Ever wonder how we create new shtuff for the MUTTS Shop? Here’s a peek behind the scenes at the making of our much-loved Wall Calendars and Desk Calendars.
For products as in-depth and popular as our MUTTS calendars, the planning process starts pretty early. Okay, really early. Back in December 2016, we at Team MUTTS gathered as a group and decided on the themes for our 2018 calendars. The theme influences everything from the front cover to the kinds of content we include on the inner pages. We chose “Year of Yesh” as the theme for the 2018 Desk Calendar and “#LoveMUTTS” for the Wall Calendar.
Next, Elena, our Art Director, brainstormed design ideas and provided the team with mock-ups of a few sample pages, along with a list of notes explaining her choices and inviting feedback.
The rest of us — Patrick included — reviewed the mock-ups and, when applicable, offered suggestions to make the designs even better. (Though, to Elena’s credit, they were already awesome to begin with). We asked questions like, “What if we tried a lighter shade for the background color?” and “Can we add a snowy image on the December page?”
We went through a few more rounds of adjustments until the designs for both calendars were totally refined — and almost unbearably adorable.
Next, it was time to comb through each page, proof all of the images and text, and fact-check the dates. Nikki (our graphic designer) and Ali (our copywriter) teamed up to tackle this thrilling, super-riveting task. (We kid, but these two actually enjoy meticulous stuff like this; it’s kinda their jam.)
Once the final edits were made, our project manager Veronica gave the thumbs up, and Elena forwarded the files to our vendor for printing. Our vendors, by the way, are carefully selected by our team leader Chintan and our office manager Nichole, who search for companies that share MUTTS’ commitment to social and environmental responsibility. For the calendars, that meant choosing a printing company that uses reforested paper and soy-based inks.
The printing process took a few weeks, and the vendor shipped the final products to our office in mid-summer. The office is in New Jersey, but since most of us work remotely, Chintan and Nichole notified us via email when they arrived:
“The calendars are here and they look great!!! 🎉😀”
Across multiple states, countries, and time zones, the members of Team MUTTS did a happy dance — then got right to work adding the new goodies to the MUTTS Shop, where they’re now available for purchase.
Have you ordered yours yet?
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