About Squirrel Hill Design and Craft

At Squirrel Hill we focus on small batch handcrafted maps, most often of smaller places that are loved by locals. I love doing custom work and am happy to work with you on maps of locations special to your shop's region. I love to explore the intersections of technology, craft, history, and geography. I've been working full-time as an artistic cartographer since 2017. I hope that my handcrafted wood maps can help to deepen your connection to a location. They are created to encourage a new perspective, instill a sense of place, and celebrate your neck of the woods. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, I spent eight years away, during which time I studied woodworking and sustainable design at The Evergreen State College in Washington. After graduating, I lived in upstate New York for four years, where I started Squirrel Hill – naming the business after one of my most beloved places. In the 50s, my grandma made paper maps by hand for Bell Telephone on a wooden drafting table. My dad has a collection of USGS 7.5″ topographic maps that were treated as precious objects. He has instilled in me a reverence and fascination with the natural world. Now, growing up in an age of Google Maps and GPS, I have found myself drawn to creating tactile maps. I combine GIS data and laser cutting technology to cut pieces of wood that I assemble and finish by hand on my grandma’s drafting table.Read their story