about Erika
pronouns: she/her
I’m an award-winning writer and former actor who grew up near Lake Michigan in NW Indiana and, as an adult, lived in Chicago (8 years) and Oakland (5 years) before moving to Los Angeles. I’ve had a potpourri of jobs over the years, including working in Creative Development at Pixar Animation Studios, at the Michelin-starred Spiaggia Restaurant (RIP), and as a Standardized Patient (this is a real thing, and one of my favorite jobs ever). I’ve studied at Northwestern University, the School at Steppenwolf, and various writing workshops such as StoryStudio Chicago, Narrative Magazine, the Corey Mandell Screenwriting Workshops, and the Good Material Writing Intensives, where I also taught for a spell.
Lockdown brought home to me how important our relationships to our living and working spaces are. Whether you enjoy the acts of decluttering, arranging, and organizing or not, a space that works for you can make a huge difference in the flow of your life. We all carry preconceived notions about how we “should” be using our spaces, and I believe we shed a lot of stress and weight when we gently set those notions aside and ask ourselves the simple question: “what feels good to me?” It’s not easy to do — and that’s what I love to help with.
organizing inspirations
The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room (1983)
my grandma’s “Fuck Housework” poster by Virtue Hathaway
a college professor’s advice: “Don’t beat yourself up about how you work. If you’re a person who truly works best when you wait to write the essay until the night before it’s due, great: just make sure you don’t have plans that night.”
early signs of a tendency to organize
spending childhood summer free time organizing — unsolicited — the dressing rooms and “costume barn” at the Dunes Summer Theatre in Indiana
going into a state of flow while setting up the bar at Cafe Spiaggia
reorganizing and reimagining Pixar’s “Big Art,” a giant studio space for employee classes and personal use, to be more multipurpose, sustainable, and user friendly
moving apartments approximately 1 million times
procrastinating on my writing by reorganizing my pantry*
*let my disfunction be your gain
“Erika you are insane for enjoying organizing it is a living nightmare but you do a very good job and our space looks great.”
— Brett, work-play-storage space in Highland Park