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Wee Gallery was conceived by my wife, Surya,
a graphic designer, and me, a teacher.
When our son was born we read everything. We read
about how to interpret babies' cries and change
their diapers. We discovered that babies develop
in so many ways during the first 5 years that
it dwarfs everything they learn over the entire
rest of their lives. That seemed pretty incredible
considering how much we learned as parents during
his first six weeks of life. We learned that newborns
can only see 12 to 15 inches away and they are
most taken with their parent's faces and black
and white geometric figures. Experimenting with
the latter idea, Wee Gallery was born.
So why couldn't we just get away with drawing
black lines with a marker on a piece of paper?
Well, as Siddu got older the lines became very
boring. The animals, on the other hand, continued
to entertain. As his motor-skills developed he
would grab the cards and look at them. When we
told him stories for each animal he would listen
and look, turn the card and turn it again. As
he approached one he would carry them around and
give them to us, asking for a story. He could
even point out each animal as we named them.
Siddu is now 6 and he has a sister, Anya, who
is 3. Wee Gallery is a decidedly family affair.
We work together to figure out new sets of art
cards, choosing animals and their design. Surya
and Siddu paint lots of versions and we all choose
the best ones. When it's time for a trade show
we often go together. Siddu's a great salesman,
talking to potential customers and collecting
business cards. Anya plays with the cards and
shows that they are still very useful for toddlers.
Wee Gallery has been great for our family and
we hope it enriches your family's life too.
-Dave Pinto
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