As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a graphic designer. Actually, as a child I wanted to be a fine artist, but ever the forward-thinking youth, I concluded that they don’t make as much money!

After a successful Year 12, I enrolled in RMIT’s Visual Communication degree in 1990, funding my schooling with savings from several years of part time jobs. One year into the three-year degree, Pyramid Building Society crashed and took my savings with it. I was forced to defer and look for work to fund the rest of my degree.

A stroke of fate landed me a job as a junior designer and paste-up artist with the RMIT Union Print Centre. Yes, back then we had to glue slabs of text to large boards, then make a bromide of the whole lot, in order to print it! On the job, I started to learn how to use Quark Xpress on a tiny Mac computer. I soon moved into the RMIT Union Marketing Department and eventually into a senior design position.

After 4 years, I figured I wasn’t going back to complete my degree after all! The “real work” folio I had developed on the job turned out to be far more valuable to me than a degree and “school work” folio. I got a job at a medium-sized design and print studio, Ennis & Jarrett P/L, where I worked my way up to Senior Designer and Prepress Manager, over the space of 9 years.

With the birth of my daughter in 2003, I decided to start my own business, so I could work from home. My husband, a children’s book author, took on the role of full-time carer, in between deadlines. I had been freelancing on the side for several years, so had no problem increasing my client base to fill a full-time workload. I have since taken on several corporate clients and work keeps rolling in.

This arrangement suits me well... I am a self-confessed control freak, so this way I can control every project from go to whoa. And being at home to see my daughter grow up has been a wonderful bonus! One day I may return to finish my design degree, just to tidy up that loose end.

In 2008 we built a new home with a large, custom-designed office for me. A professional working space at last - hurray!

Life and work is good!

Please note: due to continued overwhelming workloads, I am presently not taking on any new clients. But I can recommend other designers, if you require it.