About Brown Dog Ink

I first started Brown Dog Ink in Nashville, Tennessee, around 1997, doing graphic design work for musician friends. Since then, both the business and I have traveled a few different roads. My creative life has included fine art painting, illustration, graphic design, writing, teaching, and quilting, and Brown Dog Ink has found its way through many of those adventures with me.

But that original idea never really changed.

I wanted to make things that mattered to people, earn my living doing creative work I loved, and have a brown dog snoozing somewhere nearby while I did it.

In 2012, ovarian cancer changed the way I thought about both time and work. Faced with a frightening prognosis, I found myself asking a very simple question: if my time might be shorter than I imagined, why wouldn’t I spend more of it making art, doing work that brought me joy, and creating things that might bring a little joy to someone else?

Thankfully, I got much more time than anyone could promise me then. And the things I learned during that chapter still guide me today. Brown Dog Ink is my attempt to build a creative life around them — making art that connects people, celebrating the small things that matter, and, these days, trying to make the checkbook balance too.

Today, Brown Dog Ink has grown into a studio devoted to art, connection, kindness, and celebrating the wonderfully imperfect business of being human. I create greeting cards, gifts, and the Stay Colorful™ collection from my original artwork—things meant to make somebody laugh, feel seen, feel remembered, feel encouraged, or simply know that another person is thinking about them.

And yes, there is still a brown dog involved.

Mocha is my studio companion, muse, occasional model, and namesake of Mocha’s Picks—but she’s also a little bit more than one dog. She grew out of the experience of raising 22 puppies while my current studio was being built: all those personalities, expressions, muddy paws, ridiculous moments, and unconditional affection rolled into one irrepressible brown-dog spirit.

In a way, Mocha represents all the dogs who have shared my studio and my life—and the dream behind Brown Dog Ink from the very beginning: to build a creative life with a dog by my side.

I invite you to come along—and share in the things that still guide me each day.

Make something meaningful.
Help someone feel seen.
Send a little love and kindness out into the world.
Stay colorful by being who you are meant to be.
And, whenever possible, keep a dog by your side.