The Early Days of Fish Face
The design Smoked Pheasant was printed in 1994.
You can see the influence of my illustration style (the use of swirls) was present in the first few years of Fish Face. The design Nice Cast was also printed in the mid-1990s and has swirl elements. Because of its popularity, it’s still sold today!
(Part three of a series)
Fish Face takes pride in offering original and unique designs on all our products. But founder Troy Thomas didn’t go straight from art school to drawing a school of fish. After deciding on art as a career path and then spending several years as a freelance illustrator, Troy finally decided to give fishing art a go in the mid-90s. Read more about the early days of Fish Face in part three of a series.
In 1993 I really began to get burned out on making my living as a freelance illustrator. I had developed a drawing style that was marketable, but doing illustrations in the same style over and over again became tedious. I had mostly become an editorial illustrator and built a core group of clients made up of newspapers and magazines. The problem for me was that I would be given the same topic from multiple art directors each week. Frankly, this just became a little boring.
Around that same time, I was all-in on the sport of freshwater fishing. Wanting to break away from editorial illustration, I got the idea of doing illustrations/designs for fishing shirts. Because all the shirts in my dresser had been given to me as gifts over the years. I simply figured I could do it. I could start a gift and clothing line geared toward those who loved the outdoors.
I had wanted to name this new business Fish Head, but it was already trademarked. I wanted a company name that projected an enthusiasm for fishing. My next choice was Fish Face. While I settled on it at the time, it ended up being a great company name. It doesn't necessarily describe everything we do here, but it sparks curiosity and brings questions, which invites people in for a discussion.
The first Fish Face logo was printed in 1994. It was later trademarked that same year.
Next, I created a simple logo (just the words Fish Face) and then did eight or nine simple one-color designs. I hired a local screen printer to print a few hundred shirts and in the summer of 1993, I was off to wholesale shows to try to sell small north country stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan on carrying the Fish Face brand for the upcoming holidays. It was a total failure!
After a year and a half of trying to sell strictly to stores, it was time to reevaluate the business plan. With my savings quickly dwindling (I had a mortgage and two young kids) and my illustration career all but over (by my own self-inflicted mortal wound), I got a full-time construction job. Over the next year and a half, I continued to push my products in the direction of stores but still had no real luck.
We were living in Woodstock, Illinois, at the time. On a whim, I decided to try a one-day craft show in town called Fair Diddley. By now, I had about 20 designs and I wanted to see if individual customers might like them. But then I was so nervous about whether or not people would like my work. that I told Joan I couldn't do the show. Joan and her sister Barb ended up doing the show for me. Long story short, it was very successful. I made more money in that one day than any wholesale show! The rest is history.
With newfound confidence, I went full-time with a newfound S-Corp called Fish Face Goods in 1996. I added 20 or so retail shows to help with cash flow and began pushing harder at the wholesale shows. I added an employee or two as needed, reps, and off-site fulfillment. I was in catalogs and stores big and small. I did street festivals, art and craft fairs, and even some corporate events. Things were going well and the business was growing until 2008 and the recession. It took away about half my business, but half of what I used to make was still a decent living, so I pressed on. With the addition of a new rep group and another shift in customers, it seemed a plan was in place to get back on track. But various forces were eroding sales of the stores I was in and it was just too strong. I had never stopped going to retail shows and was going to continue to do so until my retirement, but then came COVID-19. That put an end to everything but my online sales!
That brings me to today. COVID forced me to make a few decisions. I love the shows, I just hate getting to and from them. I have once again pivoted and at times I feel like I'm starting all over again. All the retail shows I do were canceled for 2020. I sat down and had a long conversation with myself (one that was long overdue). I decided I no longer wanted to travel. I love being at the shows. I met a lot of my best friends through the shows. But my back and butt could no longer take 15 hours a week in the seat of my truck. What wore on me most was that those 15 hours could be better spent creating new art! I look forward to the new challenges that lie ahead with growing my online business. I’ve enlisted the help of my niece Jen, who has a background in communication, and I'm thinking we may be able to turn Fish Face Goods into something better than it was before.
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