Spring’s in full swing and we’re riding the wave. Nermin’s got a whole new home, Kristin can’t seem to stop traveling, and we brought a friend on board to help us keep it all together.

Making beautiful, useful work for excellent people? Check. Kicking off new, interesting projects with clients old and new? Done and done. Seeking and accepting help? Let’s go. We’ve been putting in the work this spring, and it’s been a joy to see the fruits of our creative labors blossom.

First things first, say hi to Lindsay!

She’s the best—a seasoned Design Ops leader, project mommy, avid gardener, baker of wonderful cakes and human of Birdie, a giant dog. We worked together in the Before Times, and we’re thrilled to have found a way to work together again. We cannot recommend her highly enough, if anyone out there is looking for a contract project producer or operations consultant.

Teamwork makes the dream work. 🎵

MAKING IT WORK

Dream teams—let’s talk about them.

How about Eva Silverman and co at Art Design Chicago? They tapped us to design a print collection of case studies, developed by brilliant researchers at NORC, examining the impact of ADC’s multi-year grants to museums and cultural institutions around Chicago. We hustled and bustled and in the end, the book turned out beautifully, with big thanks to Mike Dillon and the team at Graphic Arts Studio. Absolute all-stars.

We cannot sing praises loud enough for the badass women behind Native Workforce Partners, a new organization that connects tribal communities to economic opportunities and resources across New Mexico. Last year, designer Jason Frohlichstein brought us in to help define NWP’s values, voice and story, as well as draft copy for the recently launched site. Friends, this was heart work and we were blessed to be a part of it.

And the blessings keep coming, now from Cairo. You may recall Nermin’s whirlwind trip to Egypt this winter? It was worth every mile travelled and every minute spent not sleeping. The visit was uplifting and illuminating, and it prepared us to move full-steam ahead with Seeds and Specialty Būn, two arms of a growing, family-owned business intent on transforming the Cairo coffee scene.

Change is our love language and we’re down to talk.

MIC CHECK

For real. We love talking. Give us a mic and a minute, we’ll give you everything we’ve got.

This spring, Nermin was invited to meet with a group of creative entrepreneurs at QUADM, a modern market for Muslim women makers, to talk business and branding, and share the Core Values exercise. She also got to share the stage with our dear comrade and collaborator Mary Foyder at Columbia College of Chicago to tell the story behind Braver Collective (which was just named a 2025 Webby Honoree!).

Kristin took her show on the road to join Epiphany Magazine out west for an AWP off-site reading in Los Angeles, where she shared her Pushcart-nominated poem nectarine season with a room full of love-drunk poets. She was on the move again last week, this time in Philadelphia for the spring edition of Ghost Harmonics, a performance series that brings together musicians, dancers and writers at The Perch, an art and residency space in North Philly.

It’s a hell of a thing, getting a chance to share our work and words in rooms across the country. Thank you everyone who’s listened and everyone who’s hosted us—Shazia, Lubna, Jo-Nell, Willard, Ashna, Heather, Mike, Jeff, big love forever.

ON OUR SHELVES

Fresh off a move, Nermin was recently gifted a copy of Living Rooms by Middle East Archives. Talk about timely—a perfectly gorgeous book to turn to when considering what makes a house a home.

Lindsay’s been digging into The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby—a seriously beautiful book showcasing gardens in Denmark, Sweden, England and Germany as they evolve throughout a season. (PS If you want more analog garden + design love in your life, a printed issue of Pleasant Place should do the trick - L)

Kristin’s reaching deeper into language these days, reveling in the mad, mixed-up, brilliant and kinky wordplay of Christine Kelly’s Allow Me to Slip on Something a Little More Hypercycloid, as well as Easy Casual Everyday Spanish by Judy A. Nickell and Carmen Julia Holgún Chaparro. (No sabo kids, esto es para nosotros. Nunca es demasiado tarde! - K)

Also this Nobl article is LOUD, and excellent: How Growth Mindset Transforms Teams and Leadership

PARTING THOUGHTS

It’s a good time for sowing. Plant seeds. Consider possibilities. Get in tune with the people beside you. Tell us if you see any good birds, or if you need a hand moving through a season of change. Either is great. We’re ready.