By Rebecca Bernard

This month’s sponsor focus is on Insignia Signs and Daytonian founders Elizabeth and Michael Riley. Founded in 2003, Insignia is a locally-owned company specializing in large format digital printing, vehicle advertising and display graphics. Recognized several times by AAF-Dayton for their outstanding work with and for customers, the Insignia team is who you go to make creative plans a reality.

What unique skill/feature/product/service do you bring to the Gem City?
We're a production house; it's our job to take the creative person's idea and make it a reality, whether that's a banner, a trade show display or a vehicle wrap. The physical products we offer aren't always unique, but our approach to helping our customers is. We take tremendous pride in our ability to think outside the box, to figure out how to make the impossible possible, to come up with new ways of doing things, new applications for otherwise "old" materials and media, and to meet impossible deadlines. We sell solutions to problems.

When you were growing up, what did you want to be? How did that path change? What steps did you take to get to where you are today?
Michael: As a youngster I wanted to be an architect, but growing up my family owned a golf course, and we started making welcome banners and outing sponsor signage (albeit crude by today's standards) in house. That experience led me to a job in the sign industry and eventually to owning my own wide format print shop.
Elizabeth: Growing up, I wanted to be a journalist. I married Michael and the sign industry, all in one day! ;)

In your creative career, have you encountered a challenge or face adversity, and how did you overcome that obstacle?
When we first started our company I was 20 years old and Michael was 21. We knew what we were doing and we knew how to deliver what the customer wanted, but it's hard to be taken seriously by larger companies or seasoned professionals when you're that young. That meant we had to work harder, faster, smarter and more efficiently than other people just to be noticed. Eventually that hard work and dedication paid off. While we originally thought our age was a limiting factor, the fact that it forced us to think outside the box became our biggest market advantage.

Why do you feel cultivating a creative community is important?
Well for one thing, the Dayton creative community keeps us in business. But Dayton is no longer a powerhouse of the industrial and manufacturing world; it's slowly evolving into a technological and creative hub. Creativity breeds creativity, so the more active and participatory the entire community becomes, the more that fuels innovative and creative thinking, and the better off the whole Dayton region will be as a result.

In what ways does your company contribute to the creative community?
Well, we have the humbling and sometimes intimidating job of outputting the visions of the Dayton creative community. It is so fun and fulfilling to see a designer stand by one of our printers and watch something that they designed come to life! In terms of community involvement, our staff has chosen the K12 Gallery for Young People as our company non-profit to support in 2012.

What creative industry leaders do you think have a great positive influence, or are there any creatives that you admire?
It's hard to admire or single out just a few individuals or companies, as that's counter to what creativity really is all about. For us, we tend to be enamored by the people behind the curtain making the whole machine work. The Steve Jobs, Tony Hsiens, Jeff Bezoses and other industry leaders and obscenely innovative thinkers. At Insignia, our job isn't necessarily to be the creative, but rather to support the creatives and bring their visions to life -- so the people who are always striving to do it better, faster, more efficiently, more cost effectively, etc., are the ones that get us excited.

What do you like most about living/working in Dayton?
Dayton has so much to offer. The more I travel, the more I realize that we are so lucky. We have so much great art, great food, an awesome park system and some really amazing companies in town. For as small as we are, we pack a pretty good punch!

What’s your best piece of advice to Dayton Creative Syndicate members?
Michael: Ask questions and learn; don't assume you know everything; assume you know nothing. This opens the door for innovation.
Elizabeth: Approach each work day as if it is your first day on the job!

Many thanks to Insignia and all they do for DCS!

Picking the perfect holiday present doesn’t have to induce panic. Gift giving can be one of the most stressful parts of the holiday season (I won’t even get into awkward confessions from your inebriated relatives). What kind of gift should it be? How much should you spend? Will the present-getter be upset you didn’t spend more? Or will he or she be angry if you did spend a lot and it winds up being inequitable in value to the gift you received? So much pressure! Santa makes it look easy since his recipients are typically under the age of 8. Toys? Yes. Socks? No. Done. For the rest of us, there’s Activated Spaces.

What started out as an art project to give downtown Dayton properties some jazz hands has entered its second phase: pop-up retail. “The ultimate goal of Activated Spaces is to bring new life and vibrancy to downtown Dayton,” says updayton cofounder Scott Murphy. “Pop-up shops offer the flexibility small business owners need in an atmosphere that will let them ‘test drive’ a location before committing to a longer-term lease.”

For the inaugural round, three shops were chosen from a list of applicants to put their merch up for sale in selected locations. Beaute Box, located at 116 W. Fifth St., specializes in high-end nail and spa services. Situated at 519 E. Fifth St. is PEACE on Fifth, the retail arm of the Dayton International Peace Museum offering certified slave-free, eco-friendly and fair-trade products. Comfort and Joy, 521 E. Fifth St., is a warm and fuzzy co-op of women whose handmade goods are said to “get you through the coldest winter night.”

The gift you give someone is necessarily reflective of your opinion of the person receiving the present. This year, avoid the shrink-wrapped basket of “deluxe” bath items and for goodness’ sake, put DOWN the Chia pet! Choose to purchase a lovingly hand-crafted item or personal service from a local business. “I take pleasure in knowing my products weren’t mass-produced from an assembly line or concocted in some Frankenstein laboratory,” says Comfort and Joy’s Evelyn Gordon, who creates scented Mason jar candles in her kitchen to sell at the pop-up on Fifth. “In a small business, products are driven not only by retail performance, but by direct feedback from customers. If someone asks me to modify the scent of a candle—maybe add a hint of cinnamon or cloves—I can do that and come back with new, customer-driven products the next day.”

Matching local businesses with vacant storefronts, overseeing the placement process, outfitting each space with signage and décor, supporting marketing needs and helping small business owners navigate the retail industry is no small order, especially for a group of volunteers representing a variety of industries and professional backgrounds. “We are fortunate to have a good group of passionate people who care about seeing downtown succeed,” says entertainment purveyor Jay Nigro, a Generation Dayton member coordinating pop-up retail efforts. “Research shows time and again that spending money locally—purchasing goods and services from locally owned businesses—keeps that money circulating in a community. That money gets invested in schools, nonprofit groups and feeds into the tax base. Buying local helps create and support jobs and education right here in the Miami Valley.”

Taking advantage of the “try-before-you-buy” lease options Activated Spaces offers gives small business owners like Lisa Scott the opportunity to see how a location will work before committing to a longer-term lease. “Activated Spaces is a great way to get started in operating your own business,” the Beaute Box owner says. “You never know how a relationship will work out with a property owner if you’re leasing, or if your location will get the traffic you think it will until you get in a space, and I’m glad Activated Spaces offers this option to ‘test drive’ my location before I sign a long-term lease.”

So no matter what kind of gift, large or small, take the stress out of holiday shopping and remember to buy local this holiday season. Your purchase of a handcrafted item undoubtedly will make the season merry and bright for your recipient and the families of the local merchants and artisans. Revitalizing the local economy is the gift that keeps on giving, unlike a leopard-print Snuggie.

For those of you who don’t know, Portfolio is a creative staffing agency based in Columbus. They match employers with talent for either freelance or full-time assignments. They handle design, writing, interactive, and project management.

We caught up with Portfolio co-owner Kristen Harris to ask how things are going  and what they have in store moving forward.

Sam: Kristen, I know Portfolio expanded into Dayton about a couple years ago. How’s that going?

Kristen: Dayton is good, it’s a really creative and welcoming community. We’ve built nice client relationships in the area, and we’re are always meeting fantastic creative talent here.

It’s interesting to work on new and different projects or searches, and to see how the needs of our Dayton clients vary from what we see in Columbus. That learning process and building relationships is a lot fun for me and our team!

Sam: Has the expansion been worthwhile for your business?

Kristen: It has been worthwhile, in many ways. Of course working with new clients and talent is wonderful, but this move also allowed us to explore and learn about expanding into cities beyond Columbus. We plan on doing more of that, and Dayton was an excellent first venture out beyond our home base.

We’ve learned some really valuable things, like how to connect with the right people in a new city and weighing whether we really need a physical office (for us, that answer was not really).

Sam: Sounds like Portfolio has grown a lot the past few years. Why is that?

Kristen: Yes, we have grown. There are a lot of factors, but I think the biggest one is that we understand and truly care about our clients and talent.

Catherine [Portfolio co-owner] and I started this business because we needed help finding the right creative people to work with us when we were designers and art directors. I would have loved to utilize a company like ours, but it simply didn’t exist. Having that industry experience and ability to figure out what someone really needs (which may be different than what they ask for) has proven to be extremely important.

As is connecting with our creative talent to really understand what they need and are looking for in their career. When we add someone to our internal team, we’re always looking for industry experience—we can teach the recruiting and staffing piece, but we can’t teach a passion for working with creative people.

Sam: Why should freelancers think about working with Portfolio, rather than pursuing business directly with various companies? Wouldn't it be better to "cut out the middleman" and do it yourself?

Kristen: It really depends on what you do and what your goals are.

If you’re looking to build up a business, have solid experience and connections, have a steady stream of work well into the future, and are comfortable marketing yourself, you’re probably doing great on your own. These tend to be people who are established freelancers, have a solid client base, are well-known in the market, and truly want to work independently and run their own business.

If you’re missing any of those key pieces, a company like ours can be a good resource to fill that gap, whether it’s finding more work, building up experience, or making connections in the local creative community.

Sam: Who's the best fit for you guys? Experienced freelancers or newbies?

Kristen: Both. There are a lot of factors that go into making the perfect match with one of our clients—skill set and experience level matter, but so do soft skills, personality, availability (our clients generally need people onsite at their location), and whether the rate fits their budget.

Most clients are looking for some professional experience, but it really depends on the position they need to fill and what other support they already have on their team. We have clients who are looking for the whole range, from recent grads to experienced executive-level creatives, and everything in between.

Of course, what we’re looking for is always based on what our clients are looking for. So right now interactive design and/or development and writing specifically for marketing or advertising are really top on their lists. But recently we’ve placed graphic designers, creative project managers, account managers, writers, developers, visual merchandising specialists, photo retouchers, illustrators … it’s a wide variety. And we never know what a client will ask for next!

Sam: Dayton is a small community. If you had a full-time job but wanted to look around, could you turn to Portfolio? Is there a truly confidential way to work with you guys?

Kristen: We are a vault. Confidentiality is extremely important to us, as it is to our clients and talent. The nature of our business is that we know a lot of things about a lot of people and companies, and we keep it all to ourselves.

If you’re working somewhere and just want to explore around for other options, that’s a great time to talk to us. We may not have the perfect opportunity for you right now, but if we know who you are and what you’re looking for, we’ll know it when we see it. The best time to look for a job is when you already have a job.

Sam: Anything else a creative should know about Portfolio?

Kristen: The more we know about you and what you’re looking for, the better opportunity we have to make a good match with one of our clients.

We work with a lot of creative companies and departments both in Columbus and Dayton, and we know what they’re looking for. Not just what they say or put in their online job description, but what they’re really looking for.

When we work together, it’s a partnership with the end goal of finding the right fit for our client, and getting you into the right place for the next step in your career. I think we’re pretty fun and friendly. People should feel free to reach out to us any time through the site at portfolioiscreative.com or call us at 614.839.4897.

Sam: Thanks, Kristen!

Samantha Enslen runs Dragonfly Editorial.