Ten years ago, I was...
Ten years ago, I was riding the 67 bus from Alewife station in Cambridge, Mass. I was thinking about the April 27th tornado outbreak that really messed up my part of Alabama. And then it hit me, right before I got to our house, that I needed to do something. I missed home, and that moment called for a reconnection with home. I knew art and how art can be a catalyst for connection, and that moment called for art. And within about seven blocks I had it. We’d start making art that connects people to place.
When I brought it up to @mrsoldtry she said "Well, let's give it a try."
50,000 prints later, here we are. We’re still making art, but it has branched out from the South. Still working from the spare rooms in our house, but our product catalog and family have grown. Still using our same print-maker, but his family has grown, too. We’ve learned about running a business, making fifteen mistakes for every success. We’ve been able to teach the kids that hard-work, consistency, and a great customer base can take you places. And we are one of the lucky 30% of US small businesses who have survived to see their 10th birthday.
We’ve met some really amazing folks and worked on some exciting projects. We’ve made things for the college football power conferences, for big time magazines, and for politicians and for music festivals. We’ve shown up in James Beard winning restaurant walls, in celebrity house tours and your brother-in-law's hunt camp. We’ve been sold in stores from South Carolina to Sweden. We’ve even convinced our grandparents that having word art on your wall can be okay. Which is a huge win.
In what seems to be a redemptive full-circle life-story, we went from making a print with the Mississippi state flag, which we quickly regretted, to redesigning the Mississippi state flag, which we don’t.
Our entire 30s were spent on the little side hustle that could.
Thank you for being part of this journey. For sticking with us. For supporting our craft and helping share our story.
We made this print for you and for that idea you’ve been stewing on. It's time. Let it see the light of day. It might just be the thing we’ve all been waiting for all our lives.
When I brought it up to @mrsoldtry she said "Well, let's give it a try."
50,000 prints later, here we are. We’re still making art, but it has branched out from the South. Still working from the spare rooms in our house, but our product catalog and family have grown. Still using our same print-maker, but his family has grown, too. We’ve learned about running a business, making fifteen mistakes for every success. We’ve been able to teach the kids that hard-work, consistency, and a great customer base can take you places. And we are one of the lucky 30% of US small businesses who have survived to see their 10th birthday.
We’ve met some really amazing folks and worked on some exciting projects. We’ve made things for the college football power conferences, for big time magazines, and for politicians and for music festivals. We’ve shown up in James Beard winning restaurant walls, in celebrity house tours and your brother-in-law's hunt camp. We’ve been sold in stores from South Carolina to Sweden. We’ve even convinced our grandparents that having word art on your wall can be okay. Which is a huge win.
In what seems to be a redemptive full-circle life-story, we went from making a print with the Mississippi state flag, which we quickly regretted, to redesigning the Mississippi state flag, which we don’t.
Our entire 30s were spent on the little side hustle that could.
Thank you for being part of this journey. For sticking with us. For supporting our craft and helping share our story.
We made this print for you and for that idea you’ve been stewing on. It's time. Let it see the light of day. It might just be the thing we’ve all been waiting for all our lives.