Our Team

Your paper is handmade by a small group of dedicated and talented students who believe in hard work, beautiful paper, and and a better future through economic and environmental sustainability. They are undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Illinois who not only hand pull sheets of corn, soy, or prairie grass paper, but also plant, weed, and harvest them on the sustainable student farm. The paper is made by students and funded by students via The Student Sustainability Committee.

Eric Benson - Co-Founder

Eric is a sci-fi-loving, tree-hugging nerd from Michigan who is also an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Illinois. He co-founded Fresh Press in 2012 and has been running his 501(c)3 non-profit Re-nourish since 2006. Benson has published and lectured internationally on the importance of sustainable design. His work has also garnered numerous design awards and has been seen in notable venues like The Walker Art Center, the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the Hammer Museum, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and RISD.

E. Ainsley - Co-Studio Manager & Program Coordinator

Hi, I’m E, a curious maker, and dabbler in many things process-based. I was taught paper making in Portland, OR 2018, and it felt so right. I find the medium has endless possibilities (or at least it is exciting to work in that way) and handmade paper lends a great deal to my drawings and mixed-media sculptures. Plus, I love working with water. I’ve always been a coastal creature, whether in Oregon, Florida, or Virginia. I moved to C-U for grad school a few years back, and the shock of a new landlocked ecosystem sank in quickly. I found solace in getting to know the plants and their properties on long walks and bike rides. I began to incorporate more agricultural waste fibers into my art-making and it has brought me a new sense of connection to and deep appreciation for a once unfamiliar place.

Meredith Hislope - Co-Studio Manager

Hi friends! My name is Meredith, I am majoring in Art Education at the University of Illinois. I am super excited to join Fresh Press and its sustainable efforts. I greatly enjoy process-based making within my creative practice and especially love working with my hands. I plan to use my training here to further interact with the Champaign-Urbana community, and I hope to carry on sustainable paper-making efforts wherever I land next- especially within my teaching practice!