Our Woman of the Week is Marian Adams, an artist and illustrator–and nominated for her role as one of the founders and driving forces behind Draw Near Designs, an online shop that provides educational materials for Orthodox children to learn about and strengthen their faith. You see her here with Caroline Gann, who she calls her “better business half”. We asked her to tell you how her company came into being:
“Very slowly, step by step. We founded Draw Near Designs about six years ago. We started very small when one of my friends, Abigail Holt, was working on an art project, illustrating a book that she had written about icons. I literally had a dream about collaborating with her and making a calendar for Orthodox Children, something that would be really interactive, like having activity suggestions, or you could put stickers on the pages or somehow engage with them. I grew up Orthodox in America, and my parents converted when they were young. I didn't feel like there was much for kids like me when I was growing up. The calendars that we had at home were always the ones from church which had lots of little writing on them, and just are not very kid-friendly.
“So the initial dream was to make something that kids could really engage with on their level and make them feel like they had something that was just for them. I mentioned this to my friend, and we both were kind of like, “Hmmm. Interesting idea.” About a month or so later, we both just couldn't stop thinking about this. Should we try to do this? We asked Caroline Gann to work with us, too, because she could do graphic design, and God bless her, she jumped right on board.
“We did a Kickstarter to fund the first calendar. That went really well, and we were met with lots of enthusiasm, which was very encouraging. So we just kind of went from there. It has grown slowly over the years. Abigail ended up stepping away to focus on other things, and so now it's two of us, me and Caroline, who work together to add the different kinds of products that we make. There are Snuggly Saints dolls and cloth Advent and Lent calendars, coloring books, and mugs. Some things are very meaningful, and some things are just for fun. Caroline is really good at the recipes and activities side of the calendar, while I do a lot of the art. She also does a lot of research and tests everything, and then lays it out and makes it look beautiful. We're a good team.
“On our website, we also carry a variety of things from other Orthodox small businesses and artists. We felt like our website was getting a lot of traffic from people who wanted our calendar, so we thought it would be a nice way to help them find other Orthodox small businesses. It's been a very slow and steady journey, which is exactly what I hoped for, because we've also been having babies and living life as young mothers. I think if it had been a faster process, it probably would have been overwhelming and unsustainable. But as it is, it has been a slow and steady growth that we have both enjoyed being a part of.”
Axia!
@draw.near.designs @let.there.be.flowers
Marian Adams is our Woman of the Week, nominated for her work at Draw Near Designs. We asked her what she would like you to know about what she and her partner look for when they are creating for Orthodox kids or finding items to offer them:
“A lot of what we do comes back to my own experience as an Orthodox child, in America specifically. There are things that I wish I had had or that I wish had existed for me that I want our own children to have. My mom remembers when I was little, I said that I just wish I could hug the Theotokos. So now my kids get to have a little doll of the Theotokos to cuddle with when they feel sad! I also always wished I had an Advent calendar for the Orthodox 40-day Nativity fast rather than 25-day ones that you can get everywhere… and so we made one!
“ What I want from all of our products is for people, and especially kids, just to feel like they belong and have a place and that they have fun things to learn from and to be a part of their family traditions growing up. That they're going to grow up and just not even know that there was a time before an Orthodox Children’s Calendar, or Advent calendar that worked for Orthodox Advent existed.”
@draw.near.designs @let.there.be.flowers
As always, we asked our Woman of the Week, Marian Adams, to tell you about her morning routine. She is also sharing her icon corner with you (the icon of Christ is called The Creation of Physics, which she designed for her physics-loving husband and her nephew Andrew Levine painted):
“I wish that I had something really polished to say about this, but I'm just going to give you an honest answer. I have a six-month-old baby, so I'm waking up a lot at night to feed him. My day usually starts by being woken up by a baby, and very rarely do I make it to my alarm. I feed the baby and then make breakfast for everyone, and some days I hustle kids out the door to school. On other days we all stay home, and those are slower mornings with read-alouds and quiet play and chores and morning prayers.
“But my work days are when I get my girls out the door and off to school, and then usually grab some breakfast, say a prayer of thanksgiving and intercessions for my family, and head down to my basement office with my baby to start working.
“After that, it’s a juggling act of housework and children, and making sure everyone is not upset and is clothed, and that the house isn't a complete disaster. I aim for “cozily cluttered” rather than perfection. One day there will be (maybe??) a time when I wake up before my children, say morning prayers, and maybe do a little workout before my coffee. Sounds lovely! But this is not that season.”
Thank you, Marian!
@draw.near.designs @let.there.be.flowers