Meet the Chicks

Publishing corporation. That rolls off the tongue nicely with a ring of authority. Let me say it some more…corporation. COR-poration. CORPORATION!!! Wow, that is a powerful release of steam that makes me feel so…so…so grown up! Couple that word with "publishing" and stand back, people, and watch your step in our bustling Manhattan office that is just running amok with photographers with cameras slung around their necks, models preening in the studio, editors in power suits barking out orders between calls as they prepare to dash off to lunch with coveted advertisers.

Yep! That's exactly what it's like at Cantata Books, Inc. Exactly, to the T, especially if you trade Manhattan for Denver and power suits for jeans and t-shirts or sweatshirts and yoga togs. Office? Well, we call it an office, but the Cantata offices are really in my fiancé's basement (LOVE that man!). Hustle bustle? As much as four people can muster, which, when fueled with coffee and deadlines, can be quite impressive.

Small buy mighty, our crew is pretty darn cool: There's me, Kerry, a.k.a. executive editor, and my business partner, Andrea, who is the photographer, accountant and designer extraordinaire. Darlene is our awesome managing editor and the creative bean behind lots of our writing; she also does her best to keep me organized and on-track (a tough job because I can be pretty DUH! when I get overwhelmed). Last, but not least, we have Susha, a terrific designer/writer and, most recently, the all-important Web master for our brand new Web site, thechicksguide.org.

Andrea and I launched Cantata Books a couple of years ago because we were tired of creating cookie-cutter craft books in a corporate environment that left us no room to be creative. I mean, we wanted, we NEEDED to create craft books that are as offbeat as we are. Admittedly, not an easy task, but lots of fun because we are such a cool little family. I don't care that our "corporate" lunches come from Taco Bell or that Andrea is the only one who gets to run around with cameras around his neck. Fun, yeah, that's what we are all about.

So, if you want to have some fun, check us out. We've got books, a couple of Web sites, a Myspace page and now this blog. We'll try to take a break from our breakneck publishing corporation to connect with you a few times a week. Power suits optional.