My mom was a photographer. My dad wrote the book on digital typography. I started out as a poet.
My poems needed books, so I taught myself to design them. Publishing poem books made me happy but poor. I gave up the poems and designed ads for big companies. I made some money. It was amazing. I didn’t make a damn thing I cared about.
I found portraits in 2014. They gave me the emotion of language, the storytelling of design, and the richness of collaboration. A decade later I went pro. For 20 years I followed my father’s path. Now I honor my mom.
I’ve also done these other cool things:
- toured North America as a one-time slam poet; founded a small press; organized and photographed seven National Poetry Slams
- cofounded and creative directed a legendary, potty-mouthed guidebook to Albuquerque, NM
- directed design for a biodynamic farm, a vegan restaurant, and a feminist porn festival
For a few years I hosted hundreds of couchsurfers from around the world. Danes are the best. Sorry, Swedes.