My Friend Dana

Twenty years ago today my friend and mentor, Dana Conant, left the planet in a spectacular shower of silver shards, courtesy of a freak hailstorm on Route 36, not far from Susanville, California. Not completely without logic, as both of us liked the color silver, we both drove silver cars, and her graphic design company, Quicksilver Productions, was where we became instant friends the day I began working for her, exactly one year before she left. A year later I would be wallowing in grief, trying to revive and rename the business in Mount Shasta that she left for me.

Luckily, there were plenty of generous souls who helped me carry on, and I named my new company Silverlining Designs. It’s been an amazing time in which I’ve managed to keep some of the same clients for twenty years. This picture lives on the windowsill of my office. Still my mentor, she’s the inspiration, providing the imagined laugh when I need one, and silently reminding me which fonts would be the best for a project.

Would I go back and trade a successful twenty years for the chance to work with her again? You bet.

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