With the Austin Dragon Boat Festival around the corner on 4/28, my team is working hard to get into our best shape. We host the annual after party, Coolerpalooza, and each year, I get to design the graphics. Each year, I am at a loss why I designed what I did the year before. Given a very tight time restraint and my schedule with tennis, dragon boat and work, I cranked this out in a few hours and I’m pretty happy with it! The Facebook cover photo has proven a great place to promote the party!

4th Annual Coolerpalooza

I joined the very popular Pinterest in the early stages. In the first few weeks of getting the invite to the exclusive new idea, I was hooked. Whenever there was five minutes of down time at work, I was scrolling through the pages and pages of thumbnails and pinning happily to my awesomely-named boards such as “Em Dash”  (for design inspiration) and “DIY Today. Or Someday!”

Any time I took a stroll through the office, every female (and I work with 95% women) had Pinterest on the monitor. We were in this then-slightly secretive shared experience and discovering how smart, resourceful and funny the world really is.

A few months later, I reached complete burnout. Although brands and companies have also entered the foray, Pinterest is still dominated with women pinning about weddings, babies and images of thinly-sculpted women  that everyone dreams her body could be. After about a minute of scrolling, I have to click the “Everything” filter to escape.

Will everyone eventually hit burnout? Or will there always be enough beautiful images of weddings and cute baby clothes? Do I have a future with Pinterest?

On the first night in Cusco, we went to a local place where we proceeded to order every single local Peruvian dish on the menu, including alpaca and cuy. I felt more guilty about eating alpaca (which tasted like a tough smokey lamb) than the guinea pig with its tomato hat. The cuy skin was very tough and rubbery; the meat was thin and boney. After a few bites, I passed it on.

Traditional Roasted Cuy

On our last night, we somehow managed to get into the esteemed Astrid y Gastón, where we ordered cuy again, but peking-style. And let me say, if this was the way it was always prepared, I would eat it every day. Maybe this is due to it tasting like a fattier version of peking duck, hoisin sauce and wrapper included. Whatever the case, I can’t speak highly of Astrid y Gastón, its food and its hospitality to a group of harried-looking backpackers recovering from a 4-day hike.

Peking Cuy at Astrid y Gastón

Of course, I am no way diminishing the food we had on the Salkantay trail. Our cook on the hike was incredible and the food was nothing short of hearty and delicious. Check out the rest of the photos on my Flickr!

Back in the day, everything was grass roots. The website sold beautiful items created by the artisans, as well as designers in the US that had partnered up with Nest. I helped design anything from event invites to the first Facebook page to thank you cards. It’s a cause I feel strongly about and was happy to help out in any way.

In 2011, Nest came into collaboration with Maiyet, a modern, luxury fashion brand that is dedicated to identifying and providing market access to responsible heritage craftsmen. Together, they provide training and development that will focus on artisans in the developing world who exhibit comprehensive economic and humanitarian benefits to their communities. With this new partnership, Nest needed a new website to reflect both the changed brand and mission.

Rebecca wanted stark and minimal as a break from the old more textured organic experience; large beautiful photography would be the main motif. After two months of design and development with the help of Yippa, we launched in November and am excited about the future!

View the project in the portfolio.

Chantal Donvide in Togo

Despite having been in St. Louis in 2006, I didn’t have the funds (broke college grad!) or the connections to get to the World Series. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away again, so a friend and I hopped in the car and sped over to Arlington and back for Game 5. It was an unfortunate game for me since it was the famed “phone gate” and we lost, but to actually experience a World Series with the Cardinals was one I’ll never forget. And I’ve now walked away with a not-so-secret crush on one David Freese.

Peru and Machu Picchu is in a few weeks. Excitement abound!

Sunset at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Game 5

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