About Us

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“Embodying casual intensity with an empathetic smile, a well-told story and embracing music.”

Tether was born in 2008 with the dream of creating brand visions for visionary brands. We set upon our future in a creative playground where we sold products we made, showed art we curated, held community events and concerts and created multidiscipline solutions for brands we love, from corporate giants to passionate start-ups to launching our own brands. We’ve grown and moved a few times since those early days, while remaining steadfastly independent and wholly committed to being a place where strategies are elucidated, stories are crafted, concepts are germinated, and brands—big and small—are born, reborn and sent out to conquer the world.

Our Tetherites

Stanley Hainsworth

Chief Creative Officer

Left-brained† revolutionary embarks on madcap mission‡ to redefine how design gets done.

^† Left-brainers are known for extricating astounding creative solutions from chaotic office environments.
^‡ Most lucrative madcap missions involve a memorable logo, a proven hydration beverage, and a clairvoyant gnome

More about Stanley

Nancy Urner

Operations Director

Efflorescent† executor magically manages the machinations of an emerging empire.‡

^† Efflorescent individuals are often enamored by punctuation’s potential for self-expression!!!!!
^‡ All empires have lifecycles. We’re looking forward to the decadent decline, when it’s all champagne and supermodels.

Steve Barrett

Executive Creative Director

Masterful mentor† enlightens with poetic perceptions and big-picture bravura.‡

^† Effective mentorship requires the ability to provide advice that can be construed as both sagacious and cryptic.
^‡ In certain contexts, “bravura” may be misinterpreted as “adult ADD.”

Julia Fiorito

Group Account Director

Sassy Saxon† with a knack for tackling complexity steers projects to first position.‡

^† Wenn ich das übersetzen muss, du schuldest mir ein Bier.
^‡ Be warned, should she volunteer to drive: this former Autocrosser still chases the checkered flag.

Neil Webster

Executive Creative Director

Tactical jargonaut† summons verbalistic prowess to craft new legends, new worlds, new rituals.‡

^† Jargonauts differ from liars in that they enjoy gainful compensation and a generous 401k plan.
^‡ Rituals include, but are not limited to, falcon husbandry, competitive gurning and Kirkpinar oil wrestling.

Ollie

Dog

Hur… Hur…

Danielle Buffa

Senior Creative

Pixel-perfect† branding buff bags peaks, bleeds Maize and Blue and boasts a soft spot for serial killers.‡

^† This creative lives for smart design, from UI and UX to packaging and identity.
^‡ She’s all about true crime podcasts, psychology and what makes people tick.

Allison Sacks

Senior Creative

Horticultural heliophile† brings brands into the light with dazzling design dexterity.‡

^† Flora-loving SoCal transplant brings a sunny outlook to the misty PNW.
^‡ When it comes to packaging, print or digital, you’re in good, double-jointed hands.

Kim Groebner

Senior Creative

Rock-climbing† rambler parks the van‡ and cooks up design concepts and dinner with equal enthusiasm.

^† How long to climb El Cap? About 17 hours if you’re Kim.
^‡ A Sprinter called Ellie (as in Eleanor Roosevelt); for 7 years, Kim also called her home.

Madeleine Waite

Account Director

Green Mountain mama follows family tradition† granting client wishes with poise & precision.‡

^† With a dad in ads, is it a coincidence that “Madeleine” sounds a lot like “Mad Men”?
^‡ Two qualities she honed in lacrosse, effortlessly connecting balls to defender’s noses nets.

Matt Lider

Creative

Inquisitive† tinkerer engineers ergonomic and aesthetic excellence of Brobdingnagian‡ proportions.

^† This “Investigator” shares an Enneagram type with none other than Einstein.
^‡ Towering at 6’4,” he’s got the altitude to elevate any project.

Bo Gilliland

Associate Creative Director

Salty scribe navigates lyrical seas†, crafting siren songs with style‡ and soul.

^† Making sweet, sweet music—with bands and brands—floats this salt’s 38-foot Kettenburg.
^‡ Three-time winner of Seamen Digest’s Sartorial Sailors & Natty Naval-Gazers.

James LaFuente

Senior Creative

Pixel wiz reigns as king of the hill† when it comes to inky‡ scripts, creating comps wild enough to rival his Yeezy Boost 700s.

^† This former flamethrower traded fastballs for even faster design chops.
^‡ His passion for pigment led him straight to the hard stuff—13 tats in one year.

Björn Soneson

Creative Director

Globetrotting graphics hit man executes† deliverables with a Swiss-army skillset.‡

^† Let’s be clear, all this talk of execution is purely metaphorical … or is it?
^‡ Skillset includes print, web, and slow jams.

Dave Schlesinger

Creative Director Industrial Design

Spatial savant† formulates 3D serendipity in an unkempt and off-kilter‡ world.

^† It requires first-hand experience and a trained eye to distinguish between a spatial savant and your average felon.
^‡ A term that originated with the rampant deskirting of Scotsmen during the 1513 Battle of Flodden Field.

James Halada

Creative Director

Alphabetic alchemist† transmutes lexical mettle into marketing gold.‡

^† Early alchemists attempted to transmute strips of leather into bacon, thus accidentally inventing beef jerky.
^‡ You should see this guy on the drums, pounding out the hits from the golden age of hair metal. That’s pure gold.

Daniel Petrzelka

Creative Director

Curious concoctor† nimbly shifts gears and focus, inspiring a propitious panoply‡ of profferings.

^† Should anyone tempt you with a “brand-new concoction”, insist they take the first sip.
^‡ When confronted by a propitious panoply, we advise that you assume a fetal position and yodel until it retreats.

Julie Kim

Creative

Multifaceted maker† ruminates on adaptive design and moving meditations‡ in her quest for optimal equanimity.

^† This masterly maven’s trove of talents makes da Vinci seem amateur.
^‡ Chakra-cleansing two-step to ujjayi breath work–she never stops riding the wave.

Tina Ou

Senior Project Manager

Operationally OCD organizer† greases the lanes, helping projects strike the pocket‡ with perfect precision.

^† Tina’s juvie rap sheet includes several counts of aggravated calendaring.
^‡ Ever the tweener, Tina delivers with equal parts power and finesse.

Sandra Mitchell

Accounting Manager

Captain of Accounting† puts her back‡ into the balance sheet, bringing order to computational chaos.

^† And Queen of Calisthenics.
^‡ You wanna talk backbone? This one’s backed up with steel.

Josh Stough

Senior Creative

Vehement velocipedist† shifts the prototypal paradigm up a gear with celeritous‡ skill.

^† He’s the proud proprietor of nine wheels—eight of ’em on bikes. We’ll let you noodle on the ninth.
^‡ Frameworking at full-throttle is a given with an almost-pro RC racecar driver.

Bronson Folz-Edwards

Senior Creative

Graphite-wielding† graphic designer finds beauty in abecedarian forms, alley-oops and fiery food.‡

^† 2H to 6B, his penchant for pencils is downright Escher-esque.
^‡ Whether cooking up concepts or chowing down, he brings the heat.

Becky Van Wieringen

Talent Manager

Ommetaphobic people-picker,† triumphant in global gauntlet,‡ levels an eye for untouchable talent.

^† Her first job was packing widgets on an assembly line. Now it’s placing wizards in an open office.
^‡ Pausing her lifelong tour of Washington with a trip to 13 countries in 3 weeks. Plus layovers.