ABOUT ME
MY STORYMORE ABOUT ME I have been working in book publishing for over 20 years. After designing the covers of many books and art directing photo shoots, I made it a goal to learn food photography and styling. I have now shot the photography for three of my own cookbooks as well as multiple cookbooks for other authors.
Laura has loved baking since she was a kid; her childhood career goals were to own a bakery or become a book illustrator. Though neither dream has yet come to fruition, she has merged her love of books and baking in the art of food styling, and photography. Her love of culinary arts was matched in her close friend and former colleague, Mumtaz Mustafa. The two launched @spiceandsugartable to celebrate the joy of cooking, baking, creating, and sharing great food.
Laura co-authored, photographed, and designed Christmas Baking: Festive Cookies, Candies, Cakes, Breads, and Snacks to Bring Comfort and Joy to Your Holiday which was released November, 2020. She also wrote and photographed Gather & Graze: Globally Inspired Small Bites and Gorgeous Table Scapes for Every Occasion with her long-time friend and colleague Mumtaz Mustafa. Her third book The Homemade Pie Cookbook features her design, photography and 100 delicious pie, tart, and galette recipes.
She lives in Michigan with her family. Their home is set within hundreds of old hardwoods where they raise chickens and ducks. Her family also enjoys visits to a second home on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala—where they grow bananas, pineapples, mangos, avocados, cacao, limes, pomegranates, and vanilla orchids.
Laura is a senior art director at Revell and a freelance designer focusing on book covers and illustrated book interiors. She also shoots photographs for cookbooks and book covers. Previously, she was art director at Hyperion and at HarperCollins Publishers in New York City. Her current clients include: Penguin RandomHouse, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette, Amazon Publishing, Sourcebooks, and Quarto.
She learned photography while working as an art director and graphic designer. Her photographs have appeared on the covers of The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrow paperback and Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg paperback. She is the interior and cover photographer for Bri McKoy’s The Cook's Book, Barkcuterie, and The Chosen Presents Taste and See.
Laura received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Michigan State University in studio art and English and a Master of Arts from Emerson College in writing and publishing. Her love of books led her to her first job designing book interiors. She transitioned to covers and full-color, illustrated book interiors with a focus on cookbooks. She has worked on interiors for Regan Books, St. Martins Press, Artisan, Abrams, Hachette, and Quarto.
SERVICES
Fiction and nonfiction book cover design
4-color book interior design
Food photography and styling