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Textile and Cleaning Products Company Increases Bottom Line with the Arts

Company: Golden Star Inc.
Headquarters: North Kansas City, Missouri
Industry: Textiles and Cleaning Products
Company Size: Midsize (annual revenues of $50 to $250 million)

"Our collaboration with artists and the arts has clearly been both stimulating and financially transforming."
                – J. Gary Gradinger, Chairman & CEO

Objectives
To provide a creative and fulfilling workplace experience for its employees, to enhance its products offerings, and to increase awareness and appreciation of artists and arts organizations.

Process

  • · After Jason Pollen, Chairman of the Fiber Department of the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO, and his students visited Golden Star’s mill to learn about textile manufacturing, Pollen approached the company’s Chairman about creating a new series of functional mats that featured museum-quality designs.
  • · Golden Star employees and Pollen worked side-by-side to develop his designs and new techniques to manufacture the designs on the mats. They organized a marketing strategy that features Jason Pollen’s Web site, and distribution through upscale retail catalogues and in museums stores including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL. They also arranged museum exhibitions featuring the mat.
  • · Each year Pollen brings his students on a tour of Golden Star’s mill and they are permitted to gather manufacturing waste materials which they use to create works of art. Photographs of these works are displayed throughout the workplace.
  • · At the request of employees, the company is reviving "End of Day Art" – a 19th-Century crafts tradition which allows employees to remain after work and use company materials and machines to create their own art. Some have already displayed their work at company gatherings and local fairs.

Results
This collaboration has inspired Golden Star employees to be more creative and innovative, more proactive in solving challenges in the work environment, and has enhanced their pride in the company and its contributions to the community. The project is also generating substantial income for the artist and the company. After paying the artist a commission, the company’s profit margin is three times that of a standard mat. And, it has helped Golden Star gain national media coverage and recognition as a leader in its industry.

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