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About
Me | online portfolio |
| I am a freelance designer,
wife and mother of three living and working from my
home in the beautiful Napa Valley. I have always been
an artist, but didn't discover my talent until I discovered
the Mac in 1983. I had played with key punch cards as
a child...my mother was one of the first female computer
programmers back when computers took up an entire floor...she
taught me how to use the first IBM PC that came onto
the market...that one only took up the whole kitchen
table. |
    
My own very first home computer had 20 MB of memory
and was 4 Hz fast. I had a dot matrix printer and
a 1200 baud modem...and the floppy discs were actually
were floppy!
In 1990, I published my first newsletter, MotherWorks,
which focused on alternatives for women who wanted
to work from home.
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| That quickly
developed into a Magazine supported by local advertising.
The Golden Carrot and Tidee Didee Diaper Service
were my first advertisers. I created the first Home
Business Catalog and my friends and I sold crafts through
mail order. MotherWorks was a wonderful experience but
as my kids grew I hungered to do more. |
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My
corporate experience began in 1992, when I got
a part time job as a production assistant with The
Doctors' Company. I climbed the corporate ladder
working as a graphic artist and designer creating
annual reports and collateral material, and eventually
became Internet Project Manager. It was there I cut
my teeth on the web, designing my very first website
in 1994.
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| I
was responsible for developing the very first company
website, Intranet, and online application for medical
malpractice insurance. Additionally I worked with our
government relations department to develop a political
action website devoted to maintaining information and
resources for the various tort reform efforts going
on accross the country. I left TDC in 1999 and became
an independent consultant. |
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DOLE
Salads used their database of over 30,000 opt-in customers
to keep their products fresh in the minds of consumers
and Microsoft targeted IT Managers with White Papers
on emerging technology and I created the emails and
landing pages anchoring those marketing efforts and
more.
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Since
then I have worked with many clients in the Napa valley
and beyond on numerous projects ranging from print,
advertising, and web design. |
As
early as 2003 I worked on websites for AT&T,
Microsoft, Dole, and Boeing, and I gained valuable
experience in e-letter marketing and helping large
corporations leverage their extensive databases to
market to their existing clients and implementing
viral elements such as e-cards to gain new customers.
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I
created a series of FLASH based greeting cards
for ATT for their Holiday Marketing Campaign
that encouraged existing customers to send cards
with attached gifts from VISA and AMAZON.COM
to everyone on their email list. |
Prior
to the explosion of social networking these companies
invested heavily in the technology that has become
mainstream today. I was fortunate enough to learn
on the creative edge and bring that knowledge base
into my current work. See Web
for more about my AGENCY experience.
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In
2005 I began to work creating ads for a local magazine
and in 2007 I became Creative Director of Napa Valley
Life. In addition to taking over the layout of the
bi-monthly publication, I designed a website and newsletters
in conjunction with the magazine. I also developed a
weekly radio show Scene Around the Valley on 99.3
the Vine/ 1440 KVON on the Kellie in the Morning Show.
During my time at Napa Valley Life Magazine I continued
to work with clients, but maintained a rather low profile
and focusing on more personal projects.
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Personal
Projects
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For Gina
Designs
The
strong vocals of Shauna Marshall, in the dual role
of club singer Sugar and burlesque performer Sophie
Tucker, leaves the audience wanting to hear her perform
more solos.
--Sue Michul,
St. Helena Star
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Since
I began designing "things" I have enjoyed
the satisfaction of working on several personal projects.
Be it jewelry, art, clothing or products that lift
mind body and spirit I have always had the urge to
create.
I
collaborated with Mick Winter to write Napa Valley
in a Nutshell in 1996, and in 1999, I wrote, Planting
The Money Tree. I began writing fiction in 2000
with an online group, and I joined Francis Ford Copolla's
Zoetrope
site April 2001. In August of that year, my short
film script, American
Cheese, was selected as one of the top three scripts
for the month.
I
continue to be passionate with my writing, and am
working on A DIVA's GUIDE to Having it All
and a collection of stories about my early online
escapades, loosely titled, ROTFLMAO.
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In
the Spring of 2000 I had a show of my Jewelry
and Home Decor Designs at The Lotus Blossom. The intricate
hand work led me to submit some of my design's to
Napa Valley Metal Works where they were picked
up and distributed through Gina Designs Napa Valley.
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In
Fall 2001 I appeared in the dual role of Sugar/Sophie
Tucker in the original musical Planet Vegas which
opened to great
reviews. Lookout Broadway!
I
have written a musical, and my fondest dream is to
produce it right here in Napa. I am always shopping
venues and patron saints, but in the meantime, I spend
my weekends singing in a Blues Band, Nuclear Blonde.
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In July of 2005 I began singing at "a
little club in the country" called Jessel's.
Jammin' at
Jessel's became my second home, and I performed
there almost every week for two years and met many
fine musicans.
More
like a variety show than a jam, Jessel played hostess
to an amazing gang of talented poets, singers, songwriters
and musicans. Local talent Suzi Gilbert, Helen Mead
and Mary Jenson were all frequent performers.
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Each
week Jessel would hold a potluck "rehersal"
where those who showed up would create the show for
the following Monday. It was there I learned to improvise,
often playing with people I had never even met before
after one go through or sometimes no run-thru at all.
I would bring in my songs on scraps of paper and people
like johnny Smith, Bill Craig, Gordon Lustig and Steve
Della Maggioria would play with me. One such night Johnny
Smith and I performed a duet I had just written that
day called Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime and we have gone on to perform
it in both our individual shows and together. Later, in 2015 I recorded my first album, "You Don't Know Me But You Should" (also on ITunes & CD Baby) and Johnny joined me for this song.
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In
2005 I played my first professional gig at a local
club called DGs and it was just my luck that Napa
Sonoma Magazine showed up to take some photos.
I always felt that I was in the right place, doing
the right thing at the right time with my music...even
though I got such a late start in life.
Following
some early recognition I have gone on to perform my
original music at Biscuits & Blues, Headfeathers
and COPIA with my band, and to share the stage
with Local Blues Legends Tommy Castro, Steve Freund, Willie G & Stan
Erhart.
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I've
had opening gigs for Tommy castro, Pat Wilder, John Lee Hooker Jr., Bobby
Young & John Nemeth, and have made my own
way in the north bay music scene as both Shauna Marshall & Nuclear Blonde.
Everything
I do, be it art or life, is invested with great
passion. From singing, dancing, and acting to design
and production, I find great joy in the everyday moments
that make up my life...especially when I can share
them with my family.
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Out
of a strong desire to keep the music scene going I
launched Girls Nite Out with friends Liz DiGiorgio
and Linda Lefler. For a couple of years we cruised
around the San Francisco Bay Area looking for the
hottest venues and the coolest Musicans. I have a
lifetime of memories crammed in to a few short years.
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