Much of what we buy and get exposed to each year is nothing more than the product of graphic art departments of merchandisers and manufacturers, hiring young artists, looking for some new image, gimmick joke or idea to sell you. I was reminded of that by someone who visited the other day who had in fact worked in just such a department at just such a company. They are on the treadmill. Their size forces them to be. We are not like that. The Affiches Artistiques of Flying Naked Lady is personal to us. We sail. We ski. We farm. We explore the world. We collect art. We manage art shows. We travel. We live this life. Our creations are our life. It isn't some fake image manufactured to give you something to buy.
Our ancestors were part of the North Church and Salem trials and Vermont, and the Irish immigrations. We go back. But we are free of the cultural traditions. We did not grow up here. We come from California and Wisconsin and history was never a big part of our lives. So we do as we like. If it feels good we do it. And we make lots of mistakes along the way. But so what.
When you buy a Flying Naked Lady product, you are getting a connection to and you become a part of our family. We celebrate everyone.
Family enterprises are different. You don't get rich. You get old. You grow slowly. The capital you create in your business is not the result of an MBA preaching grow grow grow. But the network of relationships you create are the meaning of your business. Handshakes still matter. Words are still bonds. Flying Naked Lady was created years ago. We are still working on it.
It takes time. Maybe if we were smarter it would have happened more quickly. Oh well. The FLYING NAKED LADY was created by Will Norris in Portlands Boatyard in the summer of 2004.