9/16/21

Here’s my business mantra, and only two spots left in our VIP Retreat next week.

My mantra is this: Play business like it’s a game. In other words, do fun things that benefit everyone–the creative director/editor, the artist, and the agency. Make up fun stuff that everyone will enjoy. It’s served me well in my (almost) 40 years in the business, kept me out of trouble, and kept us constantly energized.

In that spirit, one of the things we love to do most around here is our Annual Artists and VIP Retreat, which begins next Wednesday. Last year it went virtual. We were actually surprised by how much everyone loved it (yeah, we do miss the live singer/guitarist and yummy hors d’oeuvres in my garden, I’ll grant you that), but the Zoom aspect enables more VIPs to attend, plus a whopping 25 artists are attending this year from Jakarta to Los Angeles, from Barcelona to Berlin. And we’ve only got two spots left for VIPs. Read on…

VIP ATTENDEES

Here are some of the blue-ribbon companies–featuring creative directors, executive editors, senior industrial designers, senior product managers–that will be attending next week, from the book, toy, stationery, and gift markets:

Sterling Publishing | NYC

Penguin Random House | UK

Penguin Random House | US

Little, Brown and Co. | NYC

Running Press | Philadelphia

Editions Auzou | Paris

Uncommon Goods | Brooklyn

Buffalo Games | NY

Raspberry Books | UK

teNeues Publishing | NYC

Educational Insights | CA

Design House Greetings | MN

SPEED ART DATING

The VIPs and the artists meet each other in private breakout rooms (one-on-one) for 10 minutes to view artists’ breathtaking new work, view their toy pitches, or see their book dummies. It’s just under two hours long with the VIPs each meeting with 8 artists. We call it Speed Art Dating. Several VIPs have signed up for ALL THREE DAYS, and many are back from last year.

NEWS FLASH–ART DIRECTORS, CREATIVE DIRECTORS, DESIGNERS, EDITORS: Thursday is filled, but if you’d like to attend Speed Art Dating either next Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 2PM ET or Friday, Sept. 24 at 9AM ET to meet one-on-one with our fabulous artists and feast on their jaw-dropping work, simply reply to this email. But hurry! As of this writing, we have only one spot available on Wednesday and one on Friday. Simply reply to this email and let us know you’re interested.

My Recent Favorites

I went a little overboard on collecting a few of my recent favorites to put in this newsletter. Here you go.

Various LRS artists + former LRS Artist Suzy Ultman

Creating a unique book comes from understanding what makes you unique and discovering the story you’re excited to tell. To help you do this, I’ve created a playful, personalized and structured course that will bring out your special story. It’s packed full of quirky worksheets, Magic Cards, fun exercises and interactive LIVE videos that will guide you step by step to create your own special brilliant story – the story that only you can write. I hope you’ll join me October 18th!