Who We Were, Way Back When
If you read our last article, you got to learn all about the history of this thing we call Sleeping Giant Creative. But who are the elves behind the machine? If you’ve ever wondered what our employees were like 10 years ago (and, I mean, who wouldn’t)…well, now’s your chance to get the dirty deets.
In 2007, Danni…
…well, you know. Had a job, quit a job, started a company. The rest is history (which, in case you’re interested, we’ve written about in Part 1 of our anniversary series.) But what went on behind the scenes? That first year…lots of naps and movies. Not that she was lazy, or anything—in fact, she struggled a bit with home/work balance. It was difficult to resist the urge to stop and check email on her way to fix a bedtime snack.
2007 was also the year she and her husband embarked on the adventure of adding onto their house. Just after construction started, Danni brought her daughter home from daycare only to have her burst into tears because “Daddy broke the house.” Precious.
One decade ago, Danni founded Sleeping Giant Creative on the unwavering principles of only taking jobs from people she enjoyed working with and absolutely never having any employees. 10 years later, and she’s done a pretty good job of sticking to that first part.
She now has 4½ employees.
In 2007, Courtenay…
…was really into the Colts. I mean, REALLY. The AFC Championship game that year, in which we beat New England, was the sporting event highlight of her life (she hates Tom Brady with a passion that would make the fiercest Hoosier proud). And then we managed to win the Super Bowl, which just sent her into another dizzying spin of pure, fan-based joy. She was very much in love with Bob Sanders and had the opportunity to stare at him and drool over him and get his autograph at a signing event, post-Super Bowl. Swoon!
10 years later, she’s traded in her football fervor for the dramatic world of high school theater parent-dom. She may not know how many two-point conversions the Colts made last Sunday, but she certainly has the best tips on how to keep your voice limber before a performance and where to find the sturdiest character shoes for cheap.
In 2007, Kyle…
…had just moved back to Indy from Spokane, Washington (long story), and had no clue what she was doing with her life. She spontaneously burst into tears a lot that first part of the year. But then she enrolled in art school and got to do all sorts of hippy-dippy, artsy-fartsy stuff, and her whole world changed. 10 years later, she has three degrees under her belt, has lived in a foreign country, and moved back to Indy AGAIN. And while her job at Sleeping Giant may have very little to do with all those degrees she has, at least it’s scratching her creative itch, which is no small matter.
10 years from now, she hopes to be living in another foreign country.
In 2007, Josiah…
…was a Junior in high school and was on the tennis team (adorable!). He got his driver’s license and his first cell phone and went on a mission trip to Mexico. Oh, how much has changed in the last decade! From high school tennis star to married with three kids, from a degree in Psychology and a lucrative career in counseling to a “second life” as a web developer, Josiah is pretty much a completely different human these 10 years later.
He’s on his, like…8th cell phone by now.
In 2007, Kate…
…was TWELVE. (If that doesn’t make you feel old…) Blissfully whiling away her days at St. Monica Middle School, Kate was mostly focused on being a weird, awkward, typical tween (her words, we swear). She enjoyed cats and wanted to be a cop. Kind of a far cry from where she ended up, in the exciting world of graphic design interning.
In 2007, Mabel and Izze…
…were not even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes.
That’s it, for us. Where were YOU 10 years ago? (We will require embarrassing photos for proof.)