You graduated from BHS in 2004, then headed off to University of Cincinnati. Why UC? What was your major? Where did you do your co-ops?
I ended up at UC because 1) They had a very strong graphic design program that emphasized theory over tools. 2) Their cooperative education program. 3) It's a liberal arts school-I knew I liked art and design, but I have other interests too! 4) My brother David had moved there a couple years prior which helped alleviate some of the intimidation of moving away from home-it's always nice to know there is family nearby.
I co-opped in Pittsburgh, PA, Baltimore, MD and finished up in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are amazing cities that I miss. Baltimore I really liked, but mostly for its location-so close to DC, NYC, Philly, the coast, and the amazingly beautiful rural landscape of West Virginia.
How did you end up living in New York City? When you were in high school, did you ever consider that you might move there?
I never thought I would end up in NYC-couldn't even picture myself living here. But, I didn't know where I wanted to move after graduating college. I knew that I wanted to go somewhere new. I knew I wanted to experience life in a new place. Maybe I was bitten by an "explorer" bug when I got to travel for co-op. My boyfriend Wes just so happened to know he wanted to live in New York for a bit, so I thought, why not? I'd gained confidence and interest in city-livin' and wanted to see more places. I knew if I didn't like it or if things didn't go well I could always try out another new place, or return to Cincinnati... or hey, even Bluffton.
Where are you working? Tell me about your job. What do you most enjoy about it? Dislike?
I'm working with the LAB at Rockwell Group-an interactive design team at an interior/architecture firm. As a graphic designer there I'm a shared resource which means I help out wherever I'm needed. Mostly I'm working on presentations for existing and potential projects, and sometimes I'm working on the actual projects, designing anything from digital interfaces, to icon systems, to carpet patterns.
I really enjoy getting to see what the LAB boys (and girl!) are up to-they are always doing amazing, cutting edge work and I am thankful whenever I get to be a part of it. I don't like the rushed deadlines that are often associated with my job; there is always something that needs attention right away.
In what part of the city do you live? How do you travel around the city...to work...etc.? Do you have a car? Bike?
I live on the south edge of a Brooklyn neighborhood called Williamsburg, and straddle the border of a Dominican neighborhood and a Hasidic neighborhood (and the above ground JMZ train). I do not have a car. I usually walk to the L train to get to work at Union Square and other parts of Manhattan, but sometimes I take the JMZ. I've been biking around a lot more now that the weather is nice. We often bike for errands around Brooklyn, or to meet up with friends in Crown Heights. And sometimes we do larger trips-last weekend we biked about a 30 mile round trip down to Ft. Tilden beach for the day. Biking around here is fun, but can be really scary sometimes, with the heavy traffic, so I'm still a bit timid about it and still prefer to not bike alone. Luckily Wes loves biking so it usually works.
Do you think you'll end up there for a long time?
Wes and I have been here for just over two years now and there are a million things I love about being here, and a million things I don't. It's expensive. There are so many people it can feel overcrowded, claustrophobic and dirty. Everything and everyone is always moving moving moving and it's easy to get caught up in it without having a sense of what you're moving towards. And sometimes I feel trapped since I don't have a car and venturing out of the city requires extra time and planning (and I'm not the best with either of those!).
But on the other hand, it's also exhilarating, inspiring, and empowering to live in such a powerful cultural mecca. This is a place where lots of big things are happening and big ideas are being tossed around. I feel connected to so many people. There is such a great sense of history and storytelling here too, which I can easily get lost in.
So it goes both ways-sometimes I feel really big, and sometimes I feel really small. We will spend at least another year here, and a lot just depends on how this next year goes.
How often do your parents visit?
My parents have visited once together, and my Dad one other time for a trip associated with Bluffton University. They are currently picking a date for their next visit this summer. I'm extra excited for this trip because I felt unnecessary pressure to show them lots of cool stuff and fill every minute the last time they visited-I felt like everything had to be perfect. But that's just exhausting, expensive, and honestly, my favorite times in New York are still just hanging out, having a good time with people I care about. So for this upcoming visit my keywords are casual, relaxing, fun, and togetherness. I just want to spend some quality time with my family.
What is your favorite site to visit in NYC? What would you like to visit that you haven't yet been to?
This is a great question. The most breathtaking sight for me was of Brooklyn, Staten Island, Jersey City, and Manhattan from the Marine Parkway Bridge on our bike to Ft. Tilden Beach. The view was so vast we just had to stop and enjoy it for a bit. It's one of those views that makes you wonder what it all looked like before people settled here.
There are lots of places I haven't yet visited in the city that I'd like to go to, but number one might have to be Coney Island. Wes and some of my friends have biked down there a few times, but I have yet to do so. That might be one of my goals this summer.
What's your favorite kind of music? Favorite musical group? What was the last concert you attended?
Difficult question! My music tastes are always shifting, expanding, and recycling. Some of my tried and true favorites that are always present are Modest Mouse, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, and Burt Bacharach. Recently I can't get enough of The Very Best, Childish Gambino, or Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure my last concert was when Lucia Unrau and some her students had a piano recital at Steinway Hall. It was a nice recital and it was great seeing all these Bluffton faces in NYC.
Every day I get to enjoy mini-concerts from street and subway performers around the city. Some of the more exciting ones were duo violins, a burlesque acrobat (both on a subway car) and someone dressed as a banana playing a cello and a "skunk" playing a xylophone.
Okay, back to growing up in Bluffton. Who was your first grade teacher? Who did you sit beside?
Mrs. Schaaf was my first grade teacher. The only person I specifically remember sitting next to is Anne Steiner(!). I remember our desks had to be moved apart because we talked too much during class-oops! Also, the two of us plus Jessica Epp were obsessed with our Lipsmackers chapstick necklaces and would always play with them during class.
Did you ever have your mom as a teacher? If so, did you get into trouble in her class?
I did! In fifth grade. Although, during that school year she was mom in the morning and at dinner, but "Mrs. E" during the school day-she was very adamant that I wasn't going to receive any special treatment. I did get in noteworthy trouble twice. Once I got my card taken down for something small like forgetting a homework assignment. (Whatever it was I thought it was completely undeserved and I'm pretty sure I was angry about it the rest of the day.) The second time I got in trouble for hitting Nick Houshower in face with the playground tetherball when he wasn't playing by the rules. I had to stay after school and write a paper about how hitting him made me feel and what I had learned. Sorry, Nick!
What was your favorite course in high school?
At the time I really enjoyed art class. But part of me also really enjoyed science courses (surprise!). I ruined the fun of chemistry because I was so worried about doing every measurement over-precisely. Physics was difficult because it was hard for me because I enjoyed learning about the patterns and math in our universe, but I didn't really like working with the math. I realize now too that I'm more deeply interested in cognitive science than the sciences we covered K-12, but I had absolutely no idea that was an area of study until much more recently.
Seems like you were making websites way back in junior high...do I remember that right? How did you learn so much about computers?
I was! First I wanted to make a website for myself so I could proclaim my list of hobbies and top five favorite links to the world. Well, when angelfire.com's basic site builder wouldn't let me customize my site exactly how I wanted (and we all know how much I like things to be done MY way) I googled html basics. And then advanced html. And then CSS. It was addicting. Very mathematical. Very experimental. I spent hours and hours and hours coding and recoding, coding and recoding. The graphic design aspect of site-building was kind of an after-thought. But then I got really into design and lost interest in learning advanced coding. Now that I'm working with the LAB I'm becoming more and more interested in programming and processing-never satisfied!
What was your 8th grade science project? Did it help to have a dad who knows something about science?
Something about causing distortion in amplifiers. Ugh. I remember being up until four in the morning the night before the fair frantically assembling my cardboard trifold poster and being scolded for procrastinating and avoiding the project. And absolutely-I am lucky to have a dad who likes explaining things.
What was your favorite food in the school cafeteria?
Fiestada pizza! SO GOOD. I miss it and really really want some right now. Now all these delicious favorites are coming back to me-texas toast, taco salad, the chocolate peanut butter squares, and good ol' toasted cheese. omnomnomnomnom.
How often do you get back to Bluffton? What does it feel like to switch from a big city to small town life?
I've actually only been traveling back for Christmas the past couple of years, but for about a week or so each time. As I alluded to earlier, I definitely get homesick for the Ohio life. When I go back to Bluffton it still feels like home and I'm surprised when I notice things that have changed in my absence (it almost feels like a decision was made without me). The best part besides reconnecting with family and friends is that I feel like I can stretch out my arms, drop my shoulders, and really relax.
I do get frustrated with the generally limited options and sameness that comes with small-town living-one bar to go to, one coffee shop, just a couple restaurants, a few staple hang out spots. Don't get me wrong, part of me is totally in love with the comfort and familial qualities of Bluffton, but in NYC you can have just about anything you could want at about any given time, so I get a little spoiled in that sense. Also, NYC really is a city that never sleeps, so I might get frustrated when the bar closes before 4:00, or when all the shops are closed at 5:00.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hm.. so many possibilities. Maybe working in my workshop in a farmhouse in Kentucky. Maybe teaching in design courses at a college in Washington. Or maybe I'll still be here, living as a designer in a Brooklyn apartment. Guess we'll see. :)
