviews and hundreds and hundreds of photos.  For the previous year, she had been exploring the east side of Austin, taking photos of the people that live and work there, asking them to tell her their stories of the neighborhood.  The amount of work involved was daunting.  The timeline was too.  Yet, I could not say no to her.  The resulting coffee book,  Austin: East of I-35, is a beautiful document of a neighborhood that is rapidly changing. I am forever thankful to Rama for being so very irresistible.  Our collaboration is one of best decisions I’ve ever made.