MARTHA BARTLETT PILAND / MB Piland Advertising & Marketing
I’m a transplant to Kansas, although I’ve been here long enough now to put down roots and call myself a native. My family came to Kansas in 1976 – I still remember my class visiting the Freedom Train when it came through Wichita. I will not tell you what grade I was in!
I always thought I wanted to work in advertising, though I don’t really think I knew what it was until much later. Remember Darren on Bewitched? (The real Darren, not the later one.) I wanted his job. I knew I could do it better.
I came to Topeka to attend Washburn, and have been here ever since. I worked in a larger agency, then on the “client side” before deciding to make some waves and start Fat Free Advertising. That was almost 10 years ago, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I love working with so many talented people – both clients and creative teams – and every day I learn something new.
What I love about Kansas? The genuine friendliness of the people, the fact that it’s big enough to have loads of arts and culture – yet small enough to make a difference…and trying chicken fried steak and the local pie in every local spot I can visit.
MICHAEL SNELL / Shade of the Cottonwood, L.L.C.
Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, I moved on to Lawrence to attend KU and get my BFA in Visual Communications (I believe I was the last person allowed to complete both the Graphic Design and Illustration tracks in just four years). An internship my senior year turned into a “real job” with a Topeka advertising agency upon graduation. I spent 14 years as an art director in the agency world before leaving to join my wife, Sally (a travel writer), in our creative services company Shade of the Cottonwood.
I love photography and have snapped away at Kansas since I was a kid. I’ve been to every corner, every back road, every museum, every oddity that I can find and love them all. Some of my favorites are the Arikaree Breaks, Butcher’s Falls, Monument Rocks, the miniature Kansas exhibit at Wichita’s Exploration Place, Wilson Reservoir and Rock Town, the sign for the Capri Motel in Wathena, the Creamery Bridge in Osawatomie… should I go on?
DOUG STREMEL / Blam Creative
Writer, designer, photographer and BBQ junkie. I was born in Hutchinson, and I grew up in Ellinwood, KS. I’ve also lived in Emporia, Dodge City, Garden City, Wichita, Portland, ME, Topeka, and Lawrence (several times) is now home. After playing football at Dodge City Community College (I studied, too), I got a Broadcast Journalism degree from KU.
Several things I love about Kansas: the Flint Hills, small towns, Downtown Lawrence, Free State beer, tornados, crisp fall afternoons, Kates tacos (Dodge City), KU sports, good people, wide open spaces, dirt roads, rodeos, the State Fair, Pronto Pups (corndogs at the State Fair), how Barry Sanders played football, the Jayhawk, the smell of freshly cut alfalfa, pie, grain elevators, cicadas singing, and chicken from the Brookville Hotel.
SARA KATICH / MB Piland Advertising & Marketing
I am a native Lawrencian and a 2006 graduate of the University of Kansas. I earned a B.S. in Strategic Communications from the J-School and a B.A. in Russian and East European History. I played bass in the KU Symphony for five years and still try to keep my chops fresh. After graduation, I landed at MB Piland and love the fast pace, creative environment and engaging people.
The things I love most about Kansas: The wildlife and landscape, great music (Kansas was home to King Midas and the Mufflers – great name), the friendly people and the dynamite farmers’ market.
