Duration: Indie since 2003.

Staff: Me, my wife, who lovingly keeps the books straight and plays account executive from time to time, and my black lab studio mascot, Satchmo, who's quiet wisdom and demeanor helps keep the studio balanced during crazier days.

Education: Worked at my dad's ad agency at a very young age (some may call it child labor), learned invaluable skills on the job, from agency gopher to loving and respecting typography like it was your mother.

Cultural Influences: Tons and tons of music, Monty Python, skateboarding, snowboarding, David Byrne, Terry Gilliam, travel, high and low art, book covers, record covers, matchbook covers, Beatles covers, 1930's and 1940's anything, the usual suspects of design (Reid Miles, Massimo Vignelli, Stefan Sagmeister, David Carson, Saul Bass, Milton Glaser—the list continues to grow). I also have work by Aesthetic Apparatus hanging up; those guys were a big influence in my efforts to get into the poster scene.

Environment: We’re in the historic downtown Hickory district in a one-and-a-half story, Arts & Crafts-style, frame bungalow house, built in 1919. Our studio is on the second floor.

Philosophy: Taking that leap is totally worth it—even if you twist your ankle.