An artist’s mission
Who: Amy Calandra Davis, designer
By Tanya K. Merritte -- Kids Today, 7/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Who: Amy Calandra Davis, designer, Light of Mine Designs
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Background: Davis, who has art and design degrees, says she fell into the juvenile market by accident. “I had an idea of hand-painted Christmas balls and my good friend owned a children’s store, so the first designs were catered towards kids,” she said. “They were a hit. She sold 200 in the first month.”
Since then, Davis has expanded to offer wedding ornaments and traditional Christmas keepsakes. However, she said the bread and butter of her business continues to be juvenile stores. Going forward, Light of Mine Designs has decided to put a focus on youth and has expanded its line to include onesies, wall art and blankets.
The process: Davis says her ideas typically start out as sketches, but that’s really only a rough draft. “I do the real design process on the product itself, doing several mock-ups until I have the color combination and details exactly how I want them,” she said. “The final mock-up will then serve as the model.”
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| Light Of Mine Designs will debut its blankets at the Atlanta gift show this month. |
Even then, Davis says that doesn’t mean the design is finished, noting that she is prone to making changes well into production. “I guess (my artists) would say that the process never really comes to fruition,” she said.
Davis works with a couple of artists in a Virginia studio where they make, paint, tag and box all of their products. Light of Mine Designs’ retailers tend to be high-end children’s boutiques and department stores domestically as well as a few international accounts, with price points between $30 and $200. At the Atlanta Gift Market this month, the manufacturer plans to debut blankets and wooden wall plaques. Davis said the new wall plaques hit more medium price points between $14.99 and $36.99. She said the lower price point could also open up a new retail market for Light of Mine Designs, which also shows at the ABC Kids Expo.
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| One of the company’s Christmas ornaments. |
Davis said that while the company’s artisan product line makes her company unique, she said the company’s mission statement is what truly sets it apart. Amy’s son Zachary was born prematurely and spent his first year in a children’s medical center where music was important part of his life — Davis named the company after Zachary’s favorite song, “This Little Light of Mine.” After Zachary passed, Davis and her husband, Jimmy Davis, founded Little Star Outreach, a program that provides art and music therapy to hospitalized children.
“I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to take the life and loss of my son Zachary and the many lessons he left me and turn it all into something that can touch people in a way that is personal, heartfelt and beautiful,” she said.
The challenges: One of Light of Mine Designs’ challenges is making sure its product stands out in a sea of juvenile gift items, Davis said. “Of course, we didn’t invent ornaments or onesies, but I do feel that we have been able to take these items and give them a fresh, chic look that is all our own,” she said. For example, Davis said some of her favorite designs are those inspired by tattoos. “I love their color combinations and the fact that we have been able to take a popular, hip trend and give it a sweet spin.”
Davis said the other issues stem from still being a small company. She said she and Jimmy would like to attend more trade shows, but with four young children, it’s hard to get out on the road.
“We would love to be able to get ourselves in front of the other areas of the country like we can in the southeast at AmericasMart,” she said.
Lastly, Davis she looks forward to growing the company. “We have too many ideas and not enough hands to bring them to market,” she said. “We are small now but someday I see a huge studio filled with artists painting away, bringing all of our ideas to life.”
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