-
“Blub. blub. blub. blub.”
Ahhhh…the sounds of a conversation Michele Harrison, partner and designer at Marker Nine is having with her 5-year-old daughter, Olivia. The topic? How do fish communicate?
We know that it is surely more complicated than “blub…blub…blub,” but that isn’t what this article is about. It’s about Marker Nine, Michele and the connections that allowed Marker Nine to begin.
As interesting as it may be, let’s skim over Michele’s life as an Air Force brat and her moving every couple years. The important tid-bit in this part of her life was that no matter where they were, Michele’s family was always close to the water, or striving to get back to the coast. Her parents, both served in the Air Force (her father an F-4 Phantom navigator and ret. Lt. Col and her mother a MCS and now ret. Lt. Col.) grew up near the water and instilled that same love of the water and coastal living to Michele.
Michele’s dad grew up in Redondo Beach, CA body surfing, sailing and diving. His love of the water and the coast was passed on to his three daughters (poor, poor man). One of Michele’s favorite memories is sailing in the Florida Keys with her dad. After living in California, Florida, Germany, and North Carolina, Michele’s family finally settled in Gloucester County.
And now to the connections…
Michele attended Gloucester High School, as did co-founders Rudy and Mike. Rudy and Michele were acquaintances, but neither had any idea that in 20 years they’d be co-founding an apparel company together. As with most high school friendships, things drift apart and people go their separate ways to being their lives.
After graduating from Gloucester High School, Michele earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration on Graphic Design from Old Dominion University. After college, Michele worked at The Meridian Group, an ad agency based out of Virginia Beach for one year. She then began her own apparel pet themed apparel company, funnylittledog, before joining Consociate Media as a graphic designer in 2014.
Rudy’s wife, Stephanie, is the Founder of Consociate Media, a public relations firm in Gloucester, VA It was through her position at Consociate Media that Rudy and Michele came together to co-found Marker Nine. It also helped that Rudy and Michele’s husband Mike (a different Mike) had known each other since the second grade.
Timing and reconnections is what it came down to says Michele.
“Getting reconnected with Rudy and Stephanie and discovering the common passions and interests that we both shared and then making that a reality.”
Having worked at ad agencies and other apparel companies Michele brings a wealth of information and design experience to Marker Nine. Michele is the graphic designer for Marker Nine. She is responsible for taking the designs and turning them into digital usable artwork for their products.
“I enjoy taking an idea and turning it into something that’s recognizable and conveys a message clearly,” said Michele. “With Marker Nine, what I really like so much is that it wasn’t just another coastal clothing company, a lot of the other companies focus on just one aspect of the water such as fishing or surfing whereas Marker Nine’s emphasis is really coast to coast and everything in between and really encompasses the coastal lifestyle as a whole.”
Of the Marker Nine designs, Michele says the “Rough Seas” design is her favorite.
“Every day isn’t smooth sailing, sometimes there are rough seas and the underlying message of that just speaks to me.”
New designs are constantly in the works at Marker Nine. One design Michele would love to see is an octopus.
“I have this thing for octopus and for me when I think about the ocean, I’d like to see some more designs tie into the world that is unexplored. There’s something about octopus that I love, for example they are incredibly intelligent and can solve complex problems. Actually, cuttlefish are pretty awesome too. I just think they are really neat animals.”
In her free time, Michele enjoys visiting the Outer Banks in North Carolina with her college sweetheart and husband, Mike and their young daughter, Olivia.
Blub. Blub. Blub.