Poster for 2012 designed by Michael Muller
"I really had a great time playing with the idea of the poster," Muller says. "The event seems so much about playfulness and giving back with a fun twist. Although, a crazy jump in the cold water twist. It was such a pleasure to work with a group so dedicated to an important cause and to be allowed the freedom to explore my imagination. I also got to add my muse Mirabelle into the design, which is a very important aspect of my creative life. It was such a wonderful experience and a pleasure all the way."
Michael Muller started his career with a B.A. in Fine Arts, with an emphasis in fine art photography, from the University of Florida in 1983. He started his career in visual display work for such prestigious stores as Burdines, Neiman-Marcus and Polo Ralph Lauren. During this time he also worked within the Miami fashion scene as a stylist and photographer for a small video production company. Michael continued his university studies and graduated in 1988 with a degree in elementary art education. He started his 13-year teaching career in 1988 in a combined kindergarten-1st grade classroom setting.
In 1989, he founded Art In The Mail, a custom greeting card company and graphic design business, creating a line of cards, birth announcements and invitations for a wide clientele in New York City and surrounding areas. His business grew steadily throughout the past 13 years.
In 2001, he added a website, artinthemail.com, to highlight his designs and expand his client base. In 2000, he began his association with community theater as costume designer, assistant stage manager and actor. He has designed costumes for four major shows, including “The Women”, “Venus”, “The Wild Party” and “NINE”. Michael has been a member of McGuffey Art Center, a teaching gallery located in Charlottesville, Va. since 1989. He produced a one-man show in 1996 for the gallery, and has participated in many other multi-artist shows.
Detail Gallery was opened in April of 2006 in Rehoboth Beach, Del., by the creative team of Michael Muller and Tom Boeke. The art gallery and home décor store reflected their design aesthetic, bringing in artistic elements and touches that focused on the “details” to create and shape the home environment. The concept of the store was to introduce customers to how artwork and home décor can be creatively displayed in a home setting. The gallery affirmed that great art and great design should be found in our homes, in our everyday objects, and be part of our everyday lives.
When Mirabelle, our Boston Terrier, joined the Detail family on Christmas 2006, she became the gallery mascot and was an instant hit with the customers. Says Muller, “Being an artist with a cute and somewhat willing subject, I started to explore the idea of featuring Mirabelle in our marketing campaigns. Tom and I have always felt the importance of animals in our lives and how they enrich us. Mirabelle embodied the joy and positive energy of our business, and became the recognizable marketing brand for the gallery.” She soon became the inspiration for a line of greeting cards, prints, and a children’s book, and “The Adventures of Mirabelle” was born!
As Mirabelle's fan base grew she went on to become the face of the gallery. Mirabelle is a symbol of believing in the power of doing what you love and the path that can take you on. This one small dog captured the hearts of hundreds of strangers who grew over time to be loyal customers and true friends. Mirabelle inspired the development of a variety of additional products, including plushies, children’s pull toys, garden ornaments, and skateboard designs, to name a few. These products were sold successfully in the retail gallery and on our website at shopdetail.com.
In 2010, Detail Gallery was closed and our business shifted to developing a wholesale line of greeting cards with Mirabelle’s image to bring her joy,mischievousness, and positive energy to a wider audience. Multiple retail stores in Delaware, New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C., began selling our greeting cards during our first year of marketing our company, and continue to reorder our product as her fan base has grown in their stores. We decided at the end of 2010 we had the potential to reach an even bigger audience.
In May 2011, the Adventures of Mirabelle greeting card line was launched at the National Stationery Show in New York City. The line represents snapshots from Mirabelle’s adventurous journeys across the country and her everyday life. The show was a great success, and we obtained new stores in New Jersey, Brooklyn, Chicago, Florida, and Baltimore.
Our retail partners list continues to grow daily. We also had very positive meetings with some major licensing companies. Mirabelle is a girl still in search of another dream. Since Mirabelle misses seeing her many fans on a regular basis, she has become the shopgirl for our website to help customers with their virtual shopping experience. However, she has bigger aspirations than being a shopgirl all her life. Mirabelle has many fans, including 1400 Facebook friends who are clamoring for more. In the future, Workman Publishing will be publishing three books in the Mirabelle series to hit the shelves in Fall 2012-Spring 2013.
Mirabelle's dreams continue to grow.
Questions? Please contact us at info@sode.org or 302-831-4653