It’s the end of an era.

Trevor walked upstairs last week holding the only 3 remaining Flat Cats and handed them over to Mitch.  There they were.  The last three. 

In case you didn’t know, Blue Q began it’s life with this “two-dimensional cardboard kitty that was marketed as the”Perfect Pet”. 

Let’s take a quick history tour here, shall we?

20 (give or take) years ago in Boston, Mitch spied this Cannon ad in a magazine.   

He thought it was pretty cool, ripped it out, glued it to some corragated cardboard and stuck it on his desk.  At that time he and his brother Seth had already rented a space to start some sort of lighting company.  Seth was working in high tech.  Mitch was manning the fort, coming up with ideas.  When people walked into the joint, they’d comment on this standup feline…how cool it was….someone thought it was real…..commented enough on it….Mitch brought the idea to Seth.  Seth said, Sure.

Mitch contacted Cannon.  Cannon contacted the photographer, Manny Denner, and Manny said, “Sure, I have outtakes.”  Mitch went down to New York to look at those outtakes, got mugged, and then picked out the perfect photo.

They sourced out a printer, a die cutter, priced out making 10,000.

Seth said – hey, if we’re gonna make 10,000, let’s just make sure there’s SOME interest.  SOMEwhere.

Mitch called out to Copley Fair (still a loyal and loving customer) to see if they would have any interest.  Sure.  They would.  I mean, they need to see the end result, but then sure.  They would.

They told Mitch about the New York Gift Show - maybe he’d want to show these cardboard cats there.  Mitch and Seth did.   They rented a booth at the show and filled it with cats.  Flat ones.  They didn’t know anything about Sales Reps – how to get the word out.  But they started collecting cards.  One Sales Rep said, “You know what?  I can get this thing into the window at Bloomingdales.”

And he did.

(Picture this Bloomingdale’s window filled with Flat Cats.  Because in 1988, it was.)

And hell, once you’re in the window of Bloomie’s, you’re pretty much starting a business here.

There’s so much more to the story – like how the Nash’s dad pretty much named the Flat Cat (saying, and I’m paraphrasing here) that the only good cats are flat ones – and how Seth quit his high tech job 3-4 weeks after the Bloomingdales Window thing – and then how the Instant Infant was the next cardboard wonder in line……

But for now, we say adieu.  Adieu, little kitty.  Adieu.

Oh, what a little wandering by a few of your co-workers desk won’t give you insights to…..Shall we?  Come.  I’ll show you mine first.

It’s not much.  But my true love gave me this little kitty and mouse in one of those little Japanese blind boxes and I adore them.  So here they stay.  The mouse is eating something.

Behold a tiny corner of Art Director Mitch Nash’s area – a thumbtack stuck in the window sill working it’s hardest – Mitch is an avid reader of anything.  Here is proof.

Tracy’s got a kitty named Sage (ooooh!  Blue Q Product Placement Alert!  Hers Toothbrush Holder!  Yee haw!).

Mindy’s got a fire breathing nun and a little Sonny doll.  The Sonny doll is from Mitch.  And she looks trapped.

Sergio still has Santa Pants on his desk.   It’s almost February.  But we think the pants are empty.  That is unconfirmed.

Seth is a very nostalgic man….those are his and Mitch Nash’s babies shoes.  They both have bigger feet now.

And, finally, as you can see, Handyman loves his job.  He loves it so much, he’s nuts about it.

Rock on!  I know you’ve been waiting for Part II – here it is.

(If you missed Helen Dardik - The Blue Q Interview, Part I, click here): 

Deborah Sims: You have designed some of our most popular water bottles and bags.  Did you know of Blue Q before you got our call?

Helen Dardik: Yes. I’ve seen, admired and purchased a few of BlueQ products way before I got the call.

DS: What has the process been like working on Blue Q Product?

HD: Fun! When I work on BlueQ products – I know that I’m the demographic, so I design for myself… and that comes easy and makes the process very enjoyable.
 
DS: What is your favorite product you have designed for Blue Q?

HD: Definitely the People Power water bottle. That is my favorite project of 2009. 

DS: That’s my husband’s favorite too!  Mitch art directs  via doodle and scan, what is that process like? 

HD: Oh, I love Mitch’s art directions. He’s usually very clear about what he wants and gives me plenty of creative freedom. Love getting his little doodles.

DS: Can you explain your process?  Do you start with pencil and paper or do you go right to the Mac?

HD: I have a paper free process. No pencil… just mouse and an Adobe Illustrator. I’m planning on getting a Wacom tablet in hopes to reduce repetitive stress to my wrist.  I only sketch on paper if the client insist on it. I find that I than get married to the sketch and while working on the final I lose the fun part of ‘I don’t know where this is going’.  I like it to feel fresh. I go with the flow most of the time.
 
DS: Your work is very warm and organic.  What inspires it to be that way?

HD: Mmmm… warm and organic… that must be my favorite word combination. Maybe because I like everything warm – climate, people, blankets….etc., And organic, because   I like the natural flow that occurs in nature.
 
DS: You are working on something new for us right now….but we can’t tell anyone yet!  Shhhhh!
 
Thanks Helen for your time and talent.

Do you know Colin Johnson?

We didn’t – before we saw his work on Thumbtack Press.  And when we did, we kinda went gaga.

That’s how Blue Q works.  Happy Accidents…..a quote from Mitch Nash, Blue Q’s Art Director.  And when New Product Development seeks out new designers, new artists – we surf the web, visit our regular blogs and websites that show great work…. We’re routinely plowing through volumes of graphic books, magazines, tomes - Mitch  is an avid reader of everything.  There’s always something new to research, find out more about, follow up from a snippet under a photograph that intrigues us.

And that’s how it was with Colin.  We told him that we adored his piece, Flotsam and Jetsam.  And would he want to make a bag with us?

Guess what he said?

Oh!  And we did a new piece with him now available too.  

These are beautiful bags indeed.  Am I allowed to say that?