Seattle Times Showcases A Crowded Coop (from Star Trek to Elvis and Brands in Between) in Article

Thank you to the Seattle Times' Coral Garnick for the feature story on Pacific Northwest company, A Crowded Coop.  "Elvis, ‘Star Trek’ pet projects inspire marketing duo. When they started A Crowded Coop in 2010, Mary Olson and Brandy Tanner resolved to work only on brand marketing projects they would enjoy. The outcome has been whopping growth for their Monroe business...

Olson, 51, and Brandy Tanner, 31, went into business together in 2010, forming A Crowded Coop, a company that creates consumer products, such as backpacks, phone cases and dog leashes, with licensed brand names, photos and characters.

They resolved to work only on projects they enjoy — animals, cartoons, video games, “Star Trek” and the king of rock ’n’ roll. The team has been successful, with quadruple-digit growth over three years, most of which can be attributed to their work in pet products. They declined to disclose the company’s current revenue...

Once their noncompete agreements with BDA expired in 2011, they started snatching up licenses to make and sell branded products, starting with the rapidly growing Kirkland gaming company Valve Software.

The pet line for Dickies, a U.S. company that historically made uniforms and workwear, came next and was followed quickly by pet lines for “Star Trek” and Elvis.

After the “Star Trek” pet line came out, the women had decided not to accept any other licenses and to focus on the ones they already had.

“But when Elvis calls, you better listen,” Olson said.

The creative team is finalizing the Elvis line, which will be launched in early summer.

The designs include a blue-suede-shoe chew toy, a “Jailhouse Rock” ball-and-chain knotted rope, and classic Elvis outfits from “Viva Las Vegas” and “Blue Hawaii.” There is, of course, a poop-bag dispenser for the Elvis line. It is in the shape of an old microphone and says “TCB,” for Takin’ Care of Business — a catchphrase Elvis took on shortly before he died.

“Anytime you can weave in a poop joke, I consider it a win,” Tanner said laughing.

The company also holds pet-product licenses for Justin Boots and “Adventure Time,” as well as other nonpet pop-culture licenses for “Halo 4” and “Bravest Warriors.”"

Parade Magazine- Star Trek Pet Collection, the Latest from A Crowded Coop, Covered in Parade

Thank you to Michele C. Hollow, pet columnist for Parade Magazine, for the "DOES YOUR PET HAVE SUPER POWERS" story on A Crowded Coop's new Star Trek The Original Series pet collection. 

Hollow wrote, "Beam him up Scotty! Star Trek fans can dress their dogs in this new collection from A Crowded Coop. Their Star Trek line includes uniform shirts, USS Enterprise warp speed chew toys, and uniform collars and leashes. There's also a captain’s chair bed and a dog-bag dispenser disguised as a communicator."


Photo of A Crowded Coop's Star Trek pet collection in Parade magazine. 
Hollow also authors the Pet News and Views website here.

Introducing a Star Trek Collection... for Your Pet. The Captains of the Line, A Crowded Coop, Are On Evening Magazine KING TV Tonight

What every Trekkie pooch needs.

Many thanks to KING 5 for the great story on our client A Crowded Coop tonight.  In case you missed it on KING TV, KONG TV, or Northwest Cable News, view it here. 

Pioneer Pet in Seattle is carrying the line along with Hastings.

Valve Software's Portal 2, Justin Hillgrove's Imps & Monsters and WhimWhams Trend Mashup Toys and Products Debut at Toy Fair 2013 #TF13

 

Pros of A Crowded Coop Deliver Pop Culture to Buyers, Bloggers and Press at Booth 4884

Seattle, Washington – Gamers, geeks and monster-lovers will be sated with the merchandise A Crowded Coop is unveiling at their booth at Toy Fair 2013 (#TF13) in New York February 10-13th. Some of what the consumer product agency’s booth will showcase includes:

- new products from the award-winning Portal 2 video game by Valve Software

- plush toys bringing artist Justin Hillgrove’s Imps & Monsters family to soft, furry life

- plus a brand new line of WhimWhams trend mash-up characters that give the proverbial finger to trends like vampires, geek glasses and Abe Lincoln

Joining their already robust catalog of Valve Software game-related merchandise from game titles including DOTA, Portal and Portal 2, A Crowded Coop will debut its new 80’s Logo Aperture Laboratories Messenger Bag. (The Aperture Laboratories Messenger Bag launched in Winter 2012 is on its third round of reorders with retailers such as Think Geek.) At the show A Crowded Coop is introducing the Team Fortress Archimedes Plush which portrays the game’s blood-splattered white dove owned by the medic. In the category of home décor and accessories, the agency will show the new Portal 2 Weighted Storage Cube inflatable ottoman. Their Weighted Companion Cube string lights sold out over the holidays and the consumer products firm anticipates this home décor game-themed accessory will sell well with gamers and teens looking to personalize their room with affordable, pop culture inspired game motifs.

Collectors of Justin Hillgrove’s Imps & Monsters paintings have been anticipating the release of his first plush toy collection to be rolled-out at Toy Fair. Since 2005 he’s taken poignant themes like bullying, sharing and overcoming obstacles and artfully conveyed them with a cast of friendly monsters, creatures and imps. The new line of Imps & Monsters plush toys will include backpack clips, 6 and 12” plush and other toys depicting creatures like Dominic, Slime Monster and Popo. On Tuesday, February 12 from 10-11:30 Hillgrove will headline a Press and Blogger event at the A Crowded Coop Booth 4884 where he will sign prints featuring his various works and sign up press to receive signed, advance samples of the first plush toys from his collection.

A Crowded Coop founders Brandy Tanner and Mary Olson, veterans of TOY FAIR, will be introducing their own collection this year: Whim Whams. Each WhimWhams plush toy takes three pop-culture trends and throws them into a blender of silliness. Look for Yeti, Abe, Bunny, Monkey and Owl—each combined with two other pop culture sensations.

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, pet and more. In 2010 Olson and Tanner formed A Crowded Coop which serves clients such as Valve Software with its Portal 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 games, along with Dickies and many more. More info is at www.crowdedcoop.com. 

"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.

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.