Before starting Shapes Etc., Susan DeMuth worked as a sales representative for her father's company, Burdick. She sold teaching aides to Educational Dealers in the Northeastern States.
The original idea for Shapes came from an elephant-shaped promotional notepad that said, "Don't Forget" and the name of a record company. Susan gave a notepad to her mother (a first grade teacher) to use with her students. She used them for story-starters and awards. Toward the end of the year, she only had a few sheets left and was getting desperate for more. One student in particular, who was an emotionally disturbed child, would be good all week if the student could take one sheet of the notepad home each Friday. To reinforce good behavior, Susan's mother posted the elephant on the bulletin board, so every time the student behaved well he would get a sticker. Everyone thought she had a great idea!
The first Shapes, Etc. designs were drawn by Susan in pen and ink. They were cut and pasted to a “real” pasteboard. Color separations were cut by hand with an X-Acto© knife. Now, after learning new technology, Susan designs everything on her Apple© computer. |
