The Fab Collab

“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” –Salvador Dali.

Two people have been incredibly inspirational in my design career, my favorite editor Mark A. Newman and my fab collab partner Jenny Howard-Maxwell. My coworker, best friend, and consummate hostess Jenny has always sought to support me and push me, and I can’t say I’ve had as much fun collaborating on a project as I did with her book Entertaining With Purpose: Tips and Recipes for Hosting with Love, Compassion, and Acceptance.

This photograpy-rich 224-page book was a passion project 17 years in the making. Jenny and I worked together at a custom publishing company in Gulf Shores. As a matter of fact, Mark worked there as well. We all hit it off immediately, each of us with very different personalities but all bringing something to the plate. Or to the publication, as it happened. We handled lifestyle magazines, travel guides, coupon books, special inserts, event promotion… you name it, we did it. And we all threw ourselves into our work. Focused, but fun. One by one, we left the company and moved away. But we all kept in touch.

Fast forward 15 years. After working with Jenny’s company Occasionally Fabulous Events for a while, she approached me about collaborating on her dream project–something we had laughed about doing way back in 2007–a cookbook and entertaining guide. I leapt at the chance.

The intensive 2-week photoshoot to capture all 65 recipes, tablescapes, cover and candids was an amazing experience, as I ventured beyond my normal role of art directing to actually serving as photographer too. It was as satisfying as creating the book design to capture Jenny’s sassy personality and compassionate message. The old friends reunion was complete, as Mark served as our editor! I couldn’t be more proud of this beautiful work of art we created.

Every designer knows that there are slumps you go through from time to time–creative blocks or soul-crushing projects that affect your love of the process. This particular book brought back my passion at a crucial moment, and I can’t say enough about how important it is to find people with whom you click creatively. Thank you Jenny, for all you’ve inspired me to do.

What can Spiralcat Creative do for you? Let’s create something together.