So, I was walking through Trader Joe’s today, buying my usual. Mostly, I needed canned cat food since the brood of felines outside my house seems to be getting hungrier and bigger by the day. Anyway, into the pet-food aisle I went. I was stopped short when I looked to the top shelf … and there it was … MY BAG!!
A woman shopping just ahead of me looked back when I gasped in shock. I realized I had blurted out, “THAT’S MY BAG!” I had to explain … and lucky for me, she was willing to listen to me babble.
For a year now I’ve been waiting to see a design project of mine come to retail stores. I was asked through my freelance connection (thanks, Dale) to take what had been boxed kitty litter and create a bag design for the manufacturer (somewhere in China, I think). This was not creative genius. I had specifications and colors and logos already in play, so all I had to do was draw it up and ship the concept to Dale, etc.
A year goes by … Every time I bought pet food at Trader Joe’s I would look up to see if the box had magically turned into a bag. No dice. Dale and I figured the business owner and maybe the manufacturer had opted to stick with the boxed litter and ditch the bag concept.
But no!! They finally delivered, and I can smile now when I see the bag on shelves. The funniest part of the story (for me, anyway) is that the cat I used on the bag was a cute little fella I photographed in Sardinia two years ago!
Sam and the cat "model" in Sardinia, 2006
Space litter in Sam's bag
Aw, what a cutie!!
Congrats! It’s always nice to see something you did go mainstream. I’ll keep my eyes open next time I’m at TJ’s.