29 May, 2013

Lunch turns 4.

It really is funny how quickly time passes when you're having fun. When it popped up in my calendar that Lunch was nearing its fourth birthday I went through what I am sure parents go through in sending their kids off to school. The thought, it's all moving so fast. We have been incredibly lucky to be free to put 100% focus into everything we do. When I first had the idea of founding Lunch, it was scary. 2009, midst of a recession and quite frankly due to my stubborn commitment to my approach of people first and money second wasn't always popular with my employers, my professional reputation not being where I would have wanted it to be starting a new business. But, that's how dreams are made. Big risks, no place to go but up and I believed we could do something different.

I was sure of it. There are few things I believe in more passionately than integrity in business, after founding a company which has made some of my professional dreams come true I know that it's possible to keep your head down, do good work, and stay out of the politics to make amazing things. After 4 years and countless projects, opportunities and incredible partners I consider my family I know this to be true.  Why it works? Because every single person we work with wants to be there, this is their chosen career, we are all doing what we love. We respect each other as contributors and we believe truly that the work we do together is far superior to the work we do separately. That makes a difference in the work. Big, or small. We really like working together.

Over the last 4 years we have had a hand in some absolutely career defining opportunities. The Digital Global Relaunch of Adidas All-In with Sid Lee, Working on TakeThisLollipop with Jason Zada, Paranormal Activity 4's Online Promotion for Paramount Pictures, Strategy for God of War Ascention's release, A project for COMA with A&E Networks that never saw the light of day (we still think it's awesome) Installation after installation from the Autoshow to Luminato,  Art Driven Advertising, Working for 3 years with DDB San Francisco on the Clumpy & Crumbly Campaign for Scoop Away,  Knitterstream with Sid Lee and the incredible Touch the Rainbow work with BBDO and Our incredible partnership with Luminato.

Over the last 4 years we've made everything from Music Videos, Animation, Illustration, Mobile Apps, Banner Ads, Augmented Reality initiatives, Websites, Design, Stop motion films, Products, Sculptures, Jewelry, Hacked things, and everything in between. Working with established fine artists like Kozyndan, FriendsWithYou, Nathan Jurevicius, Team Macho, Andrea Kang, Tara McPherson, Ben&Julia, and  watching young artists like Alex McLeod gain incredible traction, and Kira Shaimanova evolving her style, quality and execution. We are incredibly lucky to work on a daily basis with some of the most talented working artists in the world.  We've been incredibly humbled by the amazing experiences we get to have every day, working together within the lunch network of artists, companies and people, and collaborating with our clients who range from Film Studios, to Advertising Agencies, Publishers, and Brands. The goal in starting this business was to make more things more often.

Sticking to the centre and staying balanced isn't always easy, money is a side effect of great work, not the key motivator. That's a daily decision to continue to ensure that's front and center in our approach.  Managing a true network and collective is an art. We pride ourselves in making sure that everyone has a voice, our model has illustrated that, time and time again. We are Better Together. The network has never been stronger, we're excited about the next 4 years because there is still so much we want to make for you. We really are here to do that, we work for our clients. We are lucky to be entrusted with telling your stories and we'll continue to bring those stories to life in any way shape or form we can, from 3D printing, to holograms, to knitting machines. 

It is an honor to do what we do every day. As our mediums evolve we promise to stay passionate, educated and inspired about the incredible things that can be made. Pushing forward and driving innovation and collaborative working styles is our brand promise. We have some really exciting announcements and projects coming in the next few months as we've been working to provide more value, more efficiencies and more capabilities at the same service levels to give you the best possible product while also donating our time and efforts to projects which may not be funded but require our help. We're proud of that, and excited about the upcoming launch of Mysterabbit, a project we've been working on for over a year with the legendary and lovely artist Ji Lee. 

I'm really excited about where we're going, and we can't wait to show you our stuff for years to come. Thank you for your support, love, friendship and trust. We are at your service.

Amy Miranda, President Lunch Inc. & All of the Lunch Network Partners.

Tags:
4, amy miranda, happy birthday, letter from the president, lunch