Story Behind the Store: Steam Crow and the Four Words that Changed His Life
Hi there! My name is Daniel Davis, and I run Steam Crow with my wife-partner, Dawna.
In 2005 I took my wife Dawna to the San Diego Comicon, for a much needed vacation. We’re both artists; she’s an Art Teacher, and I was a frustrated Corporate Graphic Designer working for a conservative industry.
While we were there at the con, we met all kinds of cool, independent artists. Many of them worked for the big studios, but were still motivated to do their own thing. This really struck a chord with me, as I’d always had a DIY streak that couldn’t be tamed.
We took in the dazzling sites, and really found ourselves inspired. After the first day, Dawna leans over to me and says “you know, YOU could do this. You could illustrate your own haiku monster book”.
I was flabbergasted. I didn’t think that *I* had the power to be a working artist. Heck, I was just a regular joe from Spokane, Washington. I wasn’t a wizard. I surely didn’t have the magic power that these other artists had.
She gave me a gift that day; she told me that I could do it.
Right way, I started sketching ideas for Caught Creatures: a Monster Haiku Book, and when we got home from the show, I stopped playing video games, watching TV and generally wasting my time – and started to work.
Every day after work I illustrated monsters, wrote haikus, and really dedicated myself to getting this thing done. In 60 days, I had the book finished and formatted, and we started getting quotes for the printing.
I knew that I couldn’t do it alone, so along the way, I convinced Dawna that this HAD to be something that we could do together. I didn’t want this to take us apart, but rather be something that brought us together.
I quickly applied for WonderCon, San Diego Comicon, and the Phoenix Comicon, and we were accepted in all three shows. We eventually got the book back from the printer, and we started selling it on the road.
Fast forward 8 years, and we’ve self-published 5 books, illustrated hundreds of prints, postcards, pint glasses, and other monstery products. A year and a half ago, I started working for Steam Crow as my only job, and we hope to eventually bring Dawna into the fold, too. We still exhibit at a lot of shows, but we’re also working hard to increase our online sales.
We just recently moved to Storenvy because we were tired of maintaining our own store, and the hassles of keeping it updated and free of malware. Storenvy is easy to use, and the new Marketplace is a great way to garner new sales and fans. It’s clean, easy to use, and the price is right!
We’re looking forward to watching Storenvy evolve and grow, and we’re hoping to fill it with chock full of our good monster goods!
