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Pandemic couldn’t choke them; they still joke, create and build towards their goal.
creativity in their blood. Dana and Carlo Kaminsky are a rare husband and wife team. Picture: Supplied
Imagine having to reinvent yourself once, then again at middle age. All the while relying on your talent, gut feel and the only partner you have ever truly trusted.
Husband and wife team Dana and Carlo Kaminsky did – and then had to do exactly that again. The first time when they took the leap, they started their own business. The second, when the pandemic almost squeezed their livelihood to a full choke.
A rare partnership
Husband and wife teams are not uncommon. But a pair that can joke, create and build together towards a common goal is rarer still, especially when the intimate and business coupling stretches over decades.
And when the going got tough, the Kaminskys just kept going.
Dana met Carlo while working at a printing company in Bellevue. He was a graphic designer, sharp, restless and creative. But he had to commune with suits at several corporates.
Breaking free from corporate
“He did a stint at Anglo American. But it was too stiff, too boxed in. I told him: ‘Get out. Do your own thing,’” said Dana.
He did and together they started Hands On Design, which later became Art of Design, and focused on wildlife-themed clothing.
“He’s the artist. I handle the rest,” she said. “It worked. We were supplying lodges, Kruger Park, even airports.”
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Wildlife art boom
The wildlife T-shirt business, among other ventures, did well. There wasn’t a souvenir store at a game lodge that either didn’t stock their product or hadn’t heard of their wearable art. And then it hit the fan in 2020.
“We had just received a big order from Kruger for five stores,” said Dana. “Stock was about to go into production and then the e-mail landed: ‘Don’t proceed. Shops are closing.’
That was it. The lodges pulled out. No tourism. No sales.”
“It was daunting,” Dana said.
“You think you’re there. Comfortable. And then you’re back at the start, figuring it all out again.”
A new identity: Atlas bear
It could have ended there. Instead, they started over. Again. So, instead of flogging a rapidly dying horse, the Kaminskys started a new brand to mark a new chapter.
It was christened Atlas Bear.
The name came from their son in Australia, who also has an interest in the business. “He told us about the Atlas bear.
It was the first wild animal to go extinct in Africa. Hunted to death by the Romans.
I read the story and thought it resonated. Difference being though, we just refused to disappear and go extinct.”
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Football and survival
To put food on the table during the first few, very tough years, Carlo began designing T-shirts with slogans tied to football clubs starting with Liverpool and its anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.
“I wasn’t sold on it at first,” Dana said.
“But that shirt saved us. The fans loved it. It was affordable, local and something they couldn’t get easily.”
Local humour, local design
They started adding South African sayings and tongue-in-cheek designs. La Linea, a cartoon character from the ’70s, was redrawn to reflect everyday frustrations that South Africans face.
These, of course, include potholes, load shedding, broken taps and water shedding among a long list of other irritations.
“People get it immediately. They laugh and they buy into the humour,” she said. “All our designs are pure South African. If you don’t live here, you won’t get it.”
One of their bestsellers came from a customer’s joke: If Chuck Norris were a bit tougher, he would have been South African.
“I came home and told Carlo. He designed it and it took off.”
And just like the idioms and localisms printed on the tees, the shirts are made in the Western Cape and printed in Joburg.
“Local is important to us. And it matters to customers, too. When they hear that we are all South African, they also seem to be keener to support us,” she said.
Creative on all fronts
The pair are also authors. Carlo is busy writing and compiling books on branding, design and marketing and on his desk, there are several print and layout prototypes.
Dana’s already self-published a historical novel – Curse of Gold – detailing aspects of the 1900’s gold rush in the Eastern Transvaal, now known as Mpumalanga.
The couple’s home is a testament to creativity. Carlo has designed I Love Johannesburg tog bags, there are knick-knacks on display all over and a portion of their lounge is now a stockroom and somewhat of a testament and showcase of the sweat and love that has gone into their business.
And, as most couples do, the pair disagrees on at least one thing. The future.
“Carlo wants a shop. I’m not convinced. The economy’s not right. I’d rather franchise one day. It’s a big dream.”
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