In the business of making ideas work.

Before there was Essex River Studio, I spent 20 years in information technology and management consulting. I designed and built computer systems and software products, then moved into consulting, where I focused on strategy. Most of my clients were major companies and organizations in Boston and New York City.

Eventually, I decided to take all that experience in a more creative direction. I started building websites—and that was the beginning of Essex River.

Since then, I’ve worked with an incredible mix of clients: authors, entrepreneurs, real estate firms, publishers, medical professionals, artists and small businesses. Every one of them has come to me through word of mouth. Many of those relationships have lasted five, ten, even fifteen years. And along the way, one project often led to another. A website became a brochure. A brochure became a magazine. A new business needed a brand. A great idea needed a campaign.

Today, Essex River Studio brings all of that together. I design and build websites, digital and print publications, and advertising campaigns—working with clients from the first spark of an idea all the way through design, development and launch.

After all these years, the part I enjoy most is still the same: taking an idea, figuring out what it can become, and making it happen.

These days, I divide my time between Maine and North Carolina, usually with my two cats nearby—and quite often right in the middle of whatever I’m working on.

— Karen Sale