We recently connected with Torrie Savage and Paula Bartlett and have shared our conversation below.
Torrie Savage and Paula Bartlett, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
At its core, The Savage Way is a creative agency that focuses on eco-friendly, out-of-the-box services. However, “The Savage Way” is so much more than just the name of our company. It is a way of life. It’s a way of looking at the world differently. We just happened to choose sidewalks and moss as our avenues. Taking “The Savage Way” means you are ready to take the leap, to try something new and different. It’s choosing to seek the good in every situation. Choosing to be a better, kinder human. It’s knowing that there is more to this life than the tales we’ve been told and that betting on yourself is always worth it. So for us, the mission of The Savage Way means so much more than just Clean Graffiti and Moss Art – it’s how we live our lives.
We consider ourselves insanely lucky to do this job. As we’ve grown over the years our mission has expanded from an innovative creative outlet to truly being a safe space for young artists to earn a living making art. Not every artist wants to run their own business. They want to be in a creative space where they can work with their hands, try new things, earn money and not be stuck on a corporate ladder drowning in paperwork somewhere. Our desire is to uplift artists and maintain a space that we always wished we had when we started.
Torrie Savage and Paula Bartlett, 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?
(note: Paula Bartlett is “PB” and Torrie Savage is “TS” in responses)
PB: The Savage Way has been in business since 2012, which feels like 100 years ago and just yesterday in the same breath. We started as a marketing company, doing social media marketing for local small businesses and managing restaurant and business grand openings. But then Torrie shared an idea (what is now Clean Graffiti) and I said, “Wait a minute, that is genius, let’s do that!”
TS: It was an idea I’d had for years in my back pocket, but my previous agency kind of laughed at me when I pitched it to them for a client. So when I told Paula about it, I didn’t know what her reaction would be.
PB: I loved it! Clean Graffiti was one of those “aha moments” that merged two of the things we loved: arts and advertising. Using high pressured water, a specialized stencil and dirty concrete, we create a clean message on a dirty sidewalk. Eco-friendly outdoor advertising was born. We’ve now been in over 70 cities across the country and have worked with clients like Diet Coke, Talkspace, PETA, Carolina Panthers and The Rolling Stones (more on that later!)
TS: My background in media buying and account management allowed us to put together Clean Graffiti into a sellable package and one that made sense to advertisers. And the beauty of it is that we just use water – no chemicals, paint or bleach. It is not only innovative and reaches your customer where they are walking (the sidewalk), but it helps corporations in their corporate social responsibility as well. It’s a win for everyone,
PB: After a few years, a friend approached us to make him a sign out of moss. He said that we were creative artists and knew we could figure it out. At first we blatantly said NO! But then curiosity got the better of us and we decided to give it a try.
TS: Moss Art was so much fun to dive into and even today we continue to push our creativity blending branding with nature. The beauty of Moss Art is that we are using real plants that have been preserved, so clients are getting all of the benefits of living plants without the maintenance. Biophilic Design (one’s innate attraction to nature in everyday spaces) has seen a huge resurgence since COVID and feeling connected to nature has been a priority for companies across the world. We are so happy to be able to offer a creative avenue to healing with mother nature.
PB: We joke about it now, but we really did say to each other, “We have to ‘open the space’ to the clients we want to have if we ever want to make this successful.” So we broke up with all of our consulting clients and shifted to only offering Clean Graffiti and Moss Art. It was the scariest thing we ever did, but turned out to be the best decision.
TS: So if I were to give the elevator pitch for our company today, I would say that The Savage Way is an out-of-the-box creative company that offers two unique things called Moss Art & Clean Graffiti. In a nutshell – we have merged mother nature with arts and advertising. We design Moss Art for all kinds of clients – residential and corporate – made from preserved plants. We are the go-to for custom, highly designed green/moss pieces. We also provide an advertising medium called Clean Graffiti – which is a clean message on a dirty sidewalk using high pressure water and a stencil. We are the leaders in the United States offering this eco-friendly outdoor advertising medium.
PB: And while we are obsessed with what we do and the art that we create, we are equally as proud of the company culture and vibe that we have created at The Savage Way. We are employing artists, mostly women, and helping them make a living by creating with their hands. It’s tough to be a solo artist and make ends meet, so the fact that we have over 10 people on staff who are coming together to create these advertising opportunities is truly soul-fulfilling.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
TS: When we decided to grow our team, it was really important to us to know our lanes and the roles we wanted to keep in the business. Paula and I do a great job of knowing our strengths and bringing in others to round out the team. Opening the door to team members was a big step for us, but one that we were excited to do.
PB: With 10 people on staff and a variety of contract workers on the crew, we’ve found the following helps us manage our team:
– Communication is key. We value clear communication and know that it helps maintain a strong team. We value the opinions of our artists and love the collaborative space that we have. By encouraging each person to use their voice, we are creating a strong team.
– Positive energy in the studio. Each of us checks our vibe before we walk in the door. If you need space or “a head phones in kind of day,” just let someone know and go about your business. We want to feel good and excited to be in the space and limit the negativity.
– Maintain flexibility with schedules. We understand that things come up, especially for the parents and students on the team. As long as there is communication, we can always shift to make it work with life. We know TSW is not the end-all-be-all in people’s lives and if we want a happy team, we have to meet them where they are in their lives.
– “We’re not brain surgeons expected to save lives.” We often say this to our team when things feel stressful. We remind each other that we are creating art with plants & sidewalks. Breathe. We can fix anything that comes up and that takes the pressure off a bit.
– Appreciation Moments. Torrie and I are big on self care and pouring into yourself first to be the best for others. So to help manage our team we schedule team yoga, meditation mornings, group lunches, sound healings and massages. These little things are a nice way to show appreciation and remind our artists to take care of themselves.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
TS: My favorite sales story is the day we got a signed contract from The Rolling Stones! I’ll never forget it – the Stones were coming to Charlotte for a concert and they wanted a unique way to get the word out about the event. Enter Clean Graffiti. The marketing agency, who works with the biggest rock band in the world, reached out about a campaign but it didn’t seem real until I had the famous logo .eps file in my inbox. It was such a surreal moment.
PB: We never thought we’d be strategically cleaning dirt off of sidewalks for a living. But we’ve done it successfully for a decade now – working with everyone from NFL Teams, major hospitals and county initiatives to small mom & pop businesses. Clean Graffiti is a viable solution for outdoor advertising and The Rolling Stones contract just solidified that in our heads.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thesavageway.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesavageway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesavageway
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/-thesavageway/
- Other: Online Shop: https://shop.thesavageway.com/