Do you judge a book by its cover? Gigi Little doesn’t. But as a highly regarded Portland book cover designer, she has a great appreciation for them. “The cover will catch my eye and I will want to read a book for its cover at times.” she says. “I could buy a book just for its cover.”

Coming from a background in the circus, Little now lives her dream life, a life built around books. She never set out for a life in the circus. She married into it. During her time as a circus performer (as a clown and magician’s assistant, amongst other roles) she worked for various shows, including “the big three-ring tent show the Clyde Beatty–Cole Bros. Circus, a small one-ring tent show called Allen Bros., and a show that went to Japan called The Dream Clown.” She even worked for five years as the lighting designer for a show called the Hamid Circus.