Designers and copywriters at Two Rivers Marketing are incredibly fortunate to work together and get paid for doing what we love — finding new and unique ways to help our clients build, power, fuel, and feed the world. But what do we rabid right-brainers do when we’re not on the clock at our B2B marketing agency? From film making to fly fishing, here are some of the creative activities our associates enjoy the other 128 hours of the week.
Associate Creative Director Lincoln Decklever says working on projects around the house scratches his creative itch. “Whether it’s building a deck or even replacing a garbage disposal, I enjoy learning and finding creative solutions to make my home more efficient and livable.”
Though he writes about animal nutrition and renewable energy during the day, on evenings and weekends copywriter Bill Zahren pens crime novels set in his hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. “I have been doing it for about five years and have had five books published,” he says. Follow the adventures of newspaper reporter Tom Kingman and county prosecutor Hillary Reed as they solve mysteries involving murder and mayhem and get your own autographed copies at billzahren.com.
Art Director Laura Stewart says her beloved Chicago Cubs inspire her creativity. “I love to paint furniture and am currently working on a Chicago Cubs theme bar top for my basement. Maybe it will finally be finished when the Cubs get back on TV!”
Is there anything Senior Art Director Andrew Poppencan’t do? “I have a lot of hobbies,” he says. “I play trumpet in several bands including The Maytags and record for other people's albums. I love woodworking, and am building all the furniture for a new wine shop opening downtown called The Cave. I do exhibits consulting for the Science Center of Iowa. Oh, and I recently started painting.”
Art Director Kelsea Graham uses her creativity to champion her truth. “I like to make collages that revolve around social justice/social commentary. I clip photos from magazines and print things off the web. I've been doing this for about five years now. It's fun to see how the message evolves and what I find still relevant today.”
Lisa Niebuhr is Creative Director for Content at Two Rivers Marketing. When she isn’t whipping up engaging content for clients, she’s baking a batch of her famous frosted sugar cookies. “Decorating cookies is my creative expression. It all started when the agency I worked for had a fundraiser for The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The JDRF logo at the time was a shoe. I found a shoe cookie cutter, made fun, colorful cookies to sell, and raised a lot of money. Plus it's a hobby my co-workers appreciate because they get cookies!”
On the weekends, Art Director Jolene Shultz’s creativity jumps from her computer screen to the big screen. “I am involved in a local filmmaking group called Tiny Explosions. We like to make movies for different short film competitions around the country. I recently competed in a 48 Hour Film Project called "Stuck at Home." The challenge was to shoot different scenes on our phones at our separate homes and then try to stitch them all together to make something that looks like a film.” Check Jolene’s latest film "Quarantrims."
Since Drew Jones is always crafting a creative hook for our clients, it only makes sense that 2RM’s Managing Director of Creative ties fishing flies in his spare time. “I tie flies to supplement my fly fishing habit. I own dozens and dozens of types and colors of feathers, fur, and thread that I lash onto tiny hooks in an effort to fool things that swim. And this past year, I won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair fly tying competition.”
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