Meet "The Pad People"

We thought you might like to get to know a little about the people who help make The Ink Pad tick every day. We'll be adding more profiles as the weeks go on and hope you enjoy a peek into the lives of our uber-talented and creative team!

Meet Simon Winheld:  Artist · Actor · Renaissance Man.

Simon is a graduate of Pratt Institute with a degree in Illustration and later earned a Master's in Drama from The New School. He's also a published author! Released in March by Chronicle Books, Are You Dissing Me?: What Animals Really Think, is a humorous look into the minds of furry and feathered creatures of the wild; written and illustrated by Simon

We took a few minutes to ask Simon some questions about his work and life in NY.

TIP: Where did you grow up?

• SW: "I was born in Philadelphia but we moved to Berkeley, CA when I was really young. I headed back east to enroll at Pratt."

TIP: What or who has been your biggest artistic influence?

• SW: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!" I loved it as a kid and got to meet one of the co-creators at Comic Con while I was at Pratt. He saw my work and included me as a guest artist in his magazine "Heavy Metal". That was pretty cool! And of course, there's also Caravaggio and Modigliani."

TIP: As an actor, who have you seen on stage or in film that you admire?

• SW: Christoph Waltz....I want to do what that guy is doing!"

Stop in and meet Simon. He'll even autograph a copy of his book for you!

Simon's Perfectly Illustrated Spring Display for The Ink Pad