We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly Clay & Maureen Tobey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kimberly & Maureen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
When we set out to create books in 2021, we didn’t know what to expect. After Maureen retired from many years of working in the publishing industry, she wanted to continue using her creativity on her own terms. She asked Kimberly to join her in making journals and activity books to sell on Amazon. It quickly grew into more of a passion project when we combined our love for nature with our new business. For years we’d been raising monarch caterpillars with our kids and grandkids. It’s been a fun and educational experience and, since the prevailing advice is to “write what you know,” Kimberly decided to write a storybook about raising butterflies with her family. This led to a guidebook to help raise awareness for the dwindling monarch butterfly population and how others can help. Maureen dove into the illustrating side and expanded her knowledge of digital illustration and design. The result was two very personal books that were so rewarding to create. Using the knowledge we gained on those projects, we continued to use our creativity for our most important mission: Sharing God’s love with others. Our latest book, That’s How Much God Loves Us!, combines our faith and creativity in a picture book designed to uplift and inspire kids of all ages. We’re so grateful to be able to use our creative gifts in a meaningful way!
Kimberly Clay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are a mother/daughter team creating children’s books, journals, notebooks, and activity books. Maureen is recently retired after many years working in publishing and design. She illustrated two books with her sister and then went to work on her own along with Kimberly. As a mother of three young kids, Kimberly is attuned to the needs of families. We’re thrilled to be able to use Maureen’s creative skills and Kimberly’s entertaining writing style to make books that are meaningful and fun for everyone in the family. We’ve produced a collection of memory journals, pretend-play activity books, and picture books all based on our experiences and the things our kids and grandkids love. We aim to encourage children and families through our books, encouraging strong faith and togetherness across the generations.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of this journey is being able to use our gifts for a greater purpose. We hope that our books will encourage people: Helping them grow in their faith, bringing families together, or just bringing joy and fun to a child’s life. With every book sale we think about the people on the other end and pray that they find it helpful and valuable.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When we started learning more about digital illustration, it really changed our process. Previously Maureen had been painting traditional watercolor, which is very rewarding and fun, but digital drawing apps really opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities. Pair that with the incredible amount of instruction videos and ideas shared on the internet, and things really took off for our illustrations. It took some time to learn and get used to a new process, but we eventually transitioned to all digital illustrations and the options are almost endless. There may be times to still use traditional painting or drawing, but making the switch to digital has been so beneficial for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.kimmoe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmoekidsbooks/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kimmoestudios