My first job following graduation was working for a design firm specializing in signage and wayfinding. I spent months setting up signage files for production (i.e. specifying the position and design of the washroom signs in the local sports arena). Needless to say, it wasn’t very inspiring.

My sexist boss, an older man, would refer to me as “little girl.” Every time I corrected him, I got a raise. I doubled my salary by the time I quit, about nine months later.

Working in that first job was excellent motivation to become my own boss. I developed my design style and roster of clients over the next few years, specializing in print design for arts and culture clients. I did everything from small ads to large publications and marketing materials, as well as design for books and art publications.

From observation over the dozen years that I freelanced, I learned how to plan and market events, how to budget for media, how to edit texts and—most importantly—how to multitask. Through the freelancer’s lifestyle, I also learned how to acclimate to the stresses of deadlines and uncertain paychecks.

Following the closure of an independent magazine that I freelanced for, the “magazine” section of my brain was free to explore. I had fantasized about designing my own magazine and I was getting tired of working for clients on their ideas, not my own. It also coincided with the closure of some mainstream magazines (Domino, Martha Stewart’s Blueprint) and I recognized that there was a void for a well-designed, visually inspiring publication. 

The content came from my own interests as a graphic designer, but the magazine is not specifically about graphic design. We say we’re “creative and curious” with an eclectic content range from design, typography, illustration and crafting to just about any topic that relates to creative fields.

I don’t see digital media such as online magazines, iPad versions and other distractions as competition for UPPERCASE magazine. And I have no plans of offering the magazine in any other format than print. People come to us because they love print, they love the handmade and tactile, the do-it-yourself ethos. As long as UPPERCASE is true to itself and our readers, I think our readership will continue to grow. 

We also are a very inclusive and friendly magazine. I often say that anyone can be in UPPERCASE magazine and I mean that sincerely. Our youngest contributor was a 13-year-old girl, and the eldest a 91-year-old man. I think so often that magazines, especially design or style magazines, cultivate a personality of exclusivity, of being the “in” crowd. I make sure that UPPERCASE never feels like that.

The average day starts out with early morning answering of emails on my laptop while my family sleeps. Once my son is awake, we have breakfast and spend time together before I walk to work. The walk to my studio is an important 40 minutes—it is when I sort out what I need to do and I have time to think, or conversely, don’t think at all and just enjoy the fresh air.

Once at the studio, I catch up with Erin Bacon (marketing/publicity) and check on our shop orders and subscriptions. Depending on what stage the next issue is in, I work on content assignments or design pages. Though it seems mostly my day is spent making decisions, crossing off millions of small tasks and dealing with new problems or opportunities.

Fortunately, I have always been good at doing what I love. This is actually a skill that needs to be nurtured—we are conditioned to think that we must follow traditional career paths, work for someone else rather than ourselves, and to follow caution instead of risk. Just like it takes effort to have a happy life, it takes work to have passion in your career. It seems that the harder I work, the more UPPERCASE grows. Rather than coasting on small successes, it motivates me to work even harder to keep the company healthy and viable.

My advice is that you have to recognize that the path to a fulfilling career is bumpy, challenging and uphill...You have to occasionally take a break to refuel, but if you look at it in smaller segments, you will eventually reach your goal. 

My favorite part of UPPERCASE publishing is conceptualizing new book ideas, magazine themes and new products. The challenge there is that I have an endless supply of ideas, but limited time and resources. 

That’s hard to answer. I don’t measure my career in moments; moments are fleeting. I find tremendous satisfaction in looking at the physical output of my creative and entrepreneurial endeavors. The stacks of magazines, the bookshelf full of my books—that is lasting and satisfying. People comment that I don’t often look stressed out, or overly excited for that matter; I like to keep an even keel. 

The content has improved and become more in tune to our readers since we first launched in 2009. I often think that it was by issue #7 or #8 that UPPERCASE found its groove. The greatest compliment that I can get as publisher, editor and designer is when a reader says, “This is the best issue yet” when a new issue comes out. If a reader feels that way, I’ve done a good job.

Over the next while, I hope to expand our subscriber base so that we can have more financial stability and invest into other publishing projects. I see UPPERCASE as my life-long career and it will be interesting to see it grow and mature.