Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Cook.
Adrienne, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Double Blind Surprise has been a long time in the making and has taken a very odd and windy path. I am an artist. I have a Masters degree in Printmaking, but I’ve always kind of known that the traditional route of a fine artist was not for me. I also don’t have the personality of a commercial artist, like a graphic designer or an illustrator. I have a pretty short attention span with what I’m making: sometimes I’m sewing, and I get into making quilts and clothes and anything else I can think of, and then the wind changes, and I’m addicted to my sketchbook, and
I’m drawing the details of the coffee shop I’m sitting in and writing down every word I hear and then the wind changes and I’m making sculptures out of hard candy and dreaming about installations. But all through this, I’m collecting. Collecting skills and collecting inspiration from other artists and paying attention to the people around me and watching who is responding to what.
I’ve always enjoyed giving gifts. To me, it’s more than an annual obligation; it’s a process where I get to examine what I like about the person and where I can relate and usually I can think of something I’ve found that falls in the middle ground between their interests and mine. I enjoy it so much that members of my family have used me to buy the gifts that they need to give on numerous occasions as well.
From this, I’ve joked about becoming a “gift consultant” for years but not knowing what or how that works, I never actually pursued it. It wasn’t until I participated in a game on Facebook around Christmas time where you picked out a gift for a friend-of-a-friend did the organization of Double-Blind Surprise click in my head. It was then I realized I could combine the research and collecting of artists in my art practice with my enjoyment of giving gifts.
The idea planted itself permanently in the back of my head for a couple of years while I was busy with other jobs and projects. I wanted to get it started over and over, but I never seemed to have the time. This year, after an illness required me to quit my job and slow down to recover for a little while, I decided this was the time to go all in. So, I have and I could not be more excited about this new chapter in my life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth start, but I don’t think I would have it any other way. As with anything really important to me like my education, relationships, or projects, I have to do everything entirely wrong five times before I can do it right.
With Double Blind Surprise, I’ve been fortunate to use knowledge from past project failures for a lot of it, and the struggles I deal with now are specific to starting a business. I take comfort in the advice I’ve read from a number of different sources that say “Start before you’re ready” because if you learn everything before you take the leap, you may never actually leap due to negative what-ifs. So, I started. And now, as a new hurdle is approaching, I do as much reading on the subject as I can and then make a decision. Sometimes, it’s quick and easy, other times I do a lap and then try a new approach.
For me, I would say the biggest learning curve so far has been financial. I’m fortunate to have a supportive husband who is willing to sacrifice the comfort of a two-income household for a while so I can figure out what I need to do for my career. That, by itself, hasn’t been very easy to take on, but I know I have to keep moving. We used what money we could spare, took a small loan from family, and then when it became clear that I needed more, I learned a lot about how other people get outside funding for their startups.
I guess if I were to advise other women starting out, it would be to trust yourself enough to start, read everything you can, and then trust yourself to make the next decision. If it’s worth it, you’ll keep going.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Double Blind Surprise – what should we know?
Double Blind Surprise is a very specific gift-giving service. How it works is the gift-giver will go on to doubleblindsurprise.com, fill out a very short questionnaire about the gift-receiver and how much they’d like to spend, and then I put together a gift from my inventory of things made by artists or small businesses, and then I send it off. The gift stays a surprise to both parties until the box is opened.
I’m excited about the model for a number of reasons. It guides the gift-giver to only pay attention to the details they like about the gift-receiver and makes it FUN for both people. Every gift will be unique, coming from places the giver wouldn’t usually shop. And, the part that I’m most proud of is that I get to share the people and the things I’m excited about. I get to spread the talent and ideas of my “partners” with people who may not discover them on their own. And, because the model of Double-Blind Surprise is based on the experience, I don’t see the artists I’m working with as competition in any way. I can’t wait for the first time that one of my customers is so interested in the gift they got that they look up the artist and purchase something else directly from them. To me, that will be when I’m doing my job right, because it is helping everyone.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
As a new woman entrepreneur, I feel like I’ve just joined a club. As I meet and talk to other women with businesses, they seem to go out of their way to help, give advice, and offer what they can to me. More than being competition, these women share what they’ve learned to help the next woman get a leg up. I don’t know that this necessarily exists for men in the same way. Or even men and women.
For my business in the gift industry, in particular, I think being a woman also gives me a different level of credibility. There is an extra level of care and consideration that seems to be automatically understood to deliver a quality product. Women aren’t immediately thought to be only driven by money. There’s always more to it than that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.doubleblindsurprise.com
- Email: hi@doubleblindsurprise.com
- Instagram: @doubleblindsurprise
- Facebook: facebook.com/doubleblindsurprise
Image Credit:
Adrienne Cook
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