Chalk of the Town - Article
Eastside Business Journal
Vol. 6, Issue 13
March 31 - April 6, 2000

Chalk one up for Malia
Profile: Malia Bryan

By Becky Monk
EBJ staff reporter

Malia Bryan lives in a world of rainbow smudges and coffeehouse swirls. Since hitting the pavement from her restaurant management job three years ago, the Kirkland woman has parlayed her penchant for pastels into Chalk of the Town. Her home-based business turns daily restaurant specials and latte price schedules into pieces of art in the growing market segment of chalkboard advertising.Bryan admits she raises eyebrows and gets questioning looks when people learn of her art. Most people assume the chalk talk behind the counter was done by an aspiring artist-turned-barista or -bartender. In most instances, they'd be correct.But as more and more restaurant owners, wine purveyors and liquor promoters compete for customer attention, they want unique ways to draw patrons into establishments and promote their products.

Many top-end establishments hire one of the handful of professional chalkboard artists in the Puget Sound area to add spice to the menu or welcome customers. Bryan now counts the Metropolitan Grill, Woodmark Hotel, Andre's Bistro and Columbia Winery among her clients. But the 30-year-old admits being a chalkboard artist wasn't exactly the career she had planned.Bryan attended Washington State University and graduated with a degree in advertising and fine arts minor.When she first became a Cougar, she envisioned telling classmates at her 10-year reunion about her life and imagined it would go something like this: married with two children, whom she would kiss each morning as she picked up her briefcase and went off to work at a high-powered advertising agency. The appeal of the high-stress agency waned as graduation approached. "I got out of school and went immediately into the restaurant business - much to my father's dismay," she says.After a time as a manager at the Lake Bellevue Duke's restaurant, the management team decided to hire an artist to depict daily specials on chalkboards. Bryan, who missed utilizing her artistic talents, convinced them to let her try.

Chalk of the Town - EBJ Article
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Soon, the boards created a buzz among Duke's clientele. Business owners wanted to know who the artist was and could she do the same for them. Bryan began moonlighting from her one-bedroom Kirkland apartment. Soon she had amassed enough clients to quit her day job.In the fast-paced Eastside, where e-commerce and high-tech jobs with high-dollar-figure salaries and stock options prevail, Chalk of the Town's revenues (and thus her salary) pale. She estimates that 1999 revenues just from her chalkboard clients at $25,000 and jokes that her 401K hinges on a lottery ticket. She supplements her income with various art projects (including the interior murals at Bellevue Galleria arcade The Garage) and by managing her apartment complex. Being her own boss, however, outweighs the lure of a high-paying career. "This offered much more satisfaction and much less stress," Bryan says. "I commute every morning from my coffee pot to my studio." Part of the appeal of the job includes melding clients' ideas into a piece of art that sells. "It's fun because I get to cater to their personalities." Bryan says.

On a chilly Friday morning, Dina Drovetto, proprietor of Monte's at the Park, rushed out of her five-week-old coffee house just off Northeast First street in Old Bellevue and exuded enthusiasm as she met Bryan on the sidewalk."Oh, it's just beautiful," Drovetto said, as Bryan delivered an eclectic chalkboard that combined the colors and traditions of India with a coffee theme. "It's exactly what I wanted." Drovetto had done her homework before hiring Bryan. She had visited other coffee shops, talked to other chalkboard artists, but she decided that she liked Bryan's style. She wasn't alone. Columbia Winery has hired her to create a chalkboard celebrating Washington Wine Month. It was mass-produced and will be displayed in 200 Fred Meyer and Albertson's wine departments throughout Washington. The Paul Thomas Estate and Winery has also hired her to create the vintner's next label. Establishments from Bellingham to Oregon continue to request her designs, but she hopes to grow the business. "Since I've decided that this is what I'm going to do, I want to take it as far as I can," Bryan says. That may include developing a Web site to showcase her portfolio, furthering her relationship with liquor and wine distributors and hiring other chalk artists to handle the added business. "I'd love to have my work displayed on a national basis."