Natalie Piper joined the Gazette in January 2024, to work with Jed Tallo’s redesign of the historic weekly.

“As we searched for someone to work with our new visual identity, all roads led to Natalie,” recalls publisher Karen Valihora. Ms. Piper settled in the County after a vibrant print design career in London, England, along with her husband, Nigel Piper. 

A graduate of the Ontario College of Art, she completed a Master’s degree in Printmaking at the University of Maidstone in Kent. Through her graphic design practice here, Inkfly, she created programs and logos for the PEC Chamber Music and Jazz Festivals, 2Gallery, Baxter Arts, County Arts, The Studio Tour, and many others.

“Print design skills are harder and harder to come by as the world of design now is mostly web-based,” notes Ms. Valihora. “Finding someone of Natalie’s calibre, who can conceptualize how things look in print, as well as in digital, right here in the County, was a thrill.”

“And then we discovered her exceptional work ethic. It’s not that she never missed a day. She never missed an hour.

“The paper goes to print late Sunday, which means our layout and design person is responsible for checking files and making small changes across the weekend. Natalie never minded, not once, that dreaded phone call at 10pm on a Sunday night with a problem.

“She was at her desk working right up until the very last moment she possibly could.

“We are sadder than sad she is not there right now.”

“Natalie faced the two-headed challenge of responding to the Jazz Festival’s desire for change and innovation, while reminding us of our need to preserve our identity.
It has been a great pleasure to work with her.

Allan Weekes, PEC Jazz Festival

Natalie designed the look of the paper every week, bringing together colour, shape, and text to organize the newspaper’s page layouts, headlines, advertising, and banners in eye-catching ways. She earned an Honourable Mention for Creative Page Design in the Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s 2024 competition, and an award in 2025 for Retail Layout, for her presentation of PECWine’s Wassail festival. The judge noted the page balanced “the warmth of the season with clear information.” 

A Community Champion

The PEC Jazz Festival’s Alan Weekes notes, “Natalie faced the two-headed challenge of responding to the Jazz Festival’s desire for change and innovation, while reminding us of our need to preserve our identity. She brought her consistent, fresh sense of graphic design to every project, large and small. 

“It was a great pleasure to work with her over the years.”

Maureen Dunn feels the same way. “The Chamber Music Festival has benefited from Natalie’s creativity and expertise. She expanded the community awareness of our festival through excellent design. Our volunteers all found Natalie easy to work with and we are grateful for her contributions.”

Krystle Chua, who joined The Gazette as a graduate of the Media and Communications program at Loyalist College, working first under Jed’s and then Natalie’s direction, will take over the lead designer role.

“I’ve got big shoes to fill,” she notes. “Natalie offered guidance and suggested tricks of the trade at every step. I looked forward to our conversations every Friday.”

We are all lucky to have worked with Natalie. She was a key figure in the arts community, with an eye for cover art and for jazzing up the latest from Council. She loved designing a big spread for culture features and special issues; and created memorable pages for Books on Film, Countylicious, and CAFF, among others.

Above all she loved being part of the team, and said so every week. We love her right back. Thank you, Natalie! You will be missed.