“Nonsense is better than no sense at all”
DEREK:
When I was young, I liked reading and writing and drawing cartoons. I thought it would be fun to be able to do that when I grew up and I formed an image in my head of how that would look. I also had a knack for being able to help other kids in school ‘get’ the material by boiling it down and explaining it in a different way than the teachers. So writing, illustrating, and educating were always in my blood.
Ultimately, I went down a different path, first studying architecture and then building a successful 20+ year career in the design and construction and facilities management fields. But my natural penchant for writing, illustrating, and educating remained lying just under the surface.
For a variety of reasons, the past few years have been a whirlwind that brought on some further reflection; I came to realize that you only live once, and that I am still the same person as the young boy that liked to read and write and draw cartoons. So I decided to take all of the business experience I gained via my academic and work careers and combine that with my natural affinity for writing, illustrating, and educating. Embarking on writing and illustrating for Bob and Barb is the product of this, and certainly more like the image I had in my head when I was small, and really even better in a lot of ways.
I believe it is important to make life fun, but acknowledge that our lives also present with them many decisions to make and hurdles to deal with. Bob and Barb are my vehicles for teaching - in a fun way - a little bit about how to handle what life is throwing at you and how to make choices and decisions when doing so may seem overwhelming. If we can teach this to kids early on, it has a chance to make a positive difference in how they react and respond when faced with the decision making needed on a daily basis in this world.
“It all depends on how you see and interpret things”
-Delfonics
BRYN:
From an early age I was a storyteller and educator, though I wouldn’t come to fully realize that until more recently. I am by nature a curious observer of the human condition and perpetual learner. During my summers as a teen I taught children and adults to swim. Observing and guiding the variety of ways people approach learning a new skill taught me that one perspective or approach does NOT fit all.
Having an eye for design and desire to understand how we fit within the environment around us, my college education and early professional career focused on architecture, design education, and graphic communication. I founded my first sole graphic design practice in 2008 by virtue of not being able to find suitable ‘congratulations’ cards for the many weddings I was attending that summer. Cumulatively, I have strategized, designed, directed, and educated within the design and construction fields for the last 20 years.
Over my years, I’ve discovered that most of life’s situations have common themes. They’re a series of puzzles, some harder than others, but yet can all be fun if you approach them with the right perspective. Co-founding Bob + Barb Studios is the culmination of my life’s practice in education, design, and entrepreneurship, thus far… I am SO excited for the practice to continue, beginning with the storytelling of Bob + Barb’s incredible life’s adventures and sharing the value of thoughtfulness and creative problem solving with kids from 1-99, and beyond!