Interview with Chronicle Books

Monday, November 14, 2011

Way back in August we got the chance to meet-up with hundreds of pinners in the SF/Bay Area. One of the most enthusiastic groups we got a chance to talk to was a “delegation” of happy pinners from Chronicle Books. As soon as we started chatting with Kate, Kristen, and Guinevere, how and why they pin started pouring out: Kate as an editor for Chronicle Books and Anthology Magazine, Kristen to work with artists and designers as a design director, and Guinevere as a community manager and blog-writer.

It was one of the first times we got to meet a team that pins together so when we got a chance, a pinterview naturally followed:

The Chronicle Books office in San Francisco

Chronicle Books could be very basically described as a publishing company of visual books, but how would you describe where you work and the mission of Chronicle Books?

Kate Woodrow: I’d say Chronicle’s mission is to create exceptional publishing that’s instantly recognizable for its spirit, creativity, and value. (I’d say that because it’s literally part of our mission statement!) At the end of the day, we work hard to make distinctive things—books, games, journals, puzzles, stationery, apps, and so much more—and we have a lot of fun doing it. If I had to be anywhere every weekday, Chronicle Books makes for a pretty spectacular playground of creativity. (Plus we throw some pretty wicked parties.)

Setting up for a “Pantone Day” party at Chronicle Books

Each of you has a different role at Chronicle Books: can you give us some insight into what you do?

Kate Woodrow: As an editor, I acquire and then help develop roughly 30 art-driven gift products and illustrated books a year. It typically takes about a year to get from the initial nugget of an idea to a finished product on the shelves—but the more complicated projects on my list can take years of format development! I’m always on the hunt for new artists and brands to collaborate with.

Kristen Hewitt: I am an associate design director, and I work on mostly non-book titles—stationery, journals and gift items. I also work on developing new formats and making sure the house as the whole is always coming up with new and interesting formats for us to produce.

Guinevere de la Mare: I’m the community manager at Chronicle (the Chronicle Books blog here), so it’s my job to manage all of our social networks and connect with our fans online. I love what I do because it allows me to engage directly with customers, bloggers, authors, and artists. It’s incredibly valuable to have one-on-one conversations with people, hear what they’re saying about our books, and pass that feedback back to the rest of the company.

Chronicle Books “Books We Love” board

Chronicle Books has a Pinterest account and you all pin together on group boards. How does the office use Pinterest: is it mostly just for fun and community-building, or does pinning together help solidify design ideas too?

GdlM: A group of us at Chronicle all discovered Pinterest around the same time earlier this spring and we were immediately struck by how perfectly it complemented what we do. Our core business is built around visual sharing, and so much of what’s shared on Pinterest—design, typography, crafts/DIY, recipes, fashion—overlaps beautifully with what we publish. It instantly became a font of inspiration and a great new way to interact with our authors (many of whom pin) and our online community.

KH: As a designer and art director, Pinterest has become an incredible tool for me. When trying to establish a visual palette for a project, I used to create style boards that I would send to either the photographer, stylist, illustrator or designer and now I can just send a board specific to a project and send a link to the artist. By making it a shared board we both can pin things and collaborate on developing the look and feel together. It’s really become such a great tool!

If you were forced to pick, what would be your top Chronicle Books pick and why?

KW: Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives by Helen O’Neill. I’m partial, because it was my first acquisition at Chronicle way back in 2006. But, this illustrated biography of the infamous wallpaper designer is such a juicy read—and a beautifully packaged design book, as well

KH: This is tough because I work with so many amazing artists, each bringing so much passion and enthusiasm to each project. One of the projects that I’m most proud of is not a book, but a stationery line we have with Rifle Paper Co. called Botanicals. It’s a notebook collection and stationery set that is probably just about the prettiest project I’ve ever worked on. When Anna Bond at Rifle Paper Co. sent the final art to me when I opened it I actually gasped with excitement. The final collection has lots of details that just really make it extra special. Both sets are wrapped with twine and the journals have the word “notebook” stamped in gold foil and metallic gold printing on the interior texts sheets. It’s swoon-worthy!

GdlM: I love hand-drawn typography and I’m a sucker for those inspirational quotes you see all over Pinterest (yes, I have a board for them) so I have to say my favorite book right now is Everything Is Going to be OK. The artwork in the book is lovely, and a number of my friends contributed work so I’m a bit biased. But ultimately, this little book is like a hug in hardcover (“You are so loved!”), and that’s a beautiful thing.

All of you are pinners in your own right as well: what are your personal interests and projects?

Kate’s “Presents” board

KW: I love to cook and tend to pick recipes based on how delectable the end result looks, so food pins are an essential part of my visual recipe box. Perhaps my most useful board has been my collection of “Presents”—it’s saved the day for so many recent gift purchases!

Kristen’s “In the Garden” board

KH: I love everything about parties and making pretty things! I have a community garden, and really love and am inspired by being in it. I’ve gained a whole new respect for growing food since I started my garden and it’s fun to see what others are doing and be inspired by others in the pinterest world. In the spring, I will be helping my sister design her backyard and we have a shared board for that which is so great! In regards to personal projects, that’s the one I’m probably most excited about!

Guinevere’s “Kid A” board

GdlM: I have a toddler at home, so my most active board is dedicated to kid stuff. I pin project ideas (chalkboard paint!), cool stuff for him (skateboard swing!), and handy tips I want to remember (use baking soda to get crayon off the wall!). I also moonlight as a ghostwriter for a shopping blog, and Pinterest has become my go-to source for inspiration, as well as my online notebook for saving product links for future posts. It makes my life so much easier!

Thanks for taking the time to share all the reasons you pin! You can find Chronicle Books on Pinterest here.