Q: How did you land at Connoisseur magazine? Someone told me they were looking for an art director, so I applied. I interviewed with Thomas Hoving in his kitchen—his wife Nancy sat in! I didn’t think I had a chance; I was coming from
a black-and-white weekly and Connoisseur was glossy and luxe. But Tom hired me. He believed in me, and I’m grateful for that. At Connoisseur, I had the kind of access you don’t forget—behind- the-scenes at the Met, working with renowned artists, hearing Tom’s Patagonia helicopter stories or how he wrote books on his iPhone. William Wegman even shot cats for us. I also developed my typographic voice there.

Q: Did you return to Time Inc. after that?
Yes, I heard Money Magazine was looking for an art director and the idea of going back to Time Inc.—a place I genuinely admired—felt right. I had two interview lunches with editor Frank Lalli, both times eating Italian wedding soup! That job was another opportunity to collaborate with bril- liant editors and writers.

Q: What came next?
I wanted to have a bigger creative role at smaller publications, so I joined City Journal (published by the Manhattan Institute, with Myron Magnet as editor), helped create and art direct Markets and other Dow Jones publications for years, and worked with Judy Price at Avenue Magazine. Eventually, I became Group Art Director at Haymarket Media, overseeing six publications. It was a chance to merge my passions—editorial, marketing, branding, and live events—all under one roof.