OrangeBeautiful’s Emily Martin: Beautiful Objects & Design
by Bambi Weavil
We recently caught up with the creator of OrangeBeautiful, Emily Martin, who has become quite the talk of the Net with her “Motivate” series. She gives us the insight into how it came about, what inspires her, Etsy, and more:
Bambi Weavil: From checking out your bio, you look like you’ve been creating your
entire life. Why do you call your company OrangeBeautiful?
Emily Martin: The name ‘OrangeBeautiful’ comes from a couple of things: 1) my favorite color is orange. I don’t know that I can say that it always has been, but it’s definitely been at least 10 years that I’ve been a little obsessed with it… I think it started in college, but I can’t really pinpoint at exact start to that love affair 
…and 2) I like to (and hope that I do) create beautiful things. And then combining the two just sounded so nice. It’s memorable & it has a bit of my personality, as well as a key ingredient to what I hope for the company to always create: beautiful objects & design. The name has definitely served me well these past 4 years.
BW: What I love about your work is you take the most obvious of statements, and put minimal but bold art and colors around it. What was your inspiration?
EM: I’ve never been a very “girly” girl… I’ve always liked “pretty” things, but I guess in a less conventional way. I like ornamentation & very clean design. I’m quite a perfectionist in my everyday life, so I’m very meticulous with my designs. Everything you see – even if it appears effortless – was probably poured over for hours, nit-picking every little detail: are these letters line up right, does that swirl loop down far enough, are those colors perfect together, etc…
BW: Speaking of inspiration, it’s your very inspirational “Motivate” 4 Prints to Motivate series on Etsy set that got us smiling (we are particularly fond of the “Get Your Shit Together”) print! Were you surprised by all the attention? Have you seen your art on any walls yet?
EM: The Motivate prints were actually quite a surprise. The first edition is actually almost entirely sold out & we’ve decided to do a 2nd edition run w/ 2 additional designs/messages… I think they just hit a cord with people. At the moment, I think a lot of people & businesses (including our own) are in a state of change and flux. The economy has been a bit unpredictable and a lot of us just need a little kick in the ass sometimes. The “Get Your Sh*t Together” design was actually designed one morning when I was feeling especially UNinspired and need to give myself a little visual motivation. Hopefully, the prints have done the same for others!
BW: How has Etsy helped you?
EM: Etsy has been an incredible forum for testing out (and, of course, selling) our products. There’s minimal upfront cost to setup a shop and get some items listed, so it’s really not something that you have to think too much about getting involved in if you’re a crafter. It lets you know what people like & maybe what doesn’t work so well… things that you think are great and will sell out right away, inevitably sit in the shop and don’t ever move. Other things (like the Motivate prints) shock you with how popular they become. Etsy, and the internet community in general, are amazing places to get your name & product out there. We have plans to start up our own OrangeBeautiful online boutique, but we’ll probably always have a home on Etsy.
BW: Do you have a green policy?
EM: Being completely “green” in an industry full of paper products that, essentially, are luxury items, can get rather tricky. We definitely make a fully conscious effort to buy all of our materials from nearby vendors (to reduce cross-country & international transit/shipping), and all of the papers we buy (aside from a few of the decorative papers, which are made
with varying processes) have at least 30% recycled content. Some of the
paper companies we work with actually product papers using 100%
post-consumer waste. And our favorite paper supplier (French Paper, out of Niles, MI) is actually run completely on water power. So, in that way, we certainly make it our policy to support those companies with green policies of their own.
On a smaller scale, we actually produce a lot of product which uses up our own waste: i.e. when we do a run of prints, rather than toss the “slightly imperfect” prints, we simply make them into journal covers…we actually use the bad prints from a wedding invitation run as notecards in the studio. Often times product is designed around a stack of cut-off paper that we’re looking to use up. It’s nice to put the reuse/recycle idea into play, even on a small scale within the studio.
BW: What are some non-profits that you support?
EM: We’ve done design work for Canine Therapy Corps (formerly Chenny Troupe) here in Chicago. They train therapy dogs used in hospitals & rehabilitation centers… we also donate part of our sales from the One of a Kind Show & Sale (held every December here in Chicago @ the Merchandise Mart) to Children’s Memorial Hospital. And, at the same show, we’ve participated in silent auctions for Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization.
BW: What are some of your favorite artistans?
EM: There are a few Chicago artists that I’m pretty addicted to… Dolan
Geiman (http://www.dolangeiman.com) makes beautiful reconstruction pieces, as well as paintings, all of which have a bit of a rustic/southern flair to them. We met at the One of a Kind Show back in 2005 when we were both exhibiting as ‘Emerging Artists’. I’m counting the days until I can afford a mammoth piece of his to hang in my house… maybe even something custom-made just for me. (winks)
I’m also a big fan of Gabe Lanza (http://www.gabelanza.com), another artist that I met through the One of a Kind Show. His work has a “sophisticated cartoon” feel to it – or at least, that’s what I would call it… I’m looking to purchase one of his robot paintings at some point.
Oh, and I’m addicted to IMOOI jewelry (http://www.imooi.com)… they’re out of New York, and (this is going to really shock you), I met them at the One of a Kind Show, too! They design lovely pieces using metal & colored rubber inlays. I have this giant square ring of theirs that I bought nearly 4 years ago, which I wear all the time. When I don’t wear it, I feel like something’s off for the whole day.
BW: Any art projects you’re working on that you can share with us?
EM: We’re actually working on a small line of holiday cards for the winter, as well as our first OrangeBeautiful calendar, for 2009. It’ll be fully screen-printed by hand (and entirely produced in our studio) – but that’s as much as I’m going to tell you for now… that will be available this Fall. I’m also hoping to change up our custom offerings a bit and get back to more of what I started the company out with 4 years ago: wedding invitations, baby announcements, personal stationery, etc. We still do a lot of that now, of course, but I’d like to be doing more.
Other than that, we’re really just focusing a lot of energy on our handmade products – all in preparation for two shows that we have coming up at the end of the year: the aforementioned One of a Kind Show, as well as the DIY Trunk Show (held at Pulaski Park Auditorium, the Saturday before Thanksgiving). Last year, we ran out of quite a lot at 1oaK, so we want to be sure that we can meet demand this time around.
BW: Thank you Emily for sharing the insight to your talents and your art! For more information on Emily and OrangeBeautiful please go to:
http://www.orangebeautiful.com
http://www.orangebeautiful.etsy.com
http://www.orangebeautiful.supermarkethq.com
http://www.thescoopblog.com
* * * *
Out Impact is your gay online magazine for gay men and women in the LGBTQ community and our allies, encouraging readers to create a positive impact in the gay community. Our content focuses on activism/philanthropy; expert advice for your professional life; pet care by leading experts; a yoga/wellness column in health, spirituality and wellness; as well as columns in food, comics, fashion, an expert travel specialist; engaging features in the arts and more. We have movie, music and book reviews, as well as the latest interviews. Out Impact also produces events benefiting various non-profits around the country, as well as comprehensive media campaigns to raise awareness for various philanthropic causes while bridging the non-profit, activism, artistic and gay communities. OutImpact.com – Making a positive impact in the gay community. Make yours.
To subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest at Out Impact, as well as exclusive content and giveaways please visit: http://www.outimpact.com/out-impact-newsletter/
-