Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Jacob Horine.
Hi Daniel Jacob, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Not intended to be a business, it began more as an art project but in the beginning months of being locked-in due to COVID. I began drawing pictures of baseball players in a comic-book style. Both baseball and comic books were the entirety of my life at age ten. I decided to try something new, completely on a whim, to see if anyone would be interested. I decided to do a piece a week and make it available for only a week, then retire the piece after that. I sold just a few my first week, a few more the next, and steadily grew after that. In the process, I was able to connect with and collaborate with several major league baseball players in bringing these pieces to life, including Los Angeles Dodger legend Steve Garvey. The interest in my work as collectibles steadily grew. In December of 2020, I was invited to be a guest on the MLB Network show Hot Stove and was talking about my work to a broader audience. Now nine months into this project, I’ve done over 30 different works, worked with many baseball players, including Hall of Famers and have over 4000 of my pieces in collections around the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This has been a constant process of trial and error. This was began on a whim without many expectations or a plan. With the project, I’ve had to learn to do many things and figure out how to do. I’ve spent my whole life doing the artwork so that was the easy part. Things like websites, eCommerce, product fulfillment, marketing, etc. – they were all unknowns to me that I’ve had to figure out as I get to them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Pop Fly Pop Shop is the vehicle through which I create what I call “Pop Flys”. A Pop Fly is a collectable art print that I release nearly every week that features some form of baseball-themed concept told through the expressive style of comic book art. I do one piece a week which I make available for one week only. Sunday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Once that week is up, the design is retired and the print run is determined by how many people order during that week. What’s been important to me is telling an interesting story and not just creating decoration. If you take the sports out of sports there are still compelling storylines, heroes, villains, underdogs, redemptive arcs, improbable moments and disappointing ends. While I do work based on well-known figures, it’s also been really interesting to me to also explore the less well-known stories and characters in baseball. Exploring those aspects are a lot more exciting to me and it’s my hope that that excitement translates to the art. I’m proud that this project has facilitated giving to many charities. It’s a personally important component of what I do.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I put a good amount of thought into what I produce; developing the concept and researching the subject so that, in addition to the obvious storytelling devices, there’s also other elements that are hidden throughout to enjoy.
Pricing:
- Each piece is $35
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.popflypopshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danieljacobthemaker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popflypopshop
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Danny_Champion
- Youtube: bit.ly/PopFlyPopShop
