In 2020, like many of us, I found myself at a complete standstill.

My clients were shut down. Projects paused. Trade shows canceled. There was no packaging to manage, no last-minute approvals, no panic emails about paper stock. For the first time in decades, the production desk was quiet.

But my brain? Not so much.

Even in that silence, I kept thinking about the same thing: I’ve spent over 40 years working in print and packaging—when am I going to get all this out of my head and into the hands of people who actually need it?

I’ve answered hundreds of the same questions over the years. I’ve seen brands stumble on the same pitfalls—things like skipping structural design, not asking about lead times, or handing over a dieline to a designer with no context.
And yet, when I thought about writing a book . . . I froze.

Because where do you start when you know so much?

Packaging isn’t a single topic. It’s a tangled web of timelines, materials, suppliers, cost buckets, and brand goals. I wanted to make it approachable, but also useful. Simple, but not watered down.

It wasn’t until I found the Itty Bitty Book Publishing program that I saw a path forward.
Their format was clear: 15 steps. One topic. One purpose.
Suddenly, this big cloud of ideas I’d been carrying around had a skeleton. A framework. Something I could actually build on.
So I rolled up my sleeves and wrote The Itty Bitty Guide to Packaging Made Simple.

And no—it’s not just for packaging nerds.

I wrote this for the brand founder who just realized she needs more than a cute label and a shipping box.
I wrote it for the designer who’s being asked to design a box and doesn’t know what questions to ask.
I wrote it for the product manager who inherited a process that makes no sense and needs a crash course on what’s normal—and what’s not.

So what’s in the book?

The guide is organized into 15 easy-to-digest steps.
Each one breaks down a core part of packaging—things like:

Understanding materials and why they matter
How to measure a box the right way
The truth about printing timelines (spoiler: it's longer than you think)
What a dieline is—and isn’t
How to spot packaging mistakes before they cost you

It’s short on fluff, big on clarity. You don’t need to be a designer or engineer to understand it. If you’ve ever Googled “how do I even start with packaging,” this is your answer.

Why it still matters

Since its release in fall 2023, it’s become more than a book. It’s been a starting point for courses, client conversations, workshops, and strategy calls. Some of my clients have called it the packaging guide they wish they’d had sooner. Others just keep it on the desk with tabs in all the right places. Either way, it’s working.

One founder told me she finally understood how to talk to her supplier without feeling like she was guessing. Another messaged to say, “I had no idea what I didn’t know—thank you for making this so clear.”

Final thoughts

Writing this book during a time of global stillness gave me the chance to organize everything I’ve learned over a long, beautiful, chaotic career in print and packaging.
If it helps even one founder feel more confident and less overwhelmed, it’s worth it.
And if it helps more people fall in love with packaging the way I did? Even better.

Want to take a peek?
📘 Grab the book here on Amazon

💪 Get the book and the resources and checklists here on my website
🧠 Or book a consult if you want help applying it to your own packaging puzzle.