When in Rome....I'm an avid world traveler; having visited some of the world's most amazing places. My career has offered me opportunities to travel to exciting places and work with local merchants and manufacturing plants. My love for travel i… — When in Rome....I'm an avid world traveler; having visited some of the world's most amazing places. My career has offered me opportunities to travel to exciting places and work with local merchants and manufacturing plants. My love for travel is represented in many of the projects that I have worked on. Sometimes I like to book a long cruise or find a beach cottage in a tropical location and work my artistic magic while enjoying fascinating locales.

“My Client List includes the design, illustration, and product development for many amazing brands; Disney Consumer Products, Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney’s Pooh, HBO, Williams-Sonoma Publishing, Nordstrom Men’s Style, Scholastic Books, Inc., Lyrick Studios, Applause Plush, MGA Entertainment/ BRATZ, Beatrix Potter, The Meow Mix Company, The Cat Fanciers’ Association, Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes, Universal Studios Parks, Target, Wal-Mart, Pet Co, along with some of the most exciting paper, fabric and stationery brands in the industry including October Afternoon, Riley Blake Fabrics, Basic Grey and Modify Ink.”

A Little About Steve

I grew up in Southern California where my design aesthetic was heavily influenced by the 1970's beach culture, vintage Hollywood and Disneyland; all just a few minutes from my front door. After high school I grabbed my surfboard and journeyed across the Pacific to attend art school at the University of Hawaii, Manoa where I studied Studio Art and Communication.

After college I left paradise and moved back to sunny Southern California to pursue a career in commercial art. Over the years I’ve lived and worked in many amazing cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Honolulu. Becoming an empty-nester in 2011, I downsized and moved to Minneapolis, where I opened The Lake House Studio. In 2022 I moved the studio to the wine country of Sonoma County, California, where I now work out of my cabin studio surrounded by a coastal redwood grove.

My list of professional accomplishments include:

- Decorating Supervisor for The Phoenix Decorating Company; where I supervised the decoration of award-winning floats for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. (3 Years)

- Advertising Catalog Designer and Illustrator for S.E.Rykoff & Co.; where I designed catalogs and illustrated products for gourmet foods and cookware. (2 Years)

- Sr. Art Director for FingerPrints of California; where I supervised a staff of 12 artists in the development and promotion of proprietary stationery, gift lines and licensed programs including: Disney Consumer Products, Disney Parks and Resorts, Universal Studios Theme Parks, Beatrix Potter, the NBA, NFL and MLB Licensing Groups and many more. (13 Years)

- Creative Director of Licensing for Suzy's Zoo; where I developed and directed three art based licensing programs. The highly successful brands; Little Suzy's Zoo, Adventures in Duckport (collaboratively produced with B.B.C. America and Moon Mesa Media), and Wags and Whiskers (collaboratively produced with PETCO). I developed the Little Suzy’s Zoo private label diaper program Dri-Bottoms for Walmart. In conjunction with developing four annual programs for our licensees, I directed over 80 International licensees/manufacturers in their product development and promotion of Suzy's Zoo licensed products. I also art directed many of Suzy's Zoo retail product lines and consumer catalogs. I worked on-site throughout China and Mexico during the development of several large projects. (5 Years)

- Creative Director at Agenda 9; where I developed collaborative marketing programs for clients including: Andrea Burnett P.R. and Media, Chronicle Books, Nordstrom Men's Style, Williams-Sonoma Publishing, Sail Away Travel and other major retail brands. My work focused on brand promotion, web design, marketing collateral, community outreach and promotional events. (7 Years)

The Lake House Studio

I opened The Lake House Studio in 2011 after many years of working in design for retail brands and advertising. At the studio I specialize in what I love to do; design and illustration. While establishing my studio I worked as a Graphic Designer/Illustrator for October Afternoon (15 months). Along with my Lake House Studio projects I am a full-time Designer and Illustrator for Carta Bella Paper Company, developing paper crafting lines and stationery.