Motherhaus is an international creative firm with offices in New York and Cape Town.
We build and lead bespoke teams of independent creative and strategic talent who are specifically suited to address your business challenges while aligning your branding and communications with your values and purpose.
We can guide you and your enterprise through challenging transitions with inspired, informed design and strategic communications.
Motherhaus is an international creative firm founded twenty five years ago in New York City.
We build brands with magick and meaning.
From our inception, we have been a virtual organization, working remotely with hand-picked teams of independent talent and serving clients around the world.
Two years ago, I had an opportunity to work on a creative project close to my heart in Cape Town and have since opened a new Motherhaus in the Mother City.
Our creative studio is in Sea Point, while our New York office has been adapted to serve as a virtual hub.
I continue to collaborate with our international clients and colleagues, while steadily expanding our network locally, tapping into Cape Town’s phenomenal creative community.
Do you feel like you are at a crossroads? Identifying your passion and values is the first step in finding the path that is perfect for you.
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
~ Joseph Campbell
I have an unusual background for a creative director. With an aptitude for science and math, I began school as a pre-med student and later graduated with a degree in Economics from Northwestern University. However, after a series of eye-opening interviews with banks and consulting firms, I had a gut feeling that a life in banking was not for me. I found myself at a crossroads: Do I pursue a career in a field I would never really love? or do I have to start over?
Right about that time, I ran into a friend who suggested the book What Color is Your Parachute, which helped me rediscover my true passions by identifying all the things I was obsessed with while growing up: art, music, architecture, interior design—all creative interests. I needed to be doing something creative. Once I had this realization, doors suddenly opened.
During university, I had a part-time job with a high-end fashion store called I. Magnin. I was just starting to figure out how I could get into a creative career when our department was invited to a fashion show by my favorite designer, Marithé & François Girbaud, That night was life-changing. I was already feeling incredibly inspired by the show when I just happened to meet Girbaud’s head of marketing. We hit it off immediately, and soon after graduation I was in a brand new division of Girbaud, launching a nationwide in-store shop program throughout the United States and getting my first introduction to design.
After four years with Girbaud, another random encounter opened doors to work with Giorgio Armani. designing and developing the complete customer experience for the A|X Armani Exchange store concept. I was mentored by some of the top creative minds in the world, learning the intricacies of building a brand. In my four years with Armani, I supervised the roll-out of 25 freestanding stores and 13 in-store shops, partnering with Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales.
After four years working with Armani, which included an expanded role in graphic design and marketing, I launched Motherhaus.
I also have experience working in global ad agencies. For almost three years, I was SVP/Creative Director with Lowe & Partners where I helped build their first interactive division. I established a vibrant creative department from the ground up, personally selecting all designers, copywriters and developers. We built award-winning sites and campaigns for global clients new to online marketing. Annual billings: $16.8 million.
I also had the opportunity to serve as Creative Director for a division of J Walter Thompson, In my four-year term, I co-managed the 20+ person New York hub and directed all creative development of campaigns and digital communications pertaining to employer branding, internal communications, and talent acquisition for a roster of global and Fortune 100 companies. Annual billings: $6 million.
Through Motherhaus and my positions with Lowe and JWT, I have a wealth of experience winning new business, building campaigns, and directing digital communications for international clients in finance, hospitality, healthcare, and packaged goods. I have directed online and offline communications for American Express, Mondelēz, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; led brand development for several boutique investment firms; designed and launched a mobile app for Aroma Joe’s Coffee; and created a comprehensive product launch campaign for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. See Case Studies
My key to success is my ability to integrate left- and right-brain thinking. I’m both strategic and creative, and I am skilled at bridging worlds.
My “burning desire” is to build a new “Bauhaus” with a community of like-minded creative people, integrating and applying our energies to awaken a better world.
At Motherhaus, we draw a lot of inspiration from the Bauhaus, and are fascinated by the school’s early integration of spirituality with art and design.
Bauhaus Master Wasilly Kandinsky spoke of an epoch of materialism lacking spirituality and in many ways we are at the height of that epoch.
Motherhaus is dedicated to applying our creative energies to instill brands with spirit and meaning, helping build a more integrated world.
Johannes Itten
Bauhaus Master, 1919-1923
Photo Retouching MagentaGreen
Creative Commons Usage License
If new ideas are to adopt artistic form, then corporeal, sensual, spiritual, and intellectual powers and abilities must be equally ready and cooperating.
~ Johannes Itten
