Meet Angela Paladino | editor, graphic designer, fiber artist & musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Paladino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, my work-life balance was a mess. I drove to an office every day (often through snow and sleet), and by the time I got home I had nothing left for my freelance clients, let alone my pets or myself. I frequently was irritable and exhausted without fully understanding why.

Since then, I’ve worked entirely remotely, and everything has gotten better. My eating habits are healthier, I get more exercise, my pets are so much happier, and I am able to more effectively balance my full-time editing job with my freelance editorial and design work and my fiber art commissions. I feel like my time is my own now. I can take breaks when I need to, and the lack of a commute means I no longer spend so much time shoveling out my car and driving back and forth, so I can dedicate that time to my freelance clients or to self-care. And any job is better when you’re doing it surrounded by a gang of cute dogs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve never been good at doing just one thing. I want to do it all! Professionally, I’m a full-time editor at a nonprofit. Then I do freelance editing and graphic design in the evening. I also take on fiber art commissions. And I make my own art, from soft sculptures and stitch paintings to block prints to cyanotypes to hand-bound books. Plus, I’m in a five-piece indie rock band, Anachronist [https://www.anachronist.band].

My favorite way to make art is with my hands and body. I’ve hand-stitched large installations, one of which hung from the bell tower of a local historical society. During the pandemic, I made a “self-care quilt” using only materials I already had in my house; each block represented a different form of self-care I employed during that time. When I designed a wonky display typeface during my MFA program, I used my own body to form each shape. I’m anti-perfectionist in my personal work, even as I strive for perfection when editing. Sometimes, the loose ends are what tie it all together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in an extremely rural area in the far north of Vermont, not far from the Canadian border. Most of what I do up here involves biking or hiking with my dogs, paddleboarding or cross-country skiing depending on the season, or visiting the spectacular breweries the state is known for. If I had a friend in town, I’d take them to Hill Farmstead, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, or The Alchemist for delicious local beer, to Barr Hill for incredible Vermont-made gin, to Morse Farm for a maple creemee (what we call soft-serve, but made with real maple syrup, of course!), to a show at the Radio Bean, and maybe up north to the Spa Nordic Station in Magog, Quebec.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Among the many, many people who have inspired and supported me, I especially want to shout out Ian Lynam. Ian started as a friend, then became one of my advisors during my MFA program in graphic design at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has since become my favorite editing client. In addition to the multiple books I’ve edited for him, he frequently recommends my editorial services to other writers and designers. If you know Ian, you know that his whole approach to life and work is one big shoutout!

Website: https://www.angelapaladino.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-paladino-6b3235112/

Image Credits
Keri Dennison-Leidecker