Company founders Indulge in creativity

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Cate Newberg and Melissa McCoy provide personal touch

The little house on School Street, cream-colored with a blue-gray roof, is rather unassuming. One wouldn’t guess the flurry of activity inside by looking at the exterior. Cate Newberg and Melissa McCoy spend their days there, clad in sweat suits, spattered in paint, surrounded by their creations: hand-painting boxes in stacks that climb toward the ceiling. The women braved a competitive market and drastic salary cuts to open their own business, Indulge Gift Boxes.

Cate Newberg began painting boxes several years ago when she worked as creative director for the Kragie Newell advertising agency, now known as Integer Group. A client, Tabasco, requested some hand-painted boxes to package gift sets it sold online. Newberg delved into the creative endeavor, making countless boxes painted with chili peppers. Then she went to work for Sticks Inc. as marketing director. It was there that she met McCoy, who was working in human resources. Neither served as artists for the company, however, and they are quick to disassociate their business from Sticks.

“They have their niche, and we have ours,” McCoy said. Though both companies’ products are hand-painted in vibrant colors, Sticks specializes in engraved wooden furniture, and Indulge specializes in painted boxes with smooth images.

“Those differences add to the community and to our work,” said Newberg.

For years, Newberg had donated extra Tabasco boxes or other boxes she made in her spare time to the Junior League gift show. Last October, Newberg and McCoy brought boxes and announced the birth of their business.

“We got a huge response,” Newberg said. “People were really excited to be able to get them year-round.”

Indulge sells some boxes in stores like Bartletts Antiques and Collectables, Small World, Chocolate Storybook and The Gathering Place, but the majority of its business comes from custom orders. A customer will submit and order by telephone or e-mail, requesting a general style or theme. A plain brown container of the specified dimensions is then painted black, and Newberg or McCoy sketches the design on the surface in pencil. If the design includes a company logo, it is silk-screened onto the box. The artist then fills in the colors in a flourish of acrylic paint. Any remaining pencil lines are erased and the bottom of the box is marked with a sticker and signature. For a single box, the turnover is often as fast as one day. For most larger orders, it takes a week or two.

When Principal Financial Group Inc. was looking for a way to reward 500 of its workers, it turned to Indulge Gift Boxes for the packaging. Angie Ossian, a marketing and communications associate for the company, explained the gift’s theme to Newberg and McCoy. They made her a sample, which she took to a meeting with two competing designs. Ossian said the choice was simple. Not only was the Indulge design preferred, it was cheaper than the machine-made alternatives.

“We wanted it to be more personal, special, something [the employees] were going to want to keep,” Ossian said. “I guess it all boils down to presentation and the fun, attractiveness of the boxes.” Ossian says employees have been vocal in their appreciation of the hand-painted containers.

In May, Indulge Gift Boxes completed boxes for the spouses of governors in town for a National Governors Association event. The boxes commemorated events from their Iowa visit, including images of Terrace Hill, Madison County’s covered bridges, the Meredith Corp. test kitchen and a high tea.

Recently, a company called to price an order for 14,000 boxes. It would be the largest order Indulge has ever handled. With any large order, McCoy and Newberg hire free-lance artists, but such a large order would also necessitate a larger workspace.

“We just want to keep growing,” Newberg said. She’s had many request for permanent employment by local artists, but the company can’t afford to hire yet. Early on, they applied for small business loans, but found the Small Business Administration unresponsive to such an “intangible” business. “An artsy business is more dangerous than a tire store,” she said. They turned to banks for the necessary funds.

“It’s not about money or buildings, although God knows you have to make some money,” Newberg said. “We’re just having fun doing what we enjoy.”

For now, Newberg and McCoy are content to stay in their School Street digs, painting.