[ Aniko Hill: Founder, Chief Creative Officer ]
A natural curiosity and passion for creating targeted, authentic brands makes Aniko Hill a diverse conceptual designer, creative director, and branding specialist. An Art Center College of Design graduate, she has extensive experience in all design mediums and has worked with highly regarded firms and major clients throughout her career. Aniko attained her expertise in large scale branding projects through work on prestigious accounts such as The Boeing Company, The Walt Disney Company, Master Foods USA, Sony Corporation, Ketel One Vodka and Red Bull. She has shared her experience with emerging design professionals over the years as a senior instructor at Art Institute of California, where she taught advanced courses on branding and packaging design.
Aniko founded The Kitchen Collaborative with a determination to innovate the traditional creative business methodology. Her distinct creative and professional vision has produced award-winning work with quantifiable results for clients in categories including health & beauty, fashion, home products and pet care. Her work creating premium lifestyle brands for the sophisticated female market has been featured in top industry publications such as Print, CPC Packaging, and HOW. Aniko is also an expert editorial contributor, writing for trade publications such as GCI, Package Design Magazine, and Beauty Packaging Magazine. Graphic Design USA recognized Aniko as one of the People to Watch in 2008.
[ Jesse Hill: Principal, Creative Director ]
Jesse was exposed to fine art, antiques, and photography at an early age through his parents, both respected fine art dealers. He realized his passion for photography during his extensive travels through Europe and the Middle East, where he found it possible to gain access to people and places that were off-limits without a camera in hand. He attained his professional experience in large-scale photography productions working on premier advertising accounts such as Skyy Vodka, Bebe, L’Oreal, and Revlon, where he worked closely with top art directors and legendary photographers.
Jesse’s photography, including portraits of Oscar® winning actors and Grammy® winning musicians, has appeared in international publications including
Architectural Digest,
Glamour,
Rolling Stone, and
Time. Jesse’s images are syndicated through Getty Images. In addition to overseeing all the facets of photo and video production at The Kitchen, Jesse provides creative and strategic support for branding campaigns in print, web and video. To see more of Jesse's photography, please visit
jessehill.com.
[ Natalia Velez: SVP Brand Partnerships ]
As Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships for the Kitchen, Natalia combines entrepreneurial vision with extensive experience in sales, marketing and advertising, digital sales platform development, and media buying and planning. Her expertise includes developing event marketing and digital disruptive campaigns, print and out-of-home marketing, packaging and design, and data solution marketing. She draws upon a strong specialty in millennial lifestyle advertising, and has collaborated with marketing think tanks at McCann-Erickson and Arnell Group. Her entrepreneurial achievements include the sale of Hypecircle after six-year growth, in addition to being the leading sales generator in her roles at Complex Media, Rhythm One and Resonate.
Natalia has worked on 360-degree brand programs for clients like Nike, KIA, HBO, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Lancome, Clorox Brands, Levi’s, Apple, Activision, Honda, United States Marine Corps, Adidas, GoPro, Charles Schwab, Trivia, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Paramount, Sony, Fox, Reebok and LVHM. She graduated cum laude from Northeastern University with a B.A. in journalism/advertising and a minor in Spanish, and also attended the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.
[ Doris J.: Senior Designer ]
A born and bred Angeleno, Doris draws inspiration from the diversity that the city offers. A self-proclaimed perfectionist with a keen eye and attention to detail, she thrives on all the creative and technical challenges involved in seeing a project through from beginning to end. After graduating from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Doris built her career working in a variety of industries and on both corporate and non-profit accounts including Mattel, NBC Universal, Hilton, USC, The Recording Academy, Los Angeles Public Library, Countrywide, KB Home, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Doris' work is essential to Kitchen Collaborative's day-to-day operations, and she loves creating designs tailored to the needs of each and every client.
[ Jenny D.: Senior Designer ]
Jenny’s career started in New York, where she worked for branding and packaging firms on prestigious accounts such as Unilever (Dove, Ponds, Caress, Splenda, Acuvue), Revlon, Pepsi Co., Perrier-Jouet, and Johnson & Johnson. Her move to Los Angeles expanded on her branding and packaging experience through work on accounts such as Smith & Hawken, Dole, Pillsbury, Colgate/Palmolive, Disney, Lipton, Bellagio, Wal-Mart and Alpo. Jenny’s designs balance creativity with practicality, and she has contributed to many of our award-winning solutions.
[ Alexa C.: Copywriter/Brand Strategist ]
Alexa draws upon more than fifteen years of experience developing distinct, strategically grounded voices for consumer and B2B brands in a broad range of categories. She has helped to launch luxury brands like Maguire Aviation and CityCenter by MGM MIRAGE, has developed annual reports for Allergan and Maguire Properties, has created internal branding programs for Countrywide Financial Corporation and has developed original packaging and collateral programs for the Casablanca Fan Company. On every project she undertakes, she consistently strives to develop messaging that is engaging and conceptually centered. Alexa received a BA in English from Bryn Mawr College. Her work has been featured in InStyle and Country Home magazines, the Print Regional Design Annual, and in major retail outlets like Target and Lowe’s.
[ Jordan J.: Project Manager ]
Jordan draws upon experience in creative promotion for entertainment talent, business to business marketing, event marketing and editorial social media for her work with the Kitchen. She is responsible for coordinating photo shoots; printing, fabrication and space implementation with vendors; and project timelines and scheduling between clients and Kitchen talent. Jordan also contributes on social media reporting and analytics for the Kitchen team.
Jordan completed a B.A. in English Literature in three years, graduating early from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her professional experience includes work in sales and marketing for Matthews Studio Equipment, a manufacturer of grip equipment; and freelance social media marketing for BEAT, Brooklyn’s premier summer theatre festival; in addition to work with other clients in the entertainment category. Jordan also completed an editorial internship at Parenting magazine.
[ Raquel B.: Graphic Designer ]
Raquel draws upon multi-disciplinary experience in graphic design for her role at the Kitchen. She began her design career working with nonprofits and startups in the San Francisco Bay Area, then moved to Los Angeles, where she has worked in interactive media, print and branding media for clients like Patagonia, SCI-Arc, Under Armour and Fusionetics, among others. She enjoys developing graphic systems for social media and marketing projects for her clients at the Kitchen. Raquel received B.A. and A.A. degrees in graphic design from San Francisco State University and continued her education at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
[ Alison S.: Copy Editor ]
Alison draws upon her extensive writing background and publicity experience to collaborate on strategic planning, help implement and manage social media campaigns, and enhance and proofread copy. She is also responsible for developing engaging, original and on-brand content across multiple marketing communications.
Alison was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with a B.A. in English. She then attended the University of Westminster in London, UK, where she received a Master’s Degree with merit in Music Business. Alison worked as program director for Radio K, where she oversaw a student staff of thirty, planned unique marketing campaigns, and more. Her work as a publicist includes roles at Modern Radio Records, where she promoted tours and album releases; and at Hilsinger Mendelson West, where she landed media spots for clients, planned book launch events, and contributed to press campaigns for prominent book releases.
[ Angela L.: PR and Social Media ]
Angela brings experience as a writer, blogger and social media marketer to her role at the Kitchen, where she manages social media campaigns and directs social shoots, maintains relationships with bloggers and influencers, develops branded content like social posts and press releases, and secures brand placement for clients with media outlets.
Prior to joining the Kitchen, Angela worked as a freelance copywriter for StitchFix, a personal style service, was a PR intern for The A List, a celebrity fashion agency, and served as brand manager for Amazing Cosmetics. She has also contributed fashion, beauty, relationship and lifestyle tips for StitchFix, ThoughtCatalog and Bustle, in addition to her personal blog. Angela graduated from Cal State University, Northridge, with a B.S. in Business Marketing.
[ Amanda M.: Accounting Manager ]
Amanda has worked as a bookkeeper and business manager for ten years. At the Kitchen, she draws upon her bookkeeping expertise to handle accounts payable and receivable, payroll and financial management. In addition to her bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities, Amanda assists with Human Resources, employee manuals and forms, and tax paperwork.
Amanda attended the University of Iowa as a dance major prior to moving to California, where she completed the Accounting program at Santa Monica College. For ten years, she owned and operated her own bookkeeping business management firm. Her previous clients include the For Love & Lemons apparel company, Brian Ray (bass player for Paul McCartney) and Lee Ault (former CEO of Equifax.)
[ Tracy S.: Senior Web Developer ]
As Senior Web Developer for The Kitchen Collaborative, Tracy is responsible for using web technologies to help design, program and modify websites for the Kitchen and its clients. His specialties include client-side web programming and layout using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, server-side web and database programming using PHP, MySQL and more, HTML newsletter creation, and setup, configuring and customizing Content Management Systems like WordPress, ExpressionEngine and Zen Cart.
After receiving a B.S. in Computer Science from University of Massachusetts, Tracy spent five years at his own web design business, where he designed, constructed and maintained e-commerce sites and managed inventories for clients that included Ferrari and Maserati dealerships in Beverly Hills, Silicon Valley and Pasadena. During this time he initially partnered with Aniko Hill to set up the website for her first freelance business. He was then employed at Atari for six years, where he oversaw the maintenance, updating, construction and redesign of Atari.com, performed Linux network administration and interfaced with outside developers to set up development environments and troubleshooting issues. While at Atari, Tracy also built gaming microsites in collaboration with in-house web designers. His client list includes Ferrari/Maserati of Beverly Hills, Maserati Pasadena, Ferrari/Maserati Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Todd Designs, Chakratees, Dallas Duncan Design and Etco Homes, among others.
[ Lindsay R.: Retoucher/Photo Imager ]
Lindsay is a photo retoucher and digital imager who brings extensive experience in commercial and fine art imaging to her work with The Kitchen Collaborative. She is responsible for digital imaging needs that range from retouching tiny imperfections to adding backgrounds, changing colors and angles, and creating natural-looking images from complex composites.
Lindsay received a B.A from University of California, Berkeley, and has worked as digital assistant and retoucher with a variety of photographers, for clients that include Getty Images, Victorinox, and Colby Creative. In addition, she has worked as an assistant researcher, designer and developer of digital artwork for Anne Marie Karlsen at Flipwerks Public Art. In this capacity, Lindsay produces digital public artwork in a variety of permanent media including glass, mosaic, ceramics and metal. Her work is on permanent display in libraries, transit stations, cruise ships, hospitals, government buildings and private developments, and was recognized for excellence in 2008 (Lawndale Public Library) and 2010 (Santa Monica Place Parking Garage) by the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (PAN).
[ Gaelen C.: Associate Photographer ]
Gaelen is a photographer and documentary artist who brings extensive experience in photography, lighting design and casting to his work at The Kitchen Collaborative. He specializes in editorial photography, including celebrity portraits, food, landscape and architectural imagery.
After receiving a B.A. from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Gaelen moved to Los Angeles to begin a vibrant career in commercial and fine art photography. His work has been featured in Elle, Food & Wine, Angeleno and Localflavor New Mexico magazines. Previous assignments include portraits of private clients and artists, restaurant environments, album covers and live concert photography. When he’s not on assignment, Gaelen works on personal sub-culture documentary pictorials.
[ Emily N.: Hair & Makeup Artist ]
Emily is an accomplished hair and makeup artist who draws upon over ten years of experience in her role at the Kitchen. Her clients span a wide range of categories, including Nordstrom, Free People, Hautelook, Microsoft, Propel Water, Sole Society, Dailylook, Jellypop, Indigo Road, Fabletics, The Great, Arnham and the Spell and Gypsy Collective. She has contributed hair and makeup services to editorial photo shoots for leading magazines and online publications like Wired Magazine, Elle China, Live FAST Magazine and Fashion Gone Rogue, in addition to her work on shoots for e-commerce, catalog, advertising print campaigns and video. Emily received an Associates degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
[ Suzi G.: Wardrobe Stylist ]
As key Wardrobe Stylist for The Kitchen Collaborative, Suzi enjoys drawing from current fashion trends to help clients market their brands. Her responsibilities include partnering with lead creative team members to provide the wardrobe and accessories that will help achieve the desired direction for each assignment.
Suzi received a B.A. in Communications for University of California, Santa Barbara, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Product Development and Visual Communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). Her professional experience includes work for television and editorial clients such as E! Entertainment, lead stylist positions for two Style Network shows and a global stylist position for Mary Kay Cosmetics, where she forecasts trends in collaboration with People StyleWatch. She has also worked with major advertising agencies and commercial agents on projects for clients like Mercedes-Benz, Nespresso, Kmart, BesoBeso Jewelry and Kellogg’s. Suzi is an active member of the FIDM Alumni Committee and volunteers for Donatemydress.org.
[ John I.: Editor/After Effects Artist ]
John is a director, editor and designer who has been based in Los Angeles for the last six years. After graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a B.S. in Communications and a Cognate in Film Directing, he has worked on a broad range of projects in editing, directing, video FX artist and motion graphic artist capacities.
His work for clients like Lincoln, Lockheed Martin and HP has been recognized with a wide range of prestigious industry awards. These include two regional Emmy Awards and nominations (2009, 2010); Best Drama awards in the Hollyshorts and Malibu Film Festivals (both 2011); a Grand Prize award for MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking), (2011); a Gold award nomination for the New York Festival (2010); a W3 Silver award for editing (2007); and a Communicator award for videography (2006), among others.
