Check Out Preston Craig’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Preston Craig.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After getting injured on a mural job for a non-profit Hollywood Arts program, whose negligence caused the accident, I went back to school to earn my M.F.A. I graduated Cum Laude in 2012 and turned my master’s thesis “Twisted Teddys” into a part-time business selling ltd. edition prints, t-shirts, greeting cards, etc. which utilized my teddy images. I established a permanent spot at the Hive Gallery in downtown L.A. after the owner, Nathan Kingbee, saw an image of one of my teddys and had my artwork up for a month in a one-man exhibit at his gallery. Later, I attended a small business fair at the Marriott Hotel in Universal City, where I met Alan Tratner, the CEO of a non-profit called Green2Gold. His company was an incubator for small businesses and startups. Initially, I only collected his information and gave him mine, but I really didn’t conduct any business with him for a few years. Then about 4 years ago, he reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in starting a new company with several other inventors. The company would specialize in eco-friendly, sustainable toys, games, novelties and pet products. I felt that there would be good synergy there with other inventors and so I agreed to join up. The inventors got together and decided on the name “Kids, Pets & More, Inc.” We incorporated a couple of years ago and have been working on fundraising to get some of our products into the marketplace. We have had limited sales with one of our products but haven’t raised enough funds, as yet, in order to establish a national or global presence. I was elected as the President and CEO of the company.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
That’ a loaded question. No, it has not been a smooth rode. Our biggest hurdle has been fundraising and we are presently stuck in not being able to prototype or manufacture any of our IP’s due to lack of funds. One can imagine that with several inventors on board that they all have an idea on how the company should be run. As the President/CEO, I could take their input, along with my own, and come up with a plan. We’ve utilized a few interns and Fiver to get one of our products a little closer to prototyping, once we had settled on a design. Unfortunately, one of the Fiver people we had a contract with stole our design and began to shop it around. I discovered a similar but more crude version of our product being sold on Amazon. Even though I held a copyright on the artwork, the company filed a patent on the product a week before the ersatz copy of our product was discovered. It was a bit of a let down for all but we are still moving ahead with our prototype creation since it is so much better. The company has had a couple of inventors leave because they didn’t see things moving fast enough and we’ve had a couple of the inventors pass away during this period. So yes, the company has indeed had some struggles while trying to stay on track and continue with our fundraising goals.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an artist/creative, along with my duties as President/CEO of Kids, Pets & More, Inc.,, I keep very busy. My artwork has been exhibited and sold both nationally and internationally. I have an account on
https://www.redbubble.com/portfolio/collections. They’re a DTP company and they print my images on just about anything. They notify me when I get a sale and what my commission will be. It’s fun to know that I’ve had someone in Australia or England order one of my images. Not getting rich by any means but since it’s a global marketplace, it gives my work more visibility.

Also, I create what I call, my more traditional images, landscapes, portraits and fantasy work because my teddys aren’t for everyone. Some people refer to me as the “Teddy Man” and that’s mainly because they haven’t seen my other work. So, my teddys address social issues that are important to me. All of my teddy images are socially relevant. Part of my goal with my teddys is that 15% of the profits from sales of any of my teddys merchandise, is donated to the social programs that address the issues my teddys depict. The money goes into a slush fund and from that, I’ll make a donation a couple of times a year. I set up that same dynamic with the Corporation. I’m presently working on getting a plush toy prototype created of one of my teddy characters. Once it is ready for the marketplace, that donation information will be printed on all the packaging.

I think I’m most proud of earning my M.F.A..which was a tough period. I basically did not have much of a social life for the 4 years I was working on my M.F.A. So, what sets me apart from others is that nothing like my teddys exists on the market. I mostly get positive feedback not only for the subject matter but for the humor I’ve tried to instill in each image as well. Also, the corporation’s goals is for our products to be as green and sustainable as possible during the manufacturing process and I feel that really sets us apart from other toy, game, novelty or pet product companies.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I do attend small business seminars a couple of times a year and I have joined 2 small business support groups. These are great ways to connect with other small businesses and startups, exchange notes, find new information on grants or investors and tools that are helpful in running a small business; especially with our goal of having a greater national and int’l presence. In addition, I’ve partnered with a SCORE mentor that is proving to be a good addition to helping me sail the ship,

Pricing:

• teddy printsare $45 to $226 depending on size and framing
• https://www.redbubble.com/portfolio/collections

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kidspetsnmore.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twistedteddys/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twistedteddys
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/PrestonArts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PrestonArts
• Other: https://www.twistedteddys.com

Image Credits
Preston Craig
Phil Bernard