This project began with a story already written.

After more than twenty years of work with wool — designing coats, running a studio, teaching, and traveling — Cindy gathered her experience into a manuscript. The arc of her life with wool was there in words.

What followed was the work of turning that story into a book people could hold. I served as the graphic designer for the project — shaping the layout, typography, and visual rhythm of the pages. Cindy and I sat with shoe boxes of photographs, folders of clippings, old catalogs, and studio images to discover what belonged to the narrative she had written — which images echoed which moments, and what helped the story breathe so the reader could enter and absorb.

What emerged was a photo-rich, coffee-table style book that holds not just a chronology, but a felt arc — from beginnings to endings, from making to sharing on a global scale.

As the book took form, I helped place it with a publisher and supported Cindy in bringing the work to public gatherings — including an author event and a one-night coat exhibit at the Gallatin History Museum. Guests were encouraged to wear their own vintage Cindy Owings Design coats, and the room was full of designs spanning decades. The garments were still in remarkable condition, a testament to the craftsmanship and enduring quality of wool. For one evening, the work became a living archive — not just displayed, but worn and celebrated in a shared space.

This is Story Magic: noticing what’s most alive in a story, removing what obscures it, and shaping what remains into form so others can encounter it.