Redhead Design Studio

We're pretty confident that our creative prowess generally deserves oohs and aahs. (Ha! Hey there, ego!) That said, we're not the only ones. Mid-Michigan is very, very lucky to have talent oozing out of every nook and cranny. Here are some of the folks we respect. A lot.

Barb Hranilovich

Oh, Barb makes the pretties. She's a true artist, and a good business brain to boot. As female creatives/business owners, we appreciate women like Barb who are not only creative, but wise and willing to give a good piece of advice now and then. We've learned a lot by watching this girl.

Tom Gennara

Projects plus Tom are usually ten times more fun than projects without him. He's got a ridiculously talented eye. He's a nice guy. He's fun to work with. His studio is cool. But mostly, we just like him, and his marvelous photography makes our work easier.

Kelly Kobus

"Creative" doesn't just exist in the realm of design and marketing, you know. Have you seen this girl's cakes? Wowie. The thought and planning that goes into each of her creations at A Piece O' Cake is something else. Kelly is a client of ours, and boy, can she make some pretty stuff. Doesn't hurt that it's also delicious.

The Ciesa Guys

That'd be Lauren Ciesa, Michael Sundermann and Chris VanWyck. Lauren is the person we hope to be when we grow up some day. The man has built one of the longest-standing creative firms in Lansing. He's generous with his agency's resources, spreading pro-bono and beautiful design throughout the land. He's involved in his community. We really respect him. And Michael and Chris? There is a reason Ciesa is the reigning champ of art poster design in mid-Michigan. Hand those boys a Wacom tablet and stand back. Then bow to the masters.

Corinn VanWyck

Yeah… it would be a serious mistake to think Chris is the only creative character in that marriage. We adore Corinn. She ringmasters the East Lansing Art Festival. She's got a wicked sense of humor. She can handle a Harley. Plus she's a fantastic mother, chef, knitter, crocheter, and maker of all things craft. The best might be her "Spice Rack" bra. Ask her, she'll tell you all about it.

Karen Stefl

We'll admit it, we're a sucker for this zinger of a brain hidden in a warm, fuzzy facade. Not only is Karen one of the creative geniuses* that makes Such Video one of the smartest shops in town, but she also happens to be one of those impressive business-owner-mommy-to-an-adorable-baby-make-your-own-babyfood-and- keep-the-clients-happy kind of overachievers. We dig girls like that.

Bob Patten

Bob can be mysterious and aloof. For a few years early in my career, I wondered if he was real or imaginary. Long story. But suffice it to say the man makes beautiful logos. Beautiful. No, really, I mean it. And his kids are cute, too (though let's give that credit to his lovely wife Kelly).

Kristen Flory

Kristen may not be a graphic designer or a photographer, but she’s one helluva creative lady. She’s beyond astute about communication and how it should work, she’s got a fantastic eye and knows how to direct creative minions like us to do her bidding in a fantastic way. Plus she’s stylish and fun and, well, we just respect her.

Summer and Aura

Ok, we are cheating since these are two people from two places. But we're running out of space and since they are besties and since they do stuff like vacation together, we can count them as a unit, right? We firmly believe you have to have bucketloads of creativity in your brain to run a successful retail boutique. To carve market share out of our mass market world and be an entrepreneur. So kudos to people with enough style and creativity to make us all look good. If you haven't been to Grace or to October Moon shame on you go there.

Dennis Pace

Honestly, Dennis might deserve a Top 10 List of his own. Since both of us learned the ropes at Pace & Partners when we were wee little designers, we owe a lot to him. We are fairly certain we wouldn't be so good at what we do (both the creative and the business side of things) if we hadn't seen it firsthand. Dennis is creative, he's a big thinker, he is generous, and he is magnetic. Thanks, Dennis.

Golly, well, I guess that does it. We wish that there was more space— there are more people who belong here. Maybe next year when we turn 11 we'll have another go.

*For the record, David is a pretty cool character himself. All creative and civic-minded and interesting and stuff. But until we're finished being in awe of Karen's first year of supermom-ness, he'll just have to understand.