For 15 years I operated an assortment of printing presses, mid-century machines and digital engines. From these experiences I’ve developed a deep appreciation for process, detail and customer service.
Simultaneously I have grown to recognize a strong tie with the natural world. A journey that began with organic gardening and birding, but quickly expanded into all aspects of ecological curiosities, most notably native plants, insects and environmental justice.
Me with my Heidelberg Windmill T-Platen | Photo by Sarah Barron
Printing 1998 to 2013
My printing capabilities have grown and changed over the years, but having the opportunity to learn and operate different printing machines has always captured my interest. Examples from my time running Flywheel Letterpress are available for viewing on the old FWLP WordPress site.
2013 to 2017
In 2013, I left the print shop and began my journey into graphic design, marketing and messaging. During my time at Prairie Moon Nursery I grew to become their first in-house graphic generalist (layout and design, photography, video and seed packet printing).
This time allowed for a great deal of creativity, from illustration and writing, to video and even a little animation work. I especially enjoyed gathering customer bios and writing stories for our catalog in addition to messaging and product copy.
A long process of searching for high quality and affordable printing methods melded my background in commercial printing with the needs of a native plant nursery offering 750+ species in seed packets. We began printing species specific seed packets in-house for the first time in 2016.
(R-TOP) While working under Becky Klukas-Brewer I was asked to develop an illustration that encapsulated the circle of life. Soon after I was asked to bring the simple illustration to life via simple animation. I quickly learned the needed skills to bring this graphic to life. The results supported a Circle of Life video we produced a year later. | (R-LOWER) I designed a variety of brochures and sales materials to support our team at conferences and events.
Prairie Moon Nursery operates as a mail/website business. As a result, the annual catalogs became a large portion of my work for a few months every year. By 2018, catalog runs were exceeding 300,000, including press checks.
Here are two examples, (L) the 2015 Fall catalog and (R) the 2018 Cultural Guide.
2017 to 2020
After four and a half years at Prairie Moon Nursery, I sought to expand my experience in graphic design and product photography, which led me to Organic Valley. There, I worked with our internal design team and external agencies to create, adapt and implement a broad range of concepts and assets. Projects included sell sheets, coupons, ads, IRCs and in-store displays, as well as co-op communications, event displays and large format truck sides.
(L) During my time at Organic Valley I frequently assisted the produce pool as much as I was able, often via product photography and short-turn sell sheets. | (R) Opportunities to produce illustrations were especially enjoyable.
I was also assigned to much of the co-op event photography, covering large meetings, farm visits and co-op guests such as U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
Photo assignments included co-op initiatives, such as the new on-site solar project in Cashton, WI. | All OV projects posted are completely my own. As a production designer, my projects were usually collaborative, so most branded work has been omitted.
In late-2019, I decided that I would like to pursue a few personal projects.
I left Organic Valley to work part-time for Maple Valley Cooperative, an organic maple syrup cooperative. The additional time afforded me an opportunity to finish my first deck of native plant flash cards.
2020
NATIVE PLANT FLASH CARDS
Flash cards to help you memorize native plants of the Upper Midwest
I created a growing series of flash cards, which include a sampling of plant species native to the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.
Each card shows one or more of my plant photographs on the front, which also includes my summary of general growing conditions. The plants family, genus and species are revealed on the back, in addition to well known common names.
In early-2020, I began working at Maple Valley Cooperative.
I am responsible for graphic design (including packaging), print ordering, email marketing, photography and video.
During my tenure at Maple Valley I have produced a wide range of solutions to support marketing, sales, production and general co-op affairs.
(L) I regularly produce materials for our sales team, including sell and info sheets, posters, shelf talkers and coupons. | (R) Monthly trade publication ads are another component of my work.
I enjoy finding ways to incorporate my hand drawn illustrations into graphic elements. This example was created for a sample tent awning.
As with any organization, digital asset management is a growing necessity. For the past three years, I have established and managed Maple Valley’s DAM platform, which includes portals for our sales team, customers and outside contractors.
In this role, I design assets for print, packaging and website applications. I also capture photography and video assets, covering product, lifestyle and farmer content as needed.
February in the Maple Woods | Maple Valley Cooperative farmer Eric Meyer walks us through some of the tasks that sugar maple farmers must complete in a relatively short period of time in February.
A small sampling of my video clips, which are being used in a looping video header for Maple Valley Cooperative.
Over the past few years I have been producing packets containing locally collected seed by my wife and I. All seed packets feature one of my hand drawn illustrations.
In addition to seed collection, we also grow and sell 75+ species of organically produced native plants.
I have a variety of personal interests and projects, ranging from the creation, production and distribution of my native plant flash cards, to native seed collection, packaging and sales.
In addition to these ventures, I also enjoy capturing nature photography and video. Finally, my small letterpress shop (housed in an old goat barn), affords me the occasional instance to revisit my skills in printing.
A sleepy yellow bumblebee (Bombus fervidus) hangs out on my finger during a cool Wisconsin morning.
Monarch butterfly caterpillars love devouring our Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata).
A Nashville Warbler waits on Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
