Blue Genie Art was founded in 1999 by Kevin Collins and Dana Younger (Black Mountain Art), and Rory Skagen (Skagen Art partner) joined forces. Both studios were in South Austin, the owners were friends, and they began "collaborating on so many projects together that we decided to form Blue Genie," says Kevin Collins, one of the company's three owners, along with Skagen and Younger. "The name Blue Genie comes from a sculpture Rory did in 1996 for the top of a building on South First."

A full-service commercial art design shop specializing in custom sculptures, props, signs, mold-making and conceptual designs, Blue Genie employs other artists, hosts field trips for art classes and art educators, participates in internship programs for college art students and last year started an annual artists bazaar, the Blue Bazzaar. The inagural December event featured 55 local artisans and drew a crowd of 2000 opening night. If you are interested in participating in this year's event, as a volunteer or artist, contact the studio by email or (512)444-6655, or sign up for the bazaar mailing list.

"Their work is fun, kind of odd and very likable," says Scott McAfee, vice president and creative director at GSD&M, the Austin advertising powerhouse, which is a Blue Genie client. "It's the kind of company we are -- and the kind of work we like to do for our clients."

"The Blue Genie guys are gods of 3-D -- there seems to be nothing they can't pull off," says Dan Heath, vice president of marketing for Austin-based Thinkwell Corp., an electronic publisher of college textbooks, which commissioned Blue Genie to design its Brainmobile. "They do murals, floats, relief paintings, sculptures, animatronics -- if you can think it up, they can make it."

Articles:

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2000/12/25/smallb1.html

http://www.dietpillshut.org/