About me

I grew up In Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding hills. My mom is a photographer, and my dad is a craftsman. When I was five, my mom gave me a camera and enrolled me in my first photography class. I continued to develop my relationship with photography with black and white film in high school and college dark rooms. After college, life took me on a journey that included a union apprenticeship in the building trades; a five year stint immersed in making pottery, building and firing wood fired kilns; and traveling around the world learning natural building techniques such as adobe, and strawbale. Eventually, I returned to Portland and started a natural building company with a friend. During those seven years of running the business, I discovered a love for marketing & branding. In 2011 I decided to sell the business and go back to school. I enrolled in a two year program called Integrated Media which combined the disciplines of video, photography, graphic design, advertising and marketing. After completing the integrated media degree. I worked as a freelancer for many outstanding agencies and production companies including Swanson Studios, Sockeye, Kamp Grizzly, Instrument, Wieden+Kennedy, Nemo Design, Funnelbox, Sprout Box, House Special, and Juliet Zulu. I have worked on projects for clients like National Geographic, Adidas, Nike, Audi, Hydroflask, Specialized, Garmin, and Timex. While doing this freelance work I also began working directly for clients like Girl & Dug Farms, New Energy Works, Adobe, and Traditional Natural Plaster Company, delivering video, photography, websites, brand strategy and content creation for social platforms. During this time, the vision for Topo was born:To collaborate with people who take an artisan approach, to create products and or services they care deeply about, and who often work with their hands, the earth, or their local communities to shape the world they want live in.