Within two minutes of my first meeting Danielle McWaters, she whipped a cookie box out of her purse, eager to show me what she had discovered the previous day at Erewhon during an inspiration scavenger hunt. As a fellow CPG packaging nerd, we chuckled over the outrageous (in a good way), inventive, and maximalist packaging that made up the Bart’s Bakery cookie box.

McWaters is the kind of designer who radiates joy and treasures making genuine connections. Packing cookies in her purse to bring to a convention center to show other designers proves her readiness to forge relationships without an ounce of superiority. Not many designers would even think to pack the cookies, let alone be confident to whip them out of their bag to show off the outrageous placement of Salvador Dali quotes and egregious American flag icons. But her own curiosity and love of camp are infectious.