Paper    Apron

Kim Byer enjoyed a colorful 1970's South Carolina childhood influenced by Barbie neon pinks and yellows, Marimekko patterns, and the pure Venetian red mud of Lake Murray.

 

Post high school, she squandered much of her youth, spending a decade slinging drinks in late-night rock'n'roll dives. And by squandered, she means studied the human condition in its natural environment from behind a protective partition.

 

In her 30's, she fell in love with her first Macintosh which led to a career designing interfaces for websites and observing the human condition across a field of fluorescent-lit, cloth-bound cubicles.

 

In her 40's, she began seeing food as photographic still-lifes in her dreams. She went on to write years of essays on her beloved (original) paperapron.com blog. Her food photographs have since graced more than twenty magazine covers.

 

In her 50's, she found herself consumed by another artform— pigment on canvas—in an explosive abandonment of structure and reality in which she comments on the human condition in the secret language of sgraffito scratchings and color.

 

And like a Roman candle destined for the night sky, she has never felt freer.

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Kim Byer divides her time between Columbia and Beaufort, South Carolina with her husband, Rich, and their Golden Retrievers, Colby and Hetta Grace. 

 

 

 

 

 

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I've worked as an Art Director and UX designer for over two decades where I've honed an intimate understanding of audience, storytelling, and deadline. 

 

For much of my adult life, food has fed me as an artistic medium. My editorial work focuses on whole, real food ingredients, usually green and leafy, sometimes kneaded and sugary--- but always rich with color and story. When I'm styling plates and shooting one of these edible still-lifes, I'm in my own private Idaho—a strange yin and yang of bliss and stress. 

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I am drawn to food as a medium—from developing recipes to cooking, seasoning, plating, and lighting, to the subtle storytelling of an imperfectly dripped sauce, to the interactive portion of the photoshoot when I devour my pretty little still life. 

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If you're an editor or publisher: I'm available for food content creation—nose to tail. I would love to hear from you and discuss your project. 

 

Specifically, I develop food concepts for articles with seasonal storylines and tested recipes. I deliver clean copy with introductions, recipes, and tips. I style my shoots (I've been known to create bespoke props/dishware) and deliver exceptional, print-ready photographs. 

 

I also make a decent lunch date.

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In other news, I am a wife, a mom to a wild boy Golden Retriever and a wilder new puppy named Hetta Grace. I also care for a couple of street-smart cats and four free-ranging French-ish hens that gift us with magical orange-yolked eggs.

 

I'm an abstract painter, a New York Times Spelling Bee addict, a wabi-sabi potter, a jigsaw puzzler, and a frequent Parisian.

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In a former life, I spent a decade slinging drinks at an all-night rock 'n' roll dive. It could explain a lot. Until recently, I've been slinging food and the occasional drink on Instagram. You'll find that hearsay documented here: @paperapron

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Kim Byer

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