Tovero+Marks Creative is a formidable design studio where art,
writing, music, film, and graphic design are in high pitch.
In their studio, on the second floor of a charming colonial house in Litchfield, Paul Brighton and Timothy Forry generate ideas for a wide range of clients. They are the creative force behind Tovero + Marks Creative, a full-service graphic design and commercial media boutique. Five years ago, they relocated from New York City to the Northwest Corner and brought with them a multitude of talents.
Every inch of their home is beautifully designed and styled, an indication of the tasteful eye and attention to detail that is also carried over into their work. The two partners produce captivating advertising campaigns (print and online), websites, CD covers, posters, magazine ads, videos—and much more—for an impressive roster of clients, including Sir Paul McCartney, Donnie and Marie, Dionne Warwick, Helena Rubinstein, L’Oreal, and the list goes on.
Bringing with them twenty years of experience, Paul and Timothy have honed their skills in many areas. Whether they are creating a brand, a website, or an image, Timothy and Paul will handle the writing, art direction, food styling, prop making and styling, music, lighting, shooting, and retouching. They collaborate so well that the results are always highly polished and professional. As if that isn’t enough, their mastery of the latest technology helps to bring it all together in a variety of formats.
This is what separates their firm from other design studios. Paul aptly describes Tovero+Marks as a “one-stop shop.” From the first consultation with the client, to the photography shoot, Paul and Tim are completely involved in every aspect of a project. Most graphic design studios do their own art direction and design, and hire photographers or videographers, illustrators, plus props stylists, fashion stylists, or food stylists, depending on the job. Tovero+Marks does it all. Of course, when the occasion demands, they do draw upon a reliable group of talented people with whom they have worked in the past.
Because they do it all in-house, Paul and Timothy are able to bring a sophisticated, professional quality to their work at a lower cost for their clients. They also have the control and flexibility to be creative in the moment, as they are working, without being hampered by the demands of a crew. Being able to understand the nature of their projects and being in tune with their clients’ tastes is something they pride themselves on. In fact, Paul says they almost always develop strong relationships with their clients and end up becoming friends.
Aside from the big names we mentioned earlier, they also work with small, local businesses—retail, corporate and food related, including one of our favorite retail shops, Terston, in Kent.
Paul’s and Timothy’s life stories inform and shape their creative energies. Paul’s parents are from Sicily, and although he was born in this country, he recalls that he was six years old before he spoke English. His father was a skilled stonemason, a craft that demands painstaking attention to detail, which Paul now demonstrates in his own artistic efforts. Paul fell into design by chance when a friend, Jim Fitzgerald, a respected graphic artist from New York City, gave him a copy of Photoshop (when it first came out) and encouraged him to try the program. He never looked back.
Timothy grew up in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the son of a Mennonite family. He remembers fondly that all of the books handed to him by his parents were old and used, never a new one. Timothy built upon his own love of painting and illustration into an impressive collection of finely illustrated children’s books. Before joining Paul in Tovero + Marks, Timothy worked with a design firm in New York City, whose client list included MTV, VH1 and J.P. Morgan Chase.
In addition to their work with Tovero+Marks, Paul and Timothy have mastered a daunting array of creative talents. Paul is a musician, artist, actor (having studied with William Hickey of Prizzi’s Honor), and also the writer, director and producer of a soon-to-be-released movie Brilliant Mistakes (which has already garnered several awards at various independent film festivals). Timothy is also a writer, artist, and dealer of rare and collectible children’s and illustrated books (he runs E. M. Maurice Books out of his showroom and online), and he is the co-writer and co-producer of Brilliant Mistakes.
Out of their small studio in their Litchfield home, the partners take on whatever comes their way with genuine interest and energy. It seems that there is nothing they can’t do. They are the design duo that can’t be defined.
You can check out their website and/or contact them at:
www.toveromarks.com
