Aloha, I'm Auntie Shell.
Since 2003 I've worked freelance, in-house, and on my own ventures, from a magazine newsroom in Amsterdam to a bar I helped build on Maui. It's all part of one practice now: Shell Machine, building publications, brands, and grant-funded futures for people doing work that matters.
Publication Design
Editorial layout and cover design for publishers and authors. This is where the practice found its center, from five years as Creative Director in Amsterdam to regional magazines today.
Nonprofit Development & Communications
Grant strategy, donor pipelines, board reporting, and full brand systems for organizations doing work that matters. Over $1M co-written in grant funding to date.
Brand & Web Design
Full identity systems and Squarespace or Wix builds, start to finish, logo through checkout. Built for small businesses and makers who want one person to do the whole thing well.
Art & Illustration
Original illustration and hand-drawn characters, plus a growing print shop. Work made for its own sake, not a client brief, including a full children's book.
Twenty-three years independent.
I'm a designer, illustrator, and creative strategist who builds publications, brands, and grant-funded futures for people doing work that matters.
Four Departments
One practice, four disciplines I move between on purpose — not a designer who also does other things, but all four, at once, on principle.
Publication Design
Where this practice started and still does its best work: editorial layout and cover design for publishers and authors — from a five-year run as Creative Director in Amsterdam to regional magazines today.
Nonprofit Development & Communications
Grant strategy, donor pipelines, board reporting, and full brand systems for organizations doing work I actually believe in — over $1M co-written in grant funding to date.
Brand & Web Design
Full identity systems and Squarespace or Wix builds, start to finish — logo through checkout — for small businesses and makers who need one person who can do the whole thing well.
Art & Illustration
Original illustration and hand-drawn characters, plus a growing print shop — the work made for its own sake, not a client brief. This is where a full children's book started.
Selected Work
Have a project in mind?
Currently open for publication contracts, nonprofit development partners, and small businesses who want the whole thing done well by one person.