“I used to collect rocks as a kid and force my family to walk through the ‘museum’ I made in the log playhouse my father built. The collection was mostly rocks, freshwater shells, and a few mole skeletons.”
Jayson Heffner of Clockwork on Go-Giving, Re-inspiration, and His Super Cool Italian Dream Car
“We all know the principle—think first about how you can help—but you have to be reminded of it in sales because you become so fixated on hitting a number.”
Andria Williams on Ursula LeGuin, Pollinator Pathways, and Four Novels Languishing in Boxes Somewhere
“I watched a group of women gather around a first-time shelter guest and rub her back, comforting her, until she calmed down.”
Fabric Artist Amy Usdin On Returning To Art After 40 Years, Lake Michigan, And Her Grandmother’s Silver Fork
“After a 40-year break, I unexpectedly found myself at Sheila Hick’s retrospective and remembered I was supposed to be an artist.”
Wrapture Founder Chris Larson On Creating Outside Of Graphic Design, Fin de Siècle Inspirations, 1948 Films, And Showing Up For Yourself
“Creating work that is meant to be ripped to shreds is a really good way to push through a lifelong perfectionist streak.”
Joe Isaak, Designer And Paper Expert, On Working With Kit Hinrichs, Mechanical Pencils, And Sandhill Cranes
“One of my new colleagues handed me a bankers box filled with various FedEx envelopes. I had inherited the SAPPI IDEAS THAT MATTER program. For almost ten years we provided nearly $10 million to help produce this work.”
Associate Creative Director and Designer Alex Pierce On Dieter Rams, Side Projects, And His Hurricane-Survivor Dog, Butters.
“A good majority of the work I’ve done that still sticks with me was done outside of my regular job. And it made me a better designer and creative for it. I was able to pour what I learned back into my agency work. “
June Berkowitz, Owner Of Nina’s Coffee Shops, On The Importance Of Third Places, Listening, And Spirit Animals
“If you’re in the coffee business, you better be a day maker. You may well be the first person someone sees that day.”
Novelist Brian Malloy On The Greatness Of Flannery O’Connor, The Fight To Save The Boundary Waters, And The Heartbreaking Thing He Wished He Knew At 22
Picture the last year of Trump’s presidency and all four years of Biden’s first term without either president once mentioning COVID19. Imagine the first proposed legislation for COVID research dying in a congressional committee . . .
Memoirist Sari Fordham On Marshmallows As A Writing Tool, Spending Your Twenties Abroad, Chihuahua Mixes , And Changing the World Through Zoom
“In my twenties, I spent more time overseas than I did in the United States. I lived and worked in Thailand, Uganda, South Korea and Austria. It was the smartest thing I did.”
Painter and Illustrator Carly Ellefsen On Her Favorite Information Designer, Honor and Death, The Cost Of Minimalism, And Her Pandemic Dog, Bumi.
“Minimalism has no room for vulnerability, varied life experiences, and the weird.”
Duz Creative Founder Eric Weber On Strategy, VR, and Dogs With The Right Amount of Naughty
“I attended my first virtual reality event—the Dalia Lama and Greta Thornberg. You show up and it’s just like being in the lobby of a theatre. I had a very linear expectation of going to see the Dala Lamai speak and hadn’t processed that I was entering a public space. One guy came up to me and took a selfie. I had to go to the balcony to find a space that I felt safe in.”
Design Strategist Adam Reed On His New Gig At Edward Jones, Looking For Problems, And the Cat He's About to Own
Jack Butcher’s efforts at Visualize Value have changed the way I think about earning a living with my mind, not just my time.
Creative Industry Recruiter, Marketer, And Super-Connector Heather Olson On The Power Of Networking And Advocacy
“There’s so much positive intent to dismantle racism. Every week I attend person-to-person virtual events, within the creative community and beyond. A combination of self-education, conversation, and action propels the work forward.”
Fashion Illustrator Gina Schiappacasse On Her Influences, Her Inspiration, and Her Neurotic Dog
“I have regular fantasies about hopping across the pond and apprenticing with a British haberdasher or two, specifically the legendary Philip Treacy and the delightfully playful Piers Atkinson.”
Ceramic Artist Beth Hatlen Elliott On The Importance Of Bravery And Drawing Inspiration From Legos And Tattoos
“Everything I’ve learned working in design, illustration, glass, metal (even architecture school) informs what I do today.”
Chris Cornejo, Strategy Director at Design Center, on Fast Trucks, Timeless UX, and Everyone's Favorite Rodent
“Find people that you think have it all figured out and start asking them questions—you may be surprised at how much they are willing to fess up to just making it up as they go.”
Dawn Bentley, Executive Director Of Minnesota Fringe, On Virtual Theater, Organizational Theory, Epidemiology, And Her New Puppy
“The comments sections at the Fringe Festival are filled with audience members chatting as if they were in the theaters they miss. ‘Excuse me, those three seats are ours, but we won't make you get up again.’ ‘Thank goodness for late seating in this venue, I was having technical issues!’”
Amy Shearn, Novelist, On Launching A Book In A Pandemic
“The writing is the best part, and the writing will always be the best part.”
Aaron King, Designer, On His Influences
Aaron praises the pioneering design of Georg Olden and points us to The Visual History of Pandemics.