"Kitsch Sells" Reports Jeanne Lang Jones in the Puget Sound Business Journal Story on A Crowded Coop Who Just Announced Deal to Launch a Dickies Pet and Equestrian Line




From left, Mary Olson and Brandy Tanner, partners at Crowded Coop in Monroe, have a window between their offices so they can talk to each other while they work. Olson is holding a Blooming Bath, used when giving babies baths in the sink. Blooming Bath brought its product to Crowded Coop, which handles manufacturing as well as working on the packaging design and testing. Photo by Marcus Donner.

 

This article on Brandy Tanner and Mary Olson of A Crowded Coop takes a close look at how they've grown their business with a lot of laughs along the way.  With licensing deals with Valve Software (Crowded Coop makes a ton of cool Dota 2 and Portal 2 stuff) and now Dickies (these two women are leading the way in Dickies' new product categories for pets and horses), Olson and Tanner are two Washington women to watch.

The article reads in part, "Crowded Coop partners Mary Olson and Brandy Tanner create and sell a wide range of products — everything from kitschy ’70s-themed scratch ‘n sniff stickers to hoodies for gamers and, soon, pet products for working dogs.

A consumer product specialist firm, Crowded Coop develops products both under its own Kitsch on the Rocks label and as a licensee of other companies. Under their licensing agreements, Olson and Tanner create products and handle manufacturing and distribution for partner companies, paying a fee for use of the partner’s brand and intellectual property.

For example, Olson and Tanner have dreamed up dozens of products for Valve Software, a Kirkland gaming company. There are ... lunchboxes and messenger bags featuring characters from such games as “Steam” and “Team Fortress 2,” and a string of lights based on cubes used in “Portal,” another Valve game. Under its global license, Crowded Coop can sell Valve-branded products all over the world.

“It’s a hard code to crack. How to make a product and get it on store shelves is a mystery to most people,” said Olson. “People have great ideas, but they don’t know how to execute them from a production standpoint.”

Olson and Tanner do. They met as colleagues in the consumer products division of a local company. Olson was in sales; Tanner was in graphic design. The two women enjoyed working together and felt they could strike a better balance between home and work if they stepped out on their own."

Thank you to Jeanne Lang Jones for the in-depth story on these creative leaders.

Vampire Marketing: KOMO 4 News Features Dr. Richard Baxter

Just in time for Halloween and the release of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, KOMO 4 TV’s Connie Thompson tackles the “Vampire Facelift”. Not everyone is sold on this trendy new cosmetic procedure which combines a dermal filler such as Juvederm or Restylane and PRP-platelet rich plasma- injection using the patient’s own blood. Interviewed on the topic was Seattle’s board-certified plastic surgeon Richard Baxter M.D. always on top of the trends in cosmetic medicine and a member of the Emerging Trends Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).  His take on the “Vampire Facelift”? Click here to find out: http://bit.ly/YsevLm

Client A Crowded Coop Announces Deal with the World's Biggest Workwear Line Dickies: This New Line of Pet Product Will be Made by a Washington State Company

Brandy and Mary, co-founders of A Crowded Coop based in Monroe, WA, love their dogs and horses.  It's just a part of who they are.  This makes their new licensing agreement with Dickies even sweeter, because it falls right into their personal passions for pets.  Congratulations to the Crowded Coop team on this big news.  Can't wait to see Hunter modeling the new collection come Spring.

DICKIES® SIGNS NEW PET ACCESSORY LICENSE


Fort Worth, Texas (November 1, 2012) – Dickies®, the global leader in innovative performance work wear, today announced a new licensing agreement with A Crowded Coop to manufacture, market and distribute Dickies®-branded dog and equine apparel, equipment and accessories in the US. This most recent addition to Dickies’ extensive portfolio of licensees expands the legendary work wear brand’s ability to deliver a broad spectrum of licensed goods to consumers.

Products under the pet accessory license will include durable and reinforced dog leashes, collars, harnesses, beds, toys, and vests and equine halters, blankets, and leads. This is in addition to the company’s existing stable of licensees across work wear and work-inspired lines such as men’s, women’s, juniors and kids apparel; bags, footwear, belts, socks, medical wear, headwear and sunglasses.

“We continue to sign important and strategic licenses to answer the needs and desires of our diverse, hard-working consumer base, adding companies that produce high-quality, innovative products synonymous with the Dickies® brand,” said Michael Penn, vice president of licensing for Dickies. “A Crowded Coop lives and breathes in the working dog and equine world. We look forward to incorporating the Dickies brand DNA into enhanced products for this industry.”

“We can think of no more appropriate brand for a working dog or horse than Dickies,” said Mary Olson, co-founder with Brandy Tanner of A Crowded Coop. Tanner adds, “The Dickies brand is the premier work wear brand in the world and we felt that this brand with their value, durability and heritage was a perfect fit for products intended for a worker’s main companion, and a worker in their own right.”

Design and production of Dickies-branded dog apparel and accessories will begin immediately, with marketing and distribution expected in Spring 2013. The equine collection will follow in Spring 2014.

About Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co.
Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is the world’s leading provider of authentic work apparel, specializing in innovative performance work wear since 1922. The company offers premium quality products at an unmatched value across a vast assortment of apparel, footwear, and licensed goods in more than 100 countries. Williamson-Dickie operates through wholly-owned affiliates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, Japan and the Middle East; exclusive licensees and distributors in Africa and the Asia Pacific region; and under the Dickies®, Workrite®, Kodiak® and Terra® brands. For more information, visit www.williamsondickie.com.

About A Crowded Coop
A Crowded Coop is a Pacific Northwest-based marketer and creator of consumer products released globally. Their product design satisfies consumers in the categories of apparel, accessories, toys and more. In 2010 Olson and Tanner formed A Crowded Coop which serves clients such as Valve Software with its Portal 2 game. More info is at www.crowdedcoop.com.