We all know that kids say the funniest and most honest things. So imagine being able to capture these moments in comic form. Well, I am thrilled to say that you can with the help of Matt from Peanuts Gallery Comic who is our “Dad of the Month.”
Matt grew up in Colorado and moved to New York City right after college. Recently he has moved to the suburbs in New York City with his wife and soon to be six year old son, to give his son more space to run around. People often ask him how he made the transition from Colorado to New York City and he says, “I somehow love the outdoors as much as I love the energy and crowds of New York City.”
I had a chance to connect with Matt to learn more about his unique company.
- What does your company do?
“Peanut Gallery Comics turns memories into hand-drawn, custom art. People send in photos and their story, and our writers and illustrators turn them into comic strips.”
Click here to watch the video.
- When did you start your business?
“We’ve been live for just over three months. We started with a Kickstarter campaign and somehow found ourselves fully funded in less than 48 hours. We were lucky enough to end up over 200% funded.”
- How did you come up with the idea?
“My son says and does some really funny and cute things. I started keeping a journal of them so I wouldn’t forget them. But I soon found they were just sitting there and I couldn’t really enjoy them. That’s when I came up with the idea to have them made into comics. I found some illustrators to make a few of them and I loved them! When my family and friends saw them and loved them, I decided to try it as a business.”
- How did you come up with the business name?
“I liked the sound of peanut because it was a nick name we gave to my nephew (who is almost a year old now), and paired it with gallery because we make custom art.”
- What do you hope your business accomplishes?
“To be honest, I really just love making people’s stories come to life as comics. The stories are all so cute (and some are really funny), and the illustrators and I have to get creative to make them into comic strips that stay true to the story.”
- Where would you like to see your business in 5 years?
“I’d like to see us making a good amount of people’s stories into comics every month. It’s fun making them, and it’s fun getting all of the positive feedback. We even started making some free ones for people based on cute or funny stories we see on Twitter. The free ones don’t have personalized characters, but most people are really happy to see their stories as comic strips.”
- As a busy working dad, how do you find the time to balance it all?
“It’s funny, I get asked that all the time. I guess I stay up fairly late and usually do a good amount of work after my son goes to bed, but it doesn’t seem that hard. Maybe it’s because I like it so much. Although I have noticed I don’t watch TV much anymore.”
- If someone is interested in purchasing a comic, how can they go about it?
They can purchase online from our site, http://www.peanutgallerycomics.com/ or send an email to info@peanutgallerycomics.com if they have any questions.
*UPDATE: Unfortunatley, Peanut Gallery Comics is no longer in business.
I have had the pleasure to have one of my moments with my daughter captured in a comic strip by Peanut Gallery Comics and I will treasure it forever! Matt was very professional from beginning to end and of course the end result was stunning.
Matt is a talented father who has given parents an opportunity to capture their precious moments into comic strips that they can treasure forever. Matt even offers some great advice for all parents to note, “Keep making cute and funny memories! And make sure to capture them somewhere, even if it’s not as a custom comic. Write them down so you don’t lose them. It’s the small moments and memories that are really precious, the way your kid says something or the way they expressed themselves in a uniquely “them” kind of way.”
Very well said Matt and I have now purchased a notebook to capture some of these precious moments! Thank you Matt for your time and keep making memories come alive in print!
Until next time…..Happy Parenting!
– Momma Braga
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