A question that Kevin and I—really all couples—get asked, is “how did you two meet?” This post is a bit of a nostalgic reflection on how our paths unfolded from the moment we met to the establishment of our very own creative studio.
From the studios of The KC Art Institute:
Kevin recalls first seeing me as I gave an RA presentation at his orientation. He was a transfer from St. Louis. I was in my 2nd year. We both found ourselves in the newly formed animation department with just about 12 other students. I quickly came to admire his drive and maturity. He was a bit scrawny, so it’d be a year of friendship first before I released what a catch this guy was!
Our First Collaborations:
We spent the summer before our senior year out in LA interning for a stop-motion studio Shadowmachine, working on their Cartoon Network Adult Swim show, Robot Chicken. We learned from masterful puppet fabricators and brought that experience back to KC where we spent the next year creating our own stop-motion film. “A Very Hairy Christmas” keeping in tradition with the ties of stop-motion and holiday classics has become a staple for…well no one, but you can watch it here.
This experienced launched our now 15+ years of collaboration and studio building.
We could work together!
Internship with an Adventure Artist:
Eager to get to work, we seized the opportunity to intern with local artist Jeremy Collins. Working under his visionary mentorship, we were able to break into the professional world of film-making, and editorial illustration. We grew our portfolio and had a lot of fun!
Branching off to Create The Brave Union:
After several years of growing, married now with a tiny son and a daughter on the way, we flew out from under Jeremy’s wings to establish our own brand. The Brave Union was born from our personal experiences as parents now. Our babies were our muses and our goal was to create children’s books. How we did that though is a story for another blog post.
Celebrating Challenges and Successes:
Owning a business, like all businesses, comes with it’s seasons—good and bad. The low times, the times of, let’s say, an income drought; test our resilience. I’m thankful for our strong foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. We stand on His promises. Somehow every time when we want to think negativity, we put our heads together and hustle! I’ve got to say that those valleys have lead us to some of our best successes. Further, The Brave Union wouldn’t exist without our wonderful clients, many of whom have returned to us for years. We are so thankful!
Looking Ahead:
As we continue to trek this ever changing creative landscape, we are pushing ourselves in new ways in order to keep growing. If we’re not careful, we could easily become satisfied with what we’ve already accomplished. We must lead The Brave Union with renewed vision and energy. And with the direction that we are headed, I’ve got to say that I’m pretty excited.
This is our origin story here at The Brave Union where the journey has seen things that were once hoped for fulfilled, and surprises that not even our starry eyed art-school-sweetheart-selves could have dreamed. I hope that you will join us as we continue to write this narrative and craft the legacy of The Brave Union.
