Elizabeth Carpenter

Elizabeth Carpenter is an award-winning[1] American writer, fashion designer, maze maker, and board game designer. She lives in New York City where she operates her own business, Mazeology LLP.

For the American journalist and press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson, see Liz Carpenter.

Elizabeth Carpenter
Born1953
OccupationAuthor, fashion designer, video game developer

Background and education

Elizabeth Carpenter grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, and graduated early from Princeton High School. She attended both Carnegie-Mellon University and Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied painting. Her first significant employment was with India Imports of Rhode Island.

Design career

At the age of twenty, Elizabeth Carpenter relocated to Gambia, Africa where, as co-director of West Africa Exports, she began designing clothing. She went on to work for Mast Industries as part of the initial design team for the Limited. In 1984, Carpenter became the Fashion Director of Foxmoor, the juniors' specialty store division of the Melville Corporation. From 1985 to 1996 she founded Elizabeth Carpenter, Inc., an independent garment design studio employing a team of designers, whose clients included the Associated Merchandising Corporation, Ups 'n' Downs, Paul Harris stores, Victoria's Secret, and Palmetto's Jean Company. During this time, Carpenter was also the Fashion Director for Brooks Fashions, and provided fashion-trend forecasting for Shop Shots from 1994 to 1996, at thich time she left the fashion industry to begin a career in writing.

Writing and maze design

Elizabeth Carpenter co-authored two family guide books with her son, Samuel Freund: Kids Eat New York and Kids Eat Broadway, in 1997 and 1999 respectively. She also began developing an original art style that weaves a maze path through original line-art illustrations. Carpenter's first book of mazes, DinoMaze: The Colossal Fossil Maze Book, was published with the American Museum of Natural History in November 2001, by Workman Publishing and has earned the 2012 IPPY Gold Medal for Children's Interactive Books. She was approached by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and designed her second maze book, Mummy Maze: The Tomb Treasures Maze Book in 2007, which earned the Bronze Award in the Children's Interactive category at the 2008 IPPY Awards. Mummy Mazes was published by Workman Publishing in Fall, 2010. Both books weave history, problem solving, and art into a story intended to make learning fun.

In 2007, Elizabeth Carpenter founded the company, Mazeology Design, to expand the concept of maze art to include games, toys, and diaries. Her first venture into board games, Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game, features an adapted rulebook that modernizes the ancient game.[2] In 2009 the game was included in Games Magazine’s Top 100 Games and was curated into the Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The game has earned the Dr. Toy's Play and Learn Award, the Parents' Choice Award,[3] the Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center, and the Family Review Center Best of The Best Award for 2009.

Works
  • Author, Kids Eat New York, 1997, The Little Bookroom.
  • Author, Kids Eat Broadway, 1999, Kids Eat Publishing.
  • Author/Illustrator for DinoMaze: The Colossal Fossil Maze Book, 2000, republished 2010 by Workman Publishing.
  • Designer/Illustrator for Mummy Maze: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Maze Book, 2005, republished 2010 by Workman Publishing.
  • Designer/Illustrator for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game, 2008.
  • Designer/Illustrator for Jurassic Chess and Checkers, 2008.
  • Designer/Illustrator for the My Glitter Diary" collection for Babalu, Inc.
  • Designer/Illustrator for the My Invisible Diary" collection for Babalu, Inc.
  • Designer/Illustrator for "Enchanting Mandala Mazes," 2017, Get Creative 6 (Soho Publishing)

Awards
  • 2008 Parents' Choice Award for the Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game.
  • 2008 Independent Publisher Book Award for the Mummy Maze; The Tomb Treasure Maze Book.
  • 2008 Mr. Dad Seal of Approval for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game.
  • 2008 Dr. Toy's Play and Learn Award for the Mummy Maze; The Tomb Treasure Maze Book.
  • 2008 Dr. Toy's Play and Learn Award for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game.
  • 2008 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award for the Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game

(Classic Board Games category)

  • 2008 Creative Child Seal Of Excellence Award for the Mummy Maze; The Tomb Treasure Maze Book.

(Activity Books category)

  • 2008 Creative Child Seal Of Excellence Award for the Fairy My Invisible Diary & the Merlin My Invisible Diary

(Creative Play category)

  • 2008 Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center for Mummy Maze and Senet: The Tomb Treasure Game.
  • 2008 Family Magazine Choice Award for the My Invisible Diary collection.
  • 2008 TDMonthly Toy Directory Recommended for the My Invisible Diary collection.
  • 2010 Family Review Center Best of the Best of 2009 for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game
  • 2012 GOLD Medal Award, Independent Publishers Book Award, Children's Interactive category for DinoMazes
  • 2013 GOLD Medal Family Choice Award for Best Children’s Book for DinoMazes
  • 2014 BOOK OF THE YEAR Award, Creative Child Magazine for DinoMazes
  • 2014 Family Review Center BEST OF 2012 and GOLD Awards for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game
  • 2015 TDmonthly Magazine Top Toy Award for Senet: The Ancient Tomb Treasures Game
  • 2015 Society of Publication Designers PUB 50 Merit Award for the Rick Rubin Portrait Maze published in the NYU Alumni Magazine #23

AWARDS

  • 2017 Forward Indies GOLD Book of the Year for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Body Mind Spirit Book Award Winner for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Family Choice Book Award for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year Award for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Enchanting Mandala Mazes
  • 2018 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Award for Activity Books DinoMazes

References
  1. 2013 Family Choice Award (DinoMazes)
  2. http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/comments/senet_everything_old_is_new_again
  3. http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=24087&award=xx&from=Mazeology
  • Review of Dinomaze: Colossal Fossil Maze Book. (Dino Stories). Publishers Weekly. 17 December 2001.
  • Rogers, Kristina Curry (October 2002). "Dinomaze: Colossal Fossil Maze Book (review)". PALAIOS. SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology. 17 (5): 529. doi:10.1669/0883-1351(2002)017<0529:BR>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0883-1351. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
  • Article in NY Metro in NY Magazine
  • New York Times article
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