Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy and Johnny Chau. They shared their story with us below:
re:creative started in 1998 in New York City. Johnny was working at Time Inc. as an art director at that time. Johnny and his college roommate started the studio together, which had always been a dream of theirs since design school. re: creative’s first clients were Carnegie Corporation of New York and, along with Johnny’s previous freelance client, Hallmark Entertainment. For the next decade, they slowly built their client base. The amazing part was that the studio grew with very little marketing effort—most of the clients came through word-of-mouth. Some of the clients, like Horace Mann School, have been and are still with re:creative since the beginning—over 20 years! Most of the current clients are non-profits and education organizations, like Asia Society Texas, The Kinder Institute at Rice University, and Teach for America. Over the years, the studio has grown and shrunk, and partners have come and gone—but Johnny has remained the designer and owner. Realizing a larger studio meant more time spent managing, Johnny decided to keep the studio small—since Johnny’s real passion is designing. In 2010, re:creative relocated to Austin, TX. Currently, re:creative consists of Johnny, the designer, and his wife Dorothy, who is the business development manager. re:creative stands apart from other studios because they are a small studio with much experience working with a range of clients—from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. The clients work directly with the owner, there are no layers.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Here are some challenges we’ve faced. The struggle along the way whether to grow the studio or not. Making mistakes but learning from them. Partner transitions. Moving to five different offices. Working in a studio without heat and surviving a few economic downturns. Balancing work/family life—blurring the lines between work and personal. Having to cope with the trauma of 9/11—at the time our office was in Tribeca, blocks away from the World Trade Center site, and we had to pass the destruction on our daily commute.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
re:creative is a graphic design studio, originally based in NYC since 1998, currently in Austin, Texas, as of 2010. We are a small agile group of experts with a big reach. We specialize in brand/identity (logo designs), print collateral, digital (website, email templates, social media graphics), and environmental (trade show booths, museum graphics). We stand apart because of our vast experience and close collaboration with clients. We are most proud of our experience and contribution to the Ai Weiwei exhibit at Brooklyn Museum—being able to contribute to an artist that we admire. We want the readers to know we are here in Austin, easy to work with, and can provide creative strength and unique design solutions for our clients.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
Our advice regarding starting a design studio is that it’s not just about design. You will need to learn marketing, bookkeeping, administrative tasks, IT, etc. The point is you will need to wear many different hats. We wish we knew how many hats we needed to wear before we began. But don’t let that deter you from starting your studio because all these things can be learned. You must be open, willing to learn, resourceful, and not get discouraged.
Contact Info:
- Website: recreative.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/recreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recreative
Image Credits
Headshot credits: Divina Stennfeld Photography
