Carolyn Blair is a New York-based writer, illustrator, and founder. Through her studio, Manic Plum, she creates illustrated stories for children: a raindrop determined to bring back the rain, a Viking who is part oak, a graveyard full of opinions.
Her path to the drawing table ran through the business world. Carolyn spent more than a decade building and leading companies, among them Cobbler Concierge, the luxury shoe repair service she led as CEO from launch through its sale, and Juno Amazake, the first US maker of the Japanese fermented rice drink, which she co-founded and ran as COO. Those years taught her how an idea becomes something a team can actually make, and that is the part of creative work she finds most fascinating.
These days she’s bringing her characters into animation. She is especially excited to see the Little Raindrop come to life, though the Gravestones won’t stop talking, so it’s anyone’s guess who gets there first.
The signs were there all along. As an undergrad and graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, Carolyn spent more time in Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall than anywhere else; it just took her a few careers to take the hint. She joins the ASIFA-East board eager to put her experience building and running organizations to work for the independent artists who make the East Coast animation community what it is.