I think I saw in one of your videos that you had a printer in your Airstream. Most people I know (even creative ones) don’t have a printer in their home! What are some of the most important things you crammed into your 180 sq. ft. trailer?
What?! People don’t have printers anymore? This kinda blows my mind and makes me a little sad…not gonna lie. A printer was a must-have for me when we left in the Airstream and still is today in our house. I make physical products, and I have to see what I’m making in real life before I send it off to print. Things on your screen don’t always look the same when printed out. I’ve designed brochures that I thought looked good on screen and when printed out would require even a healthy 20-year-old to grab a pair of readers. 🙃 I always trust the printout over the screen…because that’s what it’s really gonna look like. And also, what if you just want to make a quick “Happy Birthday” banner…or your cat goes missing and you have to get “Missing Cat” posters up really quick…you need a printer! Let’s normalize having a printer in the house again, people! 😆
But back to your question…we edited pretty fiercely when it came to personal items we’d bring into the Airstream. It was work supplies that got a lot of the coveted space. My office mostly fit into my backpack, as often I was working at coffee shops or co-working spaces. Or if I was working in the Airstream, I still needed to pack everything up at the end of the day to allow us to use the space for other things like eating, sleeping or just general living. But I did have some extra things like my much-loved printer, a portable photo studio, a scanner, a phone stand for filming in birds eye view and a very skinny lightbox for tracing. We also kept a supply of greeting cards under the couch to keep our online shop going while on the road. A lot of the Airstream was dedicated to work.
When I look at stuff that you make, I think “oh yeah, she gets it.” You make things that I think are great but also my kids and my parents would love. Who and what do you get inspiration from?
Aw! That’s so nice of you! Thank you! I’m inspired quite simply…by humans. And particularly the creations of kids and humans who aren’t artists at all…or at least wouldn’t call themselves one…because there is so much freedom, indifference and irreverence in what they create.
I often feel more like a present-day archaeologist than an artist because I’m really just walking around, finding bits of humanity and smooshing it into my work. I love sitting in coffee shops and listening for tiny moments of human connection and joy. I take the words I overhear and use them in my art—so that I can try and conjure up some of that connection and joy for others. The hand-drawn letters I find on the side of the road inspire my fonts. The layouts I see on sandwich boards find their way into my products and the colors I see on old trucks become my color palette.
You’re not shy about sharing your process, specifically with time lapse videos. In this AI-era I find it more satisfying than ever to watch someone figure things out (even if it is sped up). Is this something you’ve always done?
Not really. My factory settings lean pretty hard towards perfectionism. On a deep level I want people to think I have it all together and know exactly what I’m doing. I don’t want to people to see me fail, make mistakes or suck at things. And early in my career I wouldn’t dare put out a post that wasn’t polished. And while I still battle with the beast that is perfectionism from time to time, I’ve now come to see that perfect is boring…like soooo painfully boring. The magic is in the mistakes, the smudges, the not-knowing…the humanity. And I don’t mind showing mine anymore.
You spent time in Alaska and recently settled in Montana (said airstream looked absolutely blasted with snow). In your travels, what’s one place that you had no expectations for and just blew you away?
When you start traveling full-time, it’s like you turn on a constant stream of travel recommendations from others… “Have you been here? There? Oh, you have to go here! Ugh, you can’t miss this place!” And so there were a lot of places we got told we “Had to see” and went to check out. The two that blew me away the most were Bisbee, AZ and Marfa, TX. They’re both funky, artist towns with super cool histories. They’re both pretty remote, so if people live there, they’ve done so intentionally…they want to be there…it’s not an accident. And that makes for some pretty interesting communities…in the best way possible.
I always say I feel like I could run down the streets of Marfa naked and people would just be like “Oh, she’s probably just making art,” and go back to eating their sandwiches. And, well, I dig that.
Last one, fun one: what’s a smell that immediately transports you somewhere (traveling without moving!)?
Probably the smell of piñon wood burning. We spent our first Christmas on the road in Santa Fe, NM. Canyon Road on Christmas Eve is full of cozy artist studios, carolers, farolitos and bonfires of piñon wood…and its magic. That smell always takes me back there.
Where she lives
Where I live now has mountains…so where I live now.
Profession/Passion
What’s the difference?
Hot or cold drink
Yes
Third space
The gym, coffee shops and places to gather with other like-minded humans are pretty indispensable to me.
