MPN Highlights
Brittany Irby, 13 Year Old Entrepreneur, Chair of Board and Founder,
All About Kid Art
MPN Question: What is All About Kid
Art?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
All About
Kid Art is designed to provide creative children a vehicle to showcase
their talent. In a free and open environment, they can share and express
their creativity while earning money for their education. We pay a
licensing fee for each work we use and kids can earn royalties on the sale
of their works.
MPN Question:
What reasons led to the formation of All About Kid Art as a
business?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
All About
Kid Art is the result of mixing the desire to accomplish a task with
the power of the Internet. When I decided to turn Hippie in the Sky
into an umbrella, I called a stateside manufacturer who told me the idea
was good but was too expensive to do. His ‘no” was merely an indication
that he was not the right person to get me a “yes.” He jokingly said that
I’d have to go to China to get it made at a reasonable cost. So I went
home and went to China. I logged on the Internet and typed in what I
thought the gateway should be China.com. Surely who ever was on the other
end could either help or direct me. The note I posted simply said that I
had a great kid who enjoyed painting and I wanted to make an umbrella
using her artwork.
MPN Question: How did All About Kid
Art get started as a business?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
I was put in
touch with Cissy Yang, Director of China Operations for a large
manufacturing firm in Shenzhen, China. She says she is amazed by my
persistence and that keeps her wanting to help us make our small company a
success. She even got the manufacturer to print a limited run of 100
Hippie umbrellas. It was unprecedented in manufacturing. If you are
not ordering thousands you can’t get the time of day. But she told the
manufacture that our company would one day be really big and he did not
want to miss the opportunity of working with us!
MPN Question: Who are the principals
in this business, and what are their specific roles?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
Brittany is
the founder and Chairman of the Board of our company. She is also the
chief product designer. I tell people that my boss is 13 and is in
complete control until 10 PM. After 10, I become mom again and make her go
to bed. I serve as the President & CEO of All About Kid Art and
have always been an entrepreneur at heart. I’ve tried a lot of things,
but nothing has even remotely brought me the type of joy that this
endeavor has. Brittany’s company allows me to be the conduit and thereby,
my dreams are also fulfilled working with her. My husband, John, helps
with the marketing. He is the owner of Peachy Keen Productions, a
theatrical lighting company.
MPN Question: When did you sense
that young Brittany was so talented and creative, and what does she want
to do when she grows up?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
In the 4th
grade Brittany was identified as a gifted student by the Duke
University Talent Identification Program and in the 5th
grade she was one of 10 children to be awarded the President’s Award
for Educational Excellence. Both Brittany, 13 and her sister Leslie,
11 are on the academically gifted team at Woodland Middle School in East
Point. By the way, Brittany plays the violin and Leslie the flute.
Brittany wants to become a lawyer when she grows up.
Along with her scholastic achievements and her umbrella business she’s on
her way to creating the type of financial stability that will fund her
dreams.
MPN Question: Where and how can one
purchase products developed by Brittany?
All About Kid Art Response
(Lisa Irby, President/CEO):
All About
Kid Art umbrella’s can be found at several Metro Atlanta locations -
Greenbriar Mall, Shannon Mall, Cobb Galleria Mall, the CNN Center,
Peachtree Center and Kiddie City in Marietta. Also, we are on the
Internet at
www.AllAboutKidArt.com
MPN: Thank you for your time and we
wish you, Brittany and All About Kid Art much success in the future.
Interview by CJ Bland, MPN with Lisa
Irby, President/CEO, All About Kid Art
