Rockmade: Variety-fueled Creativity

Craig Kanarick and Rebecca Odes are a creative couple. Craig is a founder and former Chairman of Razorfish, a pillar of the dot-com era, followed by a leadership role at the prestigious Rockwell Group. He also combined his passion for photography with a sweet tooth and created a now sought-after photographic collection of candy. Rebecca is a painter, illustrator, designer, and author who just published the critically acclaimed From The Hips, the ultimate, candid  resource book for pregnant women. Together, the duo founded Rockmade (a creative spin on their initials RO and CK). In their Behance interview, Kanarick and Odes share insights on the advantages of an eclectic project pipeline and grounding creativity with structure.

While focus is critical, variety keeps your energy engaged. As Kanarick describes it, "organization is a constant struggle for us in life and in work. As multidisciplinary artists, our ideas come in all shapes, sizes and formats. We also have different organizational styles, so reconciling them is its own issue. ...Having so many different kinds of projects and ideas in the works at one time makes it difficult to prioritize, but it also means there’s always something interesting and productive to turn to when burn-out strikes. We tend to rotate through things, but it definitely helps to have a deadline for each individual project to give it the big push it needs to get done."

Imposing a sense of "structure" around rampant creativity requires discipline. Kanarick explains, "One of the greatest challenges for us when working independently is building in structure. Another challenge is editing. We both have tons of ideas so choosing the ‘right’ ones can be difficult. Then there’s getting the stuff out there and staying inspired even when nobody seems to be paying attention."

Kanarick and Odes' works are informed by their "visual sensibility and their experiences." As Kanarick describes it, "We have two young children and are inspired by their view of the world and our own memories of childhood as well. We derive a lot of our visual and thematic inspiration from our environment, both at home in New York City and on our travels. We are also huge collectors of things that inspire us - so our home is decorated with a sort of 'more is more' aesthetic, overflowing with books and objects that we find interesting and beautiful."

Rockmade is described as a "receptacle for a diverse body of creative work linked by a common aesthetic." The company develops in a rather organic fashion, stimulated by demand. Kanarick explains, "At any given time, only a small amount of the work is active, meaning that we are dedicating a good chunk of time toward making it or promoting it. But what often happens is that one of the backburner pieces generates some interest and gets kicked up a few notches. It’s an interesting model in that it allows us to focus maximum attention on whatever’s most current and demanding until something else demands more attention. But it definitely has a saturation point and depends on a certain amount of ebb and flow as well as flexibility."

Kanarick and Odes have a simple intention with their work: When they have something to say, they say it. "Much of the work is just created to be beautiful, some is intended to be useful as well. Rebecca’s work as an author/illustrator, for example, aims to provide accessible, intelligent media support through challenging phases of life. We’re often motivated to create things because we want them ourselves."

More Links:

Rockmade for the Wall, Window, & Bookshelf

Rebecca Odes' From The Hips