Where did the name of your studio come from?

Carrot & Stick was started in 2000 with a classmate, Julie Walker, from CCA (formerly California College of Arts & Crafts).  We decided to gather stories for a book of modern legends (For example, "Remember Mikey from the Life cereal commercial?  I heard he ate Pop Rocks and drank Coke and his stomach exploded and he died.").  Julie suggested that we meet very early in the morning to start.  I thought that if we were meeting at 6am (6am!!!), it should be for coffee BEFORE getting started.  Using a combination of rewards and punishments, we co-founded Carrot & Stick--and named the company for our complementary working styles.

Who is on your team, and how did you come together?

Julie retired from Carrot & Stick in 2009 to spend more time with her family.  I have been at the helm since then, and have been lucky to have several CCA alumnae from the printmaking department work part-time running the presses.

How did you get into design and letterpress printing?

I began my career in design and printing working on the oldest preparatory newspaper in the country, The Exonian, first as its Photography Editor and then as Editor-in-Chief.  At Princeton, I studied art history and photography with beloved professors Peter Bunnell and Emmet Gowin.  My college thesis led me to the MFA program at CCA to work with Larry Sultan, one of the subjects of "Family Therapy: The Photographs of Tina Barney, Nan Goldin and Larry Sultan".  But by my second month atCCA, I was spending all of my time in the printshop, rather than the darkroom...

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

I can be inspired anywhere.  Perusing a well-designed menu at a new restaurant or appreciating the classic McDonald's iconography when my boys convince me to stop for Happy Meals.  I LOVE the once-monthly Alameda Point Antiques Fairehere in the Bay Area, but I am also delighted to walk through IKEA or Target (As Will Ferrell's character said in Old School, "Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time!").

What kind of press(es) do you use?

We print custom projects on a Vandercook 4, a Perfected Prouty platen press and a Chandler & Price platen press.

Which press was used to print the Nicely Noted cards?

The star notes were printed on a Heidelberg.