Caitlin Crest

I began my design career at my mom's elbow, cutting and pasting two-inch typewritten paragraphs into magazine page format for D.A.Y. (Dialysis And You) Magazine. It was 1973.

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We worked in a darkened room, on a light table with blue-lined graph paper, squared and taped down carefully to ensure straight columns, gutters, and page numbers.

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I was well fitted to apprentice to her. Organized and logical with an innate sense of how things fit together cohesively and attractively, design and layout was effortless for me.

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Thus, my love of design was born. Being an avid reader and a lover of words, from the age of four, thoughts going together from my fingers on the typewriter into a printed page was thrilling! We also added stock clip-art, purchased in sheets by subject matter. It was the only artwork available without hiring an actual "graphic designer", and with no budget, we had to make do with what we could afford.

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This humble start would lead to a life of writing, designing, publishing, and more... a quick overview:

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1976 - I wrote a haiku that secured me an A in English, and shared it with my friends who had different teachers - they too received A's. I still remember it:

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     Sometimes I see you

     through others' eyes and find, I

     like my view better.

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Good times :-)

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1980's - busy raising four fantastic children.

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1993 - Opened Kindred Spirits in Claremont, CA, along with my sister, Elizabeth Anne. I sold out my portion and moved on in 1994, but Kindred Spirits is still going strong with the second-round owners.

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1994 - Wrote for, edited, and published the Lights of Lemuria

newsletter. A free New Age rag that included and advertised a small group of Southern California New Age/Psychic stores.

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1995 - Opened Ah-Ha! An Alternative Metaphysical Space in Pasadena, CA. We carried tarot cards, incense, gemstones, etc. on one side of the store - while the other side was a tattoo/piercing studio and a smoking paraphernalia room we lovingly dubbed, "The Glitchy Space".

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1996 - Two of my poems were published in Curve magazine, in two different issues.

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1997 - Wrote for Hipfish in Astoria, OR, and published the Astoria Gay & Lesbian organization's newsletter, OUT on the Coast.

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1998 - Wrote, directed, and produced Rainbow Zenith under CaitLinda Productions. Along with poetry written by my partner at the time, we produced an Evening of ... at the Top Hat theatre in Palm Springs, CA.

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2000 - 2003 Editor of The Center Post. A monthly publication of The (LGBT) Center Long Beach. From a 4-fold, newsprint publication, under my direction and design, we grew to a full-color cover, and 20 pages, monthly.

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2002 - Started a non-profit theatre group in Long Beach, CA. Along with my, then, partner, we created "The OUT Theatre." We produced several times before interest began to wane from the board of directors... oh well.

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2003 - Via "The OUT Theatre", I revived Rainbow Zenith for 6 performances in Long Beach, CA, in what is, now, Hot Java Coffee on Broadway.

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2003 - Launched Zephyr Graphics & Web Design, as owner/designer. Through the years I worked with professionals, entrepreneurs, non-profits, and individuals, providing great service at reasonable prices. I won the Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Pride Cover Design Contest, twice, and was named a Steward of the 2nd District by Council Member Suja Lowenthal in 2013, for my tireless dedication to our neighborhood non-profit organizations. The Zephyr blew out in 2018, but I am still, and always will be, a California girl at heart.

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2019 - Launch of CaitlinCrest.com - one place to showcase the various creative endeavors that I still enjoy and can be employed to do for others. 

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2022 - Wrote Soul Simple - a chapter book of radical thinking. Available on Amazon.

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