Sticky Business
A decorating dilemma inspired these entrepreneurs' bold and beautiful business concept.
When architect Scott Flora and food editor Jerinne Neils moved
in to their new loft, the walls were huge--and blaringly white. In
desperation, they considered their options. Artwork was too pricey,
and paint prohibitively time-consuming. So, using homemade
stencils, Flora and Neils, now 39 and 38, respectively, started
drawing. "Our loft space became kind of a laboratory, and the
walls really became canvases," says Flora. Colorful patterns
and text-based poems came to life on the once-bare walls--and they
inspired a business idea that completely reshaped Flora and
Neils' lives.
In 2002, Blik, a Venice, California, design studio and
manufacturer of oversize peel-on, peel-off decals, was born.
Blik's line of products ranges from colorful, geometrical
shapes to abstract, modern designs inspired by Blik's own
design studio as well as designers and artists such as the late
Charles and Ray Eames and the late Keith Haring. With 2005 sales of
$500,000, it's clear Flora and Neils' innovative temporary
wall graphics have consumers stuck on the idea.