St. Louis and all it entails was the inspiration for the artwork that grew into a calendar and basically, a new life project for a local entrepreneur and marketing executive.
Ballwin, Missouri resident Janet Muhm said she is finding that what started as a small venture in-between jobs keeps growing at every turn.
With a 2018 calendar in full swing, filled with 12 idyllic spots around the city that are suitable for framing, her 2019 calendar is almost finished, but she has not officially unveiled which sites she has chosen to include in the newest endeavor.
And now, some of the retailers that she was originally hesitant to approach are asking for spin-off products like note cards and independent prints.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Muhm made St. Louis her home after attending Washington University, where she earned a bachelor’s of fine arts degree, concentrating on graphic communications. After graduating, she worked in art direction at several agencies and a few nonprofits. For several years, she worked in a freelance capacity, which she said was a time of great experimentation and growth.
Her husband, Kevin’s job with the federal government took them to live in other areas of the country, including Indianapolis and Washington D.C. But they knew they wanted to get back to St. Louis, which they did more than 20 years ago.
Along the way, Muhm added writing to her list of job accomplishments and moved to marketing management positions, where she gained experience in additional areas like event planning, exhibit design, honed her writing skills, learned to work with video and still had an opportunity to be involved in tactical design work. It put a lot on her plate, but also added a number of additional skills to her repertoire.
When she found herself between jobs a couple of years ago, she was thinking about calendars and how much she loved some of the pictures they included.
“I thought about St. Louis, and though I was not born here, I’ve been here a long time, and I think it’s an amazing city,” Muhm said. “Without even trying, I had a list of 30 places I could easily include in a calendar.”
She started making her way around the city with a camera in hand.
“I would go back to some places four or five times, just looking and thinking, taking a lot of pictures, and trying to catch the right light or the right color of sky,” she said.
And she’s very particular about color, having studied color theory at Wash U. She did more than one color study on photos like the one of King Louis IX to determine that the resulting pink sky was perfect for a snowy January day in St. Louis and the first page of the calendar. She
chose colors for subsequent months to segue aesthetically from one page to the next.
“I felt like so many of the places belonged to me, and I belonged to them, and I think I wanted to foster that same feeling in others or to bring them closer to some of the aspects of St. Louis through what I call a kind of visual storytelling,” she said. “People who see the photos see themselves in the spots, like the girls on the steps at Powell Hall or the boy at Turtle Playground. If they’ve been there doing those things, they imagine it is them, and they remember.”
Speaking of Turtle Playground, Muhm’s grandson, Bradley Cappel, helped serve as the model for the photograph and drawing, which brought back memories to Muhm herself.
For the Lemp Mansion, she had fun playing with the lights and shadows of the surrounding sky to set the mood for the house to live up to its spooky reputation for the October page in the calendar. She and her family used to live in Holly Hills, which is one reason Carondelet Park resonated with her, as she recalled days spent riding bikes and spending time there. There’s even one from Illinois, depicting apple-picking season at Eckert’s Family Farms.
“I feel personally connected in one way or another to each one,” Muhm said.
When it came time to market the calendars, Muhm said she was pleased, but at the same time, a little shocked about how well it took off.
Her husband built the website; she came up with the name, “A Year in The City,” and she started talking to friends. But the retail interest surprised her. In the end, 22 stores around town have carried it or are still carrying it, and she has had refill orders in several stores.
“I got to know about retail sales, saw back rooms and how retailers do what they do,” she said. “It’s been a great learning experience, too.”
When she created small thank-you cards to send to her clients, the cards themselves became the next hot commodity.
And though the calendars are on high-quality stock, Muhm is also looking at creating fine art prints on archival-quality paper as an additional choice for buyers. And someday, a dream is to include the illustrations in an art exhibit.
Cutting down a photograph after the calendar month has passed and placing it in a standard-size 11 x 14 frame literally takes five minutes, Muhm said, and to prove it, she did it. The calendars are timeless because the drawings are always there, ready to be framed.
Currently working as a writer for Lutheran Senior Services, her entrepreneurial project continues to grow, too, with the help of her husband, who now works in IT at the Federal Reserve Bank, and diligently binds and works alongside her when it comes to packaging time.
“A lot of times, he will drive me around to take pictures, too,” Muhm said. “Sometimes, I jump out of the car and take photos. Other times, we both get out and walk around a site, and really spend time taking it all in.”
After taking the photographs – hopefully on an overcast day, which gives less shadows and more detail – Muhm creates digital images with Adobe Illustrator – actually drawing the images on the computer.
The 2018 calendar also includes drawings of The Fountain on Locust, Citygarden, Soulard Market, Ted Drewes, the Spirit of St. Louis and Blueberry Hill.
For other entrepreneurial women, Muhm advised, “Don’t hesitate to try to think like your potential customer. They will tell you when something is not right.” And, “Use things you have learned in all aspects of your life and apply them to your project.”
One thing that she feels she needs to be stronger on is leveraging social media.
“But you have to play to your strengths and enjoy the process – especially if it’s something you are passionate about.
She’s thought about trying out other markets – starting with pictures in other great cities, but for now, she feels there are enough places in St. Louis to keep her busy for awhile.
“And people are always giving me ideas. I love that, because everyone has different experiences. They are seeing the city from their perspective, which opens up additional spots to include,” she said.
The 2019 calendars are now for sale. For more information or to order a calendar or other prints from either year, visit ayearinthecity.com, where local retailers who carry the calendar are also listed.
