Andy Tirado started Artworks in a shop he'd converted from a two car detached garage in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the fall of 1998.  At first, all he knew was that wanted to make "fun stuff".  As for a more well-thought out business plan, forget it.  After all, back in art school, drawing from the model didn't prepare one for drawing up a business model.  So he decided to simply hang out the shingle "Artworks" and see what would happen.  How he chose that name went a little like this:  One day, as he sat on the front porch swing, sipping a lemonade, he thought, "What name would relate to my fine art background and be universal enough to incorporate anything I might possibly want to do?  And, ideally, a name that might remind me to get to work in the shop?"  Then he had the epiphany:  "Nan".  It was his wife's name.  So he asked his wife what she thought he should name the business.  She thoughtfully replied, "How about you get back to work cleaning out the shop?"  So out he went, determined to make a dent in the catch-all piles of paintings, drawings, and sculptures the shop had become.  Soon tiring from this arduous task, he took a break and sat down, leaning back against the wall when suddenly, inspiration literally struck him; a heavy sculpture shaped like a lightbulb that he'd thought was lost slipped off a shelf above him and hit him directly on the top of his head. 

"Ouch! Eureka! I've found it!" he yelped.

"What's that?" yelled Nan from the house.

"Oh," Andy yelled back, rubbing his noggin, "something I've been looking for.  Some artwork."

"What was that?  Did you say you found the name you've been looking for?  Artworks, did you say?"

"No, I said... hmm. Wait a minute.  Artworks.  Yes, that's what I said, Artworks!  What do you think of my idea?  But, oww,  I'm pretty sure a bump may be forming."

"I think you should put a cold compress on it."

In the eight years since that fateful "lightbulb" moment, Artworks has indeed seemed to be the perfect name.  Heck, it even incorporates Andy's initials, which interestingly enough happen to be ART.  But as we look back at the variety of work we've done, we do indeed see that we've been able to make a bunch of "fun stuff".  And it's been just as much of a blast to get to know so many people who we are privileged to call our clients.  Perhaps more than anything, we enjoy our clients' reaction to seeing their project take shape.  

Admittedly, we still don't have much of a business plan here at Artworks.  But we got the shop cleaned out.   

A few somewhat interesting, totally true facts:

-- In the first year of business, Andy would contemplate wowing potential clients with the line, "What I lack in experience, you gain in inexperience!"

-- He thankfully never used that line.

-- Also in the early stages, Nan thought Andy should start an off-shoot company for when he was designing, called "Black Funk Designs." Humph.

-- One of Andy's siblings is named Gijo.  Pronounced like geek without the "k", and jo like, well, jo.  Seriously.  Go check out his website: www.gijodesign.com