Think You Know Julie?

How old are you?

43

Where did you go to school?

I have a B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. I majored in Studio Art.

What is your job at BAKER?

I am a Senior Production Artist. 

What made you decide to become a production artist?

I enjoy the technical, meticulous aspect of my job, while at the same time being surrounded by creativity.

How many years have you been a production artist?

12 years, 8 of them at BAKER.

Why did you choose to work at BAKER?

BAKER people are so nice! There isn’t a lot of ego getting in the way of working as a team and putting out a great effort. I think that’s a little unusual in this industry.

What are some typefaces you love?

Legally owned open-type Adobe ones. It’s a Production thing.

What is your favorite Pantone color?

I love green, and triple digit numbers, so I’d say PMS 555.

What are some of your frustrations with being a production artist?

Sometimes it’s a bummer to have to remind the design-types that their beautiful concept has to be reconsidered because it’s being printed Flexo, for instance. This earns Production Artists nicknames like “dream slayer.”

What do you love most about your job? least?

I love a lot of things. The people most of all. I love our new location. I love it that we get to work with such great clients and brands. My least favorite thing has to be when Ken jumps out and scares people.

Do you have any side projects or passions that you work on when you’re not at work?

I have an Etsy shop and I also enjoy knitting.

What is the name of your etsy shop and what do you sell?

It’s called “Comfort and Green” and I sell handmade all-natural soap.

What inspired you to start making soap?

It makes me feel connected with history and nature. Doing everything slowly and by hand becomes a meditative process that helps me offset the pace of modern life. And using it makes my skin feel awesome!

What is your favorite scent of soap you sell at your etsy shop?

I don’t have a favorite, I really love them all. I’m careful about what I put in my soap and the different combinations of ingredients. They each took a long time to come together. I’ve been making soap for 10 years.

Where can we find you at lunch?

Well, it’s winter, so I usually sit in the café at BAKER. There are a few of us who like to sit and exercise our mad knitting skills after we eat.

What are you currently knitting?

I just finished knitting myself a pair of pink mittens, and now I’m contributing to www.knit-a-square.com — a charity that helps AIDS orphans in southern Africa.

What was your favorite knitting project that you have completed?

Once I recycled some yarn from a store-bought sweater that wasn’t really useable and knitted it into a new sweater. It made me feel all green and economical.

How long have you been knitting? Who taught you?

I don’t really remember exactly when. I was very young. My mom (who is amazing at knitting and even better at quilting) taught me.

Where do you find inspiration? Any specific blogs or sites?

As far as being inspired as a Production Artist, I really appreciate all of the great content at Adobe’s website. Other blogs I visit regularly:

http://bferry.wordpress.com — because the guy has such a beautiful way of looking at life. 

http://www.garancedore.fr/en/

http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ — because it’s interesting to see snapshots of real people all over the world. 

And it’s kind of geeky, but I like Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/

And Etsy, of course.

Are you single?

I am.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, two cats: Claudette and Twinkle. In the winter they are like cat paparazzi because they follow my son and I around everywhere we go around the house. But really they are just cold and they want to sit in a lap as soon as someone sits down.

What are you going to do with all your free time once your son leaves for college in the fall?

I’ll spend more time with my parents, and I’ll be able to get to the gym earlier to swim more laps in the morning. Other than that I don’t know. Maybe I’ll join Facebook … finally.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Probably something that Victor here at work said. They guy has some hilarious one-liners and it always kind of takes me by surprise.

If you were given a chance to travel back in time which time period would you choose and why?

I would live in a time when everything was still made by hand. I especially love clay pottery. I took classes one whole summer, but it’s much harder than it looks.

Where can we find you when you’re not at work?

At the gym, or running around trying to get my son ready for college. Or I might be walking outside. I don’t jog because I really just want to look at everything and take it all in.

What’s your new years resolution?

Every day to say “Something wonderful might happen today” because you just never know…