the beginning of the story

So, like a lot of other people, you might be wondering: "Why February 13?" Well, the short answer is: It's my birthday!
But it gets better than that.

About 10 years ago, I was working in the advertising department at Macy's. Actually—at the time this story takes place—I was not working, because I had a badly broken wrist and was pretty useless as a graphic designer. One day while I was out, February 13th rolled around, and all my co-workers gathered on the speaker phone to call me at home and wish me a happy birthday; they introduced me to a new designer who had just started in the group that week; they ate cake while I sat on my sofa in a Vicodin haze; they sang happy birthday; they caught me up on all the good office gossip. Suddenly the new girl, Pam, chimed in with this afterthought: "Oh... today is my birthday, too!" It was a perfect introduction to Pam... It's a quality that I can't quite put into words but it has something to do with spontaneity, zaniness, and coincidences that seem to be too good to be true (but in Pam's case, always are). It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship and work collaboration.

So… February 13th is also Pam's birthday AND the day that we met. Over the years, we dreamed of starting our own design studio and naming it after that momentous day. Finally, in 2008, we were getting closer to making that dream a reality. And then...

Pam introduced me to an acquaintance of hers, Amy—another fabulous artist and designer, similarly obsessed with greeting cards, stationery, and other pretty little printed things. We immediately clicked as a threesome. And although Amy's birthday is not on February 13th, it's about as close as you can get... February 11th. It was in the stars! In fact, since then, we've come to believe that Amy was probably due to arrive in the world on February 13th, but made her debut a couple days early (She's faster than Pam and I are at pretty much everything, so this theory makes perfect sense.)

So, in case you were wondering: "why February 13?", that's why. It's kind of what our motto—"celebrate every day"—is all about; every day of the year is special for someone, somewhere, for some reason… no matter how random a date it may be to everyone else. I love looking at these photos of us in our respective birth years, thinking of all the celebrating that lies ahead for us—not least of all, this joyous collaboration as partners in February 13 Creative!

postscript:
In January 2010, after a whirlwind 15 months, Amy decided to simplify her art licensing business and spend more time with her family. Sadly for February 13 Creative, this means she has parted ways with the studio. It was one of the true pleasures and honors of my career to work with Amy and watch her realize her potential as a licensing artist. She was a dedicated partner in every aspect of the development of this business and I've been heartbroken to see her go. At the same time, I really respect her desire to find a happy work/life balance, and I know she has a glorious creative future ahead of her, wherever her path may take her!