Ep. 191: Arlene Gottfried Legacy Series Part Three (Maria Mayer Feng)

As the former caretaker of the Arlene Gottfried Legacy Instagram Project, I spent over 60 hours of research and around 18 hours of doing 12 interviews. Having done all of that, the name Maria Mayer Feng kept coming up again and again. It was my understanding she was considered to have had a huge role in Arlene finally putting out books of her own personal photography which had been hiding under her bed for years. Maria helped her make mach ups of book projects, and walked her lovingly through the process. It was such a pleasure to speak to Maria and it was abundantly clear how much she cared about Arlene and how clear it was to Maria that Arlene had a rare talent. I mean there were a lot of folks who had big parts in this process as well, but I truly believe that Maria light the first match in the process. Maria Mayer Feng is a NYC-based luxury photo book designer, founder of Studio Maria Mayer Feng, who creates bespoke, artful keepsakes from personal photos and mementos, merging tactile design with memory, also known for her greeting card line, Vision & Paper, in Ridgefield, CT, blending paper craft with digital stories. She transforms "photo chaos" into beautifully designed heirloom books, offering a physical, artistic way to preserve personal histories, drawing on her interest in memory and interactive design from NYU.

https://www.mariamayerfeng.com

Edited by Otter Castro

Interview by Rich Wexler