Our Story
We know that there's a story behind every product. It's that of an emerging designer just introducing her work to the world; artisans working collaboratively in a low-income country; or a seasoned artist crafting each of his pieces by hand. With your help, we're building a community of passionate people who love our products and connect with the stories behind them. We're growing not only our artist family, but also a strong following of customers who celebrate artists and delight in surrounding themselves with creative design.
Survival
Of course, in the struggle to build a viable business, there are always bumps in the road along the way. When the internet bubble burst, we faced unforeseen hardships—funds were dwindling, and we were forced to cut back from a staff of 35 to just five full-time employees. Around this time co-founder Thomas Epting joined us as a photographer. Thomas worked tirelessly to help ensure the company's survival, steadily expanding his role to encompass all creative, technology, and warehouse operations. Times were tough, but thanks to the guidance of Dave and Thomas, we managed to turn the business around, becoming profitable for the first time in 2004.
Sustainability
Our focus is on building a business for the long haul. We've worked to create a sustainable business in all its aspects. We attempt to minimize our environmental impact, working with our artists to use sustainable or recycled materials whenever possible, choosing environmentally friendlier packing materials, and printing our catalog on Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified and recycled paper. We're building relationships with non-profit organizations through Better to Give, a program we created that allows our customers to choose a partner for us to donate $1 to with every order. And a concentration on strong financial health allows us to maintain independent ownership and stay true to our values. Our team has grown steadily over the last decade, from just 5 to over 200 year-round employees. Our business grows dramatically during the winter holidays each year. Thousands of packages ship out every day during these months, so we expand our workforce to hundreds of employees. We try to never lose sight of an inverted pyramid business model, meaning that the needs of the people closest to our customers, our customer service and warehouse teams, come first. As part of this model, our lowest paid hourly seasonal worker makes 100% more than minimum wage.