My name is Liz Applegate and I grew up in a beautiful town nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains–Boulder, Colorado–where much of my childhood was spent outdoors exploring, collecting rocks, wildflowers, etc. the things kids do. When I visited Ennis, Montana, I felt like I’d “returned home”. As a child, I had the luck to have lived in old established houses and that peaked my early interest in architecture. My grandparents instilled in me an interest in family history, roots and a commitment to community. My lifelong interest in architecture, history and research really came to life in a productive way when I started my own business of House Histories in Redlands, California. I researched home/land ownership of 100+ year old homes and combined them with local history. I produced a commissioned, framed Chain of Title as far back as the King of Spain, along with a sketch of the home. Some clients preferred a leather bound scrapbook containing early photos, maps and copies of records.
The more I worked on local projects, the more I became aware of and sensitive to the history of the town, the people, the area and the changes over time. I have worked as a Graphic Designer with civil engineers, designing large scale color presentation exhibits and graphic representation of land use. Combining graphics with electronic data of topography, parcel maps and historical research data, I was able to create before and after designs and also photo simulations for future designs.
Since moving to Ennis, I’ve utilized my graphic design skills in new fun and interesting ways:
- Calendars: of people, events
- DVD movies: of community events, family history and significant life events, utilizing still photography and digital video recordings, edited with text and music
- Event Posters: for community fundraisers
- Genealogy Charts: family trees using historical data, coats of arms and various artifacts
- Labels: jams, jellies; wine bottle labels for weddings, birthdays
- Photo Books: birthdays, travel memories, grandson stories
- Recipe Books: retirement, Christmas, family/family reunions, office
- Wedding Albums: combining genealogy data with old photos as a special gift for newlyweds
- Wrapping Paper and Gift Tags
- Madison Valley History Association – Historical Cookbook
- Madison Valley History Association – Historical Playing Cards
- Madison Valley History Association – Event Posters
- Ennis Main Street Walking Tour – Tour of downtown Ennis Main Street history of buildings
- ENNIS CITY MAP – installed in the Grandma Ennis’ Park on Main Street
- ENNIS Brochure – for sale in local stores
- ENNIS Postcards and Greeting Cards – for sale in local stores
- ENNIS Souvenir Poster – for sale in local stores
- ENNISOPOLY based on the old favorite board game – for sale in local stores
- Barn Quilts for our cabin and friends
Browse through the products categories to see the fun things I’ve made!