Thirty years ago, a talented artist's major success at a local art show propelled her into a thriving business in the gift industry. Today, Debi Allison, who first developed her art skills by creating ornaments at her mother's kitchen table, is the creative designer and owner of Deb & Co., a company that offers collectible, handcrafted, year-round ornaments. The company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2009 with the exciting debut of an entirely new Party Collection and a 30th birthday celebration to be held at AmericasMart Atlanta in January 2009.
"Owning this company has allowed me to expand my creative side by continuously designing and creating ornaments for collections, old and new," says Allison. "Knowing the ornaments I'm making will be a keepsake for other families is truly inspiring to my design process."
Allison spent 10 years in the jewelry-making business prior to shifting her design focus to bread-dough ornaments, primarily because of the surge in gold prices. The change was a welcome one for Allison, who was able to reconnect with a hobby she greatly enjoyed as a child. "As a young child, whenever I would stay home sick from school, I would make Christmas ornaments and other crafts with my mom. I loved it so much that I actually could make myself sick to stay home!"
In 1983, Allison began selling her ornaments at a kiosk in a prominent Atlanta mall and also met her future husband, Glenn Allison, a calligrapher who taught her how to properly personalize her ornaments. Debi recalls the sleepless nights the two had during that first busy Christmas season. "Glenn would work at the mall kiosk because I was still hand-making all the ornaments," she says. "We even had to enlist the help of some local women to help me paint. Twice a week, Glenn would drive home in the middle of the night to pick up the finished ornaments and find us women asleep all over the floor!"
For nearly 20 years, Allison and her husband worked the kiosks together and enrolled other family members to manage additional kiosks across the country. Eventually, rising demand prompted her to outsource for mass production, but Allison continues making all prototypes by hand. Throughout her career, Allison has developed a solid, signature look that she attributes to her use of polymer clay, which customers prefer, and her personal design of each prototype ornament.
Deb & Co.'s whimsical ornaments often feature Allison's popular Belly Bears, inspired by her cat Mozart, which she lovingly refers to as "a big fat cat." Allison has a love of animals that shines through in many of her product designs and is also evidenced by the company's website, which offers a page devoted to "furry friends." At www.debandco.com, animal-lovers are invited to post pictures of their own pets and view pictures of Allison's cats, Gandhi and Mozart, and her dog, Zeppelin.
One of Allison's newest product collections, to debut at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market this January, is the Party Collection, inspired by the company's 30th "birthday." The collection features Binkey, the original Belly Bear, and friends, including Petey Penguin and Clarence the Clown, in various capricious birthday celebration scenes. The playful collection also features fully detailed, colorful birthday cakes with Binkey and decorated numbers to represent ages of those celebrating a birthday.
"The Party Collection was exciting to create, because of the special significance the ornaments have with my own company's 30th birthday celebration," notes Allison. "I also designed a limited edition ornament with the number 30 and the Deb & Co. logo on the cake, which we'll be giving away to visitors that stop by our booth in Atlanta during our birthday party."
In addition to the Party Collection, Deb & Co. will also launch other new ornaments, including the Half Baked Hens line, which features a brightly colored rooster, Henry, and hen, Henrietta, decorated with real marabou feathers and baby chicks in various settings. "This line was inspired by my maiden name, Gallo, which means rooster in Spanish, and by my father, whose first name was Henry."
Other new ornaments include pirates Pierre and Pilar, Larry Lighthouse, Paco Pelican and more. Not only is the company introducing new products this January, but customers can look for the exciting debut of the company's new look! In partnership with Craft Marketing, a Manhattan-based creative advertisement and communication agency, Deb & Co. has created a new company website, logo and catalog. In addition, the new slogan, "Made by Hand, Given from the Heart," perfectly represents the company's much loved, handmade ornaments and its creator, Deb Allison. The company's new look is set to debut in 2009, beginning with the launch in early January.
"These past 30 years have been more than I could have imagined," reflects Allison. As for the company's future plans "Like all companies, I'm just really looking forward to continuing to build upon our current business and having 30 more years of great success!"
For more information about Allison and her popular collection of personalized ornaments with Deb & Co., please visit www.debandco.com.
Founded in 1979 by entrepreneur Debi Allison, Deb & Co. offers collectible, hand-crafted ornaments from polymer clay in whimsical designs that are ideal for both personalization and stand-alone styles. While the company began by selling salt dough ornaments at art and craft fairs in Florida, it has grown to include retail outlets nationwide and kiosk operations in the Southeast, where Debi and her husband Glenn test market new designs. Deb & Co. is an exhibitor at the Atlanta Gift and Home Furnishings Market and its products are available both to retailers and direct to consumers at the company's website, www.debandco.com. The company is located in Buena Vista, Virginia, and can be reached at 866-4-STNICK or info@debandco.com.