The Office is the fuel that fires Red Leaves Studio.
I started watching The Office in 2018. I’m currently in the middle of my 15th time through the show. I watch it almost every day, and it’s a constant while I do Red Leaves work. I always work at my kitchen table, and while I’m rolling, painting, and blueprinting my next design, my phone is propped in front of me with The Office running non-stop. With the comfort of the characters whom I’ve known and loved for years, I diligently pursue my passion as an artist.
I discovered the Office Ladies podcast in 2020, a year before I launched Red Leaves Studio. It quickly became another staple for me, and my affection for the show deepened. Fast forward last spring, and an idea sprang to my mind – what if I had a pair of earrings for Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey and sent them as fan mail? Maybe they would feature them on the show, which would be amazing, but at the very least, I would know that they would have a piece of my art in their possession. It would be a great way to show them my appreciation for their artistry by sharing mine. But what to make?
After some brainstorming, I decided on two very personalized pieces based around the characters Fischer and Kinsey played on the show. For “Pam,” I recreated the teapot that Jim gave her in the “Christmas Party” episode in the second season. Inside the teapot were personal gifts that Jim had kept because he was in love with Pam – a hot sauce packet, a mini golf pencil, all of the things that reminded him of her when they weren’t together. I also included the note that he didn’t share with her until the show’s final season because he wasn’t ready to share his feelings for her early in the series.
The teapot comes up continuously throughout the show, and Jim and Pam and front-and-center to the storyline of The Office (Pam is the show’s real main character, anyway). I think it’s a big symbol of the entire show and would be perfect for Fischer.
For “Angela,” I made a replica stud of her cat, Sprinkles. Angela’s love for cats, and Sprinkles especially, is one of the character’s most recognizable features. She and Dwight didn’t get together until the end of the show because of how he “took care” of Sprinkles when Angela went to visit Meredith in the hospital, and that was a turning point in their relationship. Dwight needed to learn compassion, and Angela needed to learn forgiveness before they could be together again, so it felt right to make a Sprinkles homage for Kinsey.
In June, I packed up my creations and shipped them to the Office Ladies. I was nervous – what if they don’t like them? I’ve had issues with self-confidence in the past. Years ago, I did not have the self-belief to start my own business, let alone the courage to do something like this. But I did it anyway, and boy am I glad I did.
Last week, Fischer and Kinsey went through all of the mail that had been sent to them since the start of Covid. Unbeknownst to me, nobody had checked the show’s mail since the pandemic began, so my earrings sat in a room with countless other boxes from fans from across the world for months before the Office Ladies got ahold of them. Out of all of the many, many pieces of art, fan mail, gifts, and everything else fans sent them, they posted about my earrings multiple times on social media. Clearly, they must have liked them, at least a little bit!
I posted about it in the Office Ladies Facebook group, and the response was so positive! Lots of people congratulated me and complimented my work. Other artists whom Fischer and Kinsey had recognized also chimed in, and it felt so good to interact with more people who are working toward the same goal as me.
I started Red Leaves Studio in September 2021. So much has happened in the last year, and it’s been better than I could have ever imagined. I feel like a real artist – I am a real artist – and it’s incredibly validating when something like this happens. I never could have imagined any of this for me a few years ago, but now here I am, and I couldn’t be prouder of the path I’m on.
Thank you so much to all of you who have supported me and Red Leaves Studio, either by buying my art or simple compliments and words of encouragement that mean the world. And thank you, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, for giving me some publicity! Your shoutout has helped this small business out this last week, and I’m so appreciative!
Now, back to sanding some earrings while the sweet sounds of Michael Scott screaming play in the background!
Edited by Justin Meyer.