I love design

I love making things, especially graphics. Even better? Graphics revolving around my true love: thru-hiking. I had a freelance design business for a while, and while I’m more in the hobby phase now, I’m still creating here and there, mostly for fun. Then when I started the business Hikertrash in 2014, I got to translate some designs into actual products. But really, I just want to make things.

My most recent logo collaboration was launched last week.

Anish is a true badass. She thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 60 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes, then wrote a book about it; then I got to hang out with her a bunch when she thru-hiked the Oregon Desert Trail in 2017. Anish returned to the triple crown trails in 2018 and hiked all THREE in one year (called the Calendar Triple Crown), and that trip also meant she had completed the triple triple crown, meaning she had now hiked all three long trails (AT, PCT, CDT) three times each. (I’m not worthy). Anyway, She is a truly lovely human being, and it was great fun to work with her on her logo redesign.

I’ve made logos for some outdoor companies, the most recent was also for a product I’ve been using since the lovely Mandy “Purple Rain” Bland (another fabulous thru-hiker) started her business in 2014, Purple Rain Adventure Skirts:

With a few different versions

My good friend Whitney “Allgood” LaRuffa started working for the hat company Crown Trails Headwear after his thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail in 2016, and the business was looking to create a series of designs for the National Parks, so I whipped up some concept designs:

Then when I worked for the lightweight gear company Six Moon Designs a while back, they were looking to brand their ultralight sun umbrella. I was given the name: Silver Shadow, and came up with this (which you can get on any umbrella you order even today!)

So the company hikertrash that I started with Brian Frankle (and have since sold to Matt “Boomer” Romero) was great fun, and I made some of my favorite designs to this day for the brand.

I think my favorite product was the first one we made…the original hikertrash trucker hat.

And all of the hikertrash designs were proceeded by my brief business: Bike Bend Wear. I came up with about a bunch of different bike designs, made a series of screenprinting screens, then printed the images on thrift store clothing.

I’ve served on the board of several non-profits in town and had the opportunity to help these new organizations create their brand identity.

The Oregon Outdoor Alliance was first started with a few folks drinking beer around a picnic table, and now is a state-wide organization with a mission to unify and inspire Oregon outdoor industry businesses. I offered to make their logo and first, second, and even third versions of their website (I am NOT a website designer, but can make it look good). Our gatherings around the picnic table turned into the Beer:Thirty events, and I made a logo for that too, which we first printed on Silipints (another Bend company).

While I worked at a local publishing company as the arts magazine editor, I was an early board member of the Arts & Culture Alliance, and made their logo too.

I got really involved with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition before, during, and after my thru-hike in 2015. I was their first trail ambassador that year, and worked closely with Executive Director Teresa Martinez. She loved the hikertrash brand, so I used the font I created for hikertrash for a few logos for the CDTC. All of these ended up on t-shirts and hats!