IN WONDERLAND
ASPERGERS
A TIMELINE OF MY LIFE AS A
CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL
POP CULTURE
of the '70s, '80s, and '90s was my constant companion while growing up in locations as
far-flung as Riyadh and Hiroshima.
I have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture history and draw on it regularly in my work.
ASPERGERS
Neurodiverse perspective
Highly focused
Insatiably curious
Precociously creative
COLD WAR HERO
ARMY BRAT
GEN X
Maker
Musician
Imprinted on Mtv
Took to eCom like a kid to candy
Pret
Inherited leadership ability
Rational
Diplomatic
Disciplined
Highly adaptable
Likes structure and efficiency
My dad's career as a highly-respected officer and logistics expert during the late Cold War era has been a profound influence on me.
A GLOBAL
EDUCATION
Moving around the world from a young age forced me out of my Aspy shell.
I can carry on an insightful conversation with almost anyone and have developed an aptitude for forging relationships quickly.
DID YOU KNOW?
Generation X spends more money online annually than any other generational cohort? (GUILTY!)
I was born into a life of international diplomacy.
FUN FACT My first paid creative gig came at 12, decorating
special-occasion cakes for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at The Pentagon.
AND WAS A CREATIVE PRODIGY
I kinda always knew how to write, draw, paint, and create things. From my earliest years, if it was creative, I could just do it.
This is the kind of thing I did for fun in my teens.
That led to a brief painting career after high school.
(I had work in the National Gallery at 15.)
MUSIC
IS IN MY BONES
After playing music in some form most of my life, I joined a band in 1994 in Norman, Oklahoma that would take me to Hollywood and put me back on the road for ten years.
ME & THE MIMSIES WITH NIKKI SIXX
I may look punk rock here, but during this period, I expanded my professional horizons by working for one of the first
digital record labels, for Capitol Records Studios, NARIP, LAMN, and went to UCLA for Music Business.
LESSON Play both sides of the game to get ahead faster.
STYLE
IS IN MY BLOOD
Tom Ford is in my family. My grandmother was a brilliant seamstress and tailor who could whip up a gown just by looking at a picture in Vogue. I have a passion for the art of sartorial design.
To give you some idea, my mom and I made this for my senior prom. We researched, designed, and crafted everything down to the corset and panniers, as well as designing the patterns for my date's ensemble. WAY pre-internet.
FUN FACT He's now a famous interior designer and was on HGTV's Design Star! Go, Tyler!
CREATIVE TOOLS MADE OF
MATH + LIGHT
As a kid in the '80s, I dreamed of drawing tools that allowed for infinite capability of expression.
I got them in 1993 in the form of the
then-brand-new Adobe suite.
Following in my mother's footsteps as a retoucher and image editor, I embarked on a career in Creative, starting in digital imaging.
Me teaching people how to make creative
selfies before selfies were a thing.
PIXEL LEGITIMACY
This led me to Restoration Hardware (RH), where I helped start, build, and train the Web Retouching Team and was formally minted as the Art Director I have always naturally been.
RH
My 10th Wacom Stylus!
POSTERS
A ROCK POSTER VIRTUOSO
During this 10-year period, I also realized another childhood dream --- to become a San Francisco poster artist.
I produced hundreds of posters, exhibited my work internationally, and joined The Rock Poster Society.
I was also in multiple bands. Let's just say I didn't sleep much.
BURLESQUETEER
CREATIVITY ON HEELS
ALSO during this period, I produced 8 years' worth of posters, costumes, production numbers, and general creative shenanigans as a Creative Director for San Francisco's premier burlesque and variety show, The Hubba Hubba Revue.
ALSO
I MEAN I REALLY DIDN'T SLEEP
ALSO during this period, I got back into musical theater, another childhood passion.
My then-husband co-wrote a rock opera about the
Salem Witch Trials, in which I starred as Abigail Williams.
ALSO
SHOW TUNES!
FUN FACT I started my last high school's (I went to 3)
chapter of International Thespians Club.
For 4 years, I had the pleasure of living in Sam Harkleroad's
Novato Round House, one of the few remaining examples of rotating Googie architecture in the United States.
Decorating this Bay Area landmark was a creative dream.
THE
ROUND HOUSE
FUN FACT YES, it still rotates! A switch on the livingroom wall powers two 1960s washing machine motors, which pull the house on a chain through 320 degrees.
ZENNI
THE OPTICS OF VISION
Living in Novato brought me to Zenni Optical, where I matriculated to Creative Director. My partnerships with our original Director of Design, Tony Vitali, our Sr Director of Creative and Content Strategy, Jill Jackman, and our remarkably talented team, have been some of the most rewarding of my career to date.
WHAT'S NEXT?
As I approach my golden decade, I am firing on all cylinders.
I'm more creatively productive, more creatively efficient,
more creatively agile, and more interested
in creative collaboration than ever.
WHERE CAN WE GO TOGETHER?