Professional Portraits
By Suzi Nash
© 2007 Suzi Nash

MARYA AND BRIGID KAYE

In a male-dominated business, two women from our community have found their niche, earning awards and accolades along the way. Brigid and Marya Kaye own Creative Characters Inc., the largest on-demand printers in Philadelphia. The two are partners in business and in life.

PGN: So you’re both from Texas?
BRIGID: Yes, we were both raised in Texas and both attended the University of Texas.

PGN: How did you meet?
BRIGID: In a bar, of course. We were meant for each other. It was love at first site. We moved in together within six months. Now we have a 4-year-old son, a thriving business and we couldn’t be happier. We will celebrate our 20th anniversary next March.

PGN: Tell me about the business.
MARYA: Creative Characters Inc. is a certified printer with accreditation through Certified Printers International. It’s only available to printers who demonstrate exceptional quality and service by maintaining standards in operations, training, equipment and software as well as worker benefits and working conditions. Only 5 percent of printers in the nation qualify for the elite CPrint Certification, so we are very proud of that. We are active members of the Center City Proprietors Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Authorized Adobe Service Provider and Microsoft Publisher Provider Program. Creative Characters Inc. is also a registered Women’s Business Enterprise. Specifically, we help our clients build their businesses. We market, create, print and mail, helping our clients market their products, their services and their ideas in ways that are creative and cost-effective. Our mission statement is defined by just three words: “Quality through consistency.”

PGN: What brought you to the business?
BRIGID: Both of us worked for a major legal reprographics company based in Houston. We were introduced to the line of work by our best friend, Jennifer. Jennifer opened the first legal reprographics company in Manhattan in the early ’90s. It was very successful and she needed help, so she asked us to work with her. We worked in New York until we were asked to come to Philadelphia in 1994 to help start a legal reprographics company. After about a year, we decided that we wanted out of the legal reprographics business to follow our true passion, printing and graphic design. We decided to pool our talents and resources to start our own company, and in April 1995, Creative Characters opened the doors at 264 S. 10th St.

PGN: What was the biggest challenge?
MARYA: The biggest hurdle was being two women in a male-dominated industry. We pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and did whatever it took to make ends meet. We had helped others start their businesses, so this time we did it for ourselves. We started with one printing press and a couple of copiers. From there, we slowly added equipment and capabilities as customers requested them. We reinvested any profit we made back into the business and it grew rapidly. Within two years, we were out of space and moved down the street to 237 S. 10th St., where we were located until March 2007. We are now located at 913 Walnut St. We have three other terrific people who work with us. We make a great team.

PGN: What are some of the awards you’ve won?
BRIGID: We’ve received the Superior Performance in Print Shop Management Award three times and have been the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Print Shop Growth Award. I’ve won the Home of CPrint National Salesperson of the Year and Marya’s won the Home of CPrint National Production Manager of the Year.

PGN: Tell me about your family.
MARYA: My mother and father are both from Minneapolis, and I was born there, but we moved to Dallas in 1968 when my dad’s job relocated him. I grew up in Dallas, and think of it as my hometown. Since I moved to Philadelphia, most of my family has moved to Austin, where we spend most Thanksgivings. I love to go back for the food, but if I still lived there, I’d be as big as a house. I probably consume more beef over the Thanksgiving holiday than I would consume in a month in Philly.

PGN: What traits have you inherited from your mother or father?
BRIGID: Perseverance and the belief that I can do anything I put my mind to, without limitation. I have an old picture in my office that my mother took of me when I was 5 or 6 years old. It’s hot in Texas so we had one of those plastic swimming pools in the backyard. It wasn’t deep, only a foot or two. The little boy next door dragged a stepstool over and we made a diving board out of it. The picture shows me jumping off the diving board in mid-air, about 6 feet off the ground. I’m not afraid of a challenge. In fact, it’s the challenges that drive me harder than anything.
MARYA: Both of my parents ended up being self-employed. They both had a very strong work ethic. They showed me that with hard work, determination and goals, anything could be accomplished. They also taught me that it might take many tries to get it right, but never give up. They were never too proud to do what they had to do to support our family. My mom sometimes worked three or four jobs to make ends meet. We struggled at times — maybe most of the time — but I still have great childhood memories.

PGN: What did you do for fun as a teenager growing up in a small Texas town?
BRIGID: I went roller-skating every weekend. My girlfriends and I would wear our matching yellow overalls. We all had our own skates. I had yellow wheels to match and pom-poms with jingle bells on the ends. We’d get out there and skate dance to “Rapper’s Delight” and “Flash Light.” Those were fun times.

PGN: Favorite toy or game as a kid?
BRIGID: Monopoly, Canasta, Rummy. I liked board and card games.

PGN: What was your first car?
MARYA: My first car was a 1965 Pontiac LeMans convertible. My dad is a classic car aficionado and had his eye on this car for years. It was owned by a little old lady who had been the sole owner and only used it to drive to the grocery store. It had only about 12,000 miles on it in 1982, when my dad finally talked her into selling it to him. It was a big old boat of a car, but I loved it. [It] wouldn’t fly nowadays because it only got about 10 miles to the gallon.

PGN: You’re in the land of cheese-steaks, but what’s your favorite food?
BRIGID: Chopped barbecue beef sandwich. In Texas, they smoke the meat for hours over mesquite wood. It’s amazing. We also have something called sweet tea in Texas. It’s different than sweetened tea. It’s just plain ol’ Lipton tea, but it’s brewed with the sugar in it. It’s delicious.

PGN: Tell me about a time you said no when you wished you had said yes.
MARYA: I wished I had told my friend, Jennifer, yes, sooner, when she asked me to work for her in New York. I told her no for two years before accepting her offer. It was the best move I could have made. I really respect Jennifer and would not have had the guts to start my own business without seeing her run her business. She’s a strong woman and taught me that women can be strong in business without being a bitch.

PGN: Brush with fame?
BRIGID: I got Woody Allen’s autograph at Michael’s Dinner Club when we lived in New York City. I wormed my way through a bunch of big older women. I’m little, but I’m scrappy. I think I surprised him when I popped up asking for his autograph.

PGN: What charities do you contribute to?
BRIGID/MARYA: We personally contribute to the HRC, ACLU and PSPCA. We are active members of the Episcopal Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany.

PGN: Favorite TV shows?
MARYA: My guilty pleasure is “Desperate Housewives.” I love that show. It’s funny, campy and addicting. On the other end of the spectrum, I love any of the medical oddity shows on the Discovery Channel. I’m intrigued by how others are able to overcome severe handicaps. It makes me remember how fortunate I am.