Stephanie Milanowski

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stephanie Milanowski enrolled in college at the age of 14, eventually receiving a merit-based, full ride scholarship to study Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received a bachelor of fine arts degree. And later earning a master’s in fine arts from the University of Michigan. In Summer of 1994 she was 1 of 20 students worldwide admitted to the Yale University School of Art Summer Program in Brissago, Switzerland, where she studied with art and design luminaries including Paul Rand, Mario Botta, Pierre Mendell and Armin and Dorothea Hofmann. She also was recipient of a graduate studies fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her printmaking work where she was the first to drive a steamroller to print giant copper plates, making headlines and being photographed by the local press.

Stephanie Milanowski is the founder of “Save Me Lunch Bags”—a series of educational lunch bags for children featuring endangered species—into a global product. Overseeing manufacturing and distribution, Stephanie, encouraged by a telephone call from Tippi Hedren, went on to sell lunch bags to zoos, gift shops and museum stores around the world. 

Stephanie has taught and lectured graphic design at the college level. She has illustrated children’s books for HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, Cricket and major U.S. publishers, and has designed hundreds of book jackets and covers for best-selling authors, publishing companies and university presses nationwide. One of the first books Stephanie illustrated was for Katherine Paterson, author of “Bridge to Teribithia,” titled “Who am I?” Having learned the art of letterpress and book making at Rhode Island School of Design Stephanie’s work and recognition as a book artist exploded when she hand-bound 1,200 books for Oprah Winfrey and many other distinguished customers including Max DePree. Her artists books have been distributed by the Manhattan artists’ book collective Printed Matter, Inc., and her graphic design work has won numeroushonors including Printing Industries of America awards, the International Design Competition sponsored by Mohawk Paper Company, and first place in the National Billboard Competition of the Community Action Network’s Media & Corporate Awards, NYC.

Working since 1997 as a contract designer and entrepreneur, Stephanie’s projects have included holiday cards for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, as well as custom design of national exhibition collateral for world recognized artists/sculptors including Dale Chihuly, Dietrich Klinge, Mark di Suvero, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Louise Bourgeois, to name a few.

While on a press check in Chicago one afternoon, Stephanie stopped to hail a cab, looked up and there on a Chicago skyscraper saw an ad for The Container Store featuring Stephanie’s holiday wrapping paper design “Stardust” a best-selling design in the retail marketplace for 5 straight years. With sales still going strong today of just one line of her signature designs, Stephanie accomplished a feat unheard of in the paper & giftware industry. The same print can be seen in the hit movie “Uptown Girls” with Brittany Murphy in the first scene in the hotel lobby.

Stephanie recently appeared as an extra alongside actor, Sam Huntington in the soon-to-be-released movie “Tug”. Stephanie lives in Michigan with her husband and their two children and their Newfoundland. Besides her professional and academic achievements, Stephanie works as a volunteer and is recognized for her pro-bono work for Children's Hospitals, Memory Blankets, Cystic Fibrosis, and The Humane Society.