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TIDY LITTLE CONCEPTS
The consistent dialogue necessary when producing Blue Q’s intricate products is a process that needs to be practiced, says Modern Dog’s Robynne Raye. She notes that Mitch’s style is initially jarring to those used to a more formal exchange. “We were looking for exact direction and he doesn’t give that all the time,” she says. “He says, ‘Here are some ideas, here’s what I’m thinking,’ and lets people run with it.”

Designers are guaranteed, however, that feedback will arrive via Mitch’s preferred delivery method—the fax machine. “Mitch communicates by scrawling faxes,” says VSA Partners’ Todd Piper-Hauswirth. “My fax was down once and it was killing our relationship.” Reams of hilarious handwritten notes roll in with sketches about current products in development, sometimes 20 pages at a time.

“I love writing goofy notes,” says Mitch. “It’s my secret weapon.” But it also echoes the precious nuggets of copy on Blue Q’s packaging, many of which are Mitch’s smart, tight writing. That voice, Mitch says, creates the intimacy present in every Blue Q product. “We’re relying on a writing exercise and the graphics need to follow the writing. It’s a tidy little concept.”

Perhaps the ultimate testament to its pool of talent, Blue Q edges toward its $10 million milestone without having done any market research. Instead, Mitch trusts his designers to target their audience and watches how products perform. “We can sell anything once, but the gift and beauty business is based on the retailer repeatedly reordering the same item,” he says. “That, or you’re off the shelf.”

Also remarkable is the fact that many consumers don’t know what Blue Q is—they’re only familiar with the mini-brands crafted by the designers. To give consumers a little brand awareness nudge, Mitch recently tapped Piper-Hauswirth to create signage for the Blue Q Happy Center. The merchandising rack, which Mitch describes as a “groovy, cheesy pole with wings,” will corral products into a Blue Q retail icon.

The list of products in development reads like an issue of The Onion. Pimpin’ Presidents magnets and The Chosen Keyboard stickers (Hebrew letters for Kosher keys); Facts of Life and Tastes Like Chicken gums; Blue Q licensed the Dick and Jane watercolor art for tote bags; a new beauty line named Hot & Flashy; and tattoo sets like Touch My Tummy for moms-tobe. Blue Q also cross-pollinates bestsellers into different forms. So Miso Pretty becomes a tattoo set and Cat Butt becomes a tote bag, keeping favorite concepts fresh for consumers. “Everything is in the design,” says Mitch. “It’s addictive to the customers, it’s addictive to the workers.”

At Modern Dog, where they estimate about half their workload comes from Blue Q, Raye and her partner, Mike Strassburger, are hooked on Blue Q’s products as well as the process. “We make more money o. snowboards, but it’s so fun and we love doing it,” says Raye. She says this true collaboration between client and designer has completely dissolved the traditional roles between them: “We’re one company.”

And after 10 years of working with Blue Q, Strassburger is still giddy when he gets to design things like HandzOff antimasturbatory gum. “For anyone else, this would be outside stuff," he says. “But this is the work. I’m like a guy who shoots for Playboy.”

www.blueq.com