SHEBOYGAN - A coloring book featuring sites of Sheboygan is taking shape thanks to a entrepreneurial North High student with an eye for art.
“Late one night, at 1 in the morning while I was doing my calc homework, I was doodling on a page and thought, ‘What if I made a coloring book all about Sheboygan?’’ Katie English said. “It just came to me.”
English, a high school junior who moved to Sheboygan when she was in first grade, said she fell in love with all the wonderful things to do in Sheboygan. From sailing the lakeshore or visiting the lighthouse, to learning at museums or dining at food trucks in Vollrath Park, English said she loves the vibrancy of the community.
“There are just so many amazing things we have in this community and we’ve never had a coloring book to put it all together,” she said.
What started as an idea has turned into a full-fledged art and business project for English. Last month, the 17-year-old visited area elementary and middle schools to talk with kids — her target demographic for the book — about what they love about Sheboygan.
Their responses, she said, gave her a mountain of ideas of which to draw from. One student suggested a page about food trucks, another told her about the airport, and she heard from several that Cosmic Bounce was their favorite place to go.
“I want it to be a community effort,” she said of the book. “I talked to them and they had all these amazing ideas that I probably would have never thought of.”
English said she envisions the book being kind of a coloring tour of Sheboygan, with a map of the city near the front of the book so “as kids color different pages of the book, they can flip back to the map and color in that place to track their progress,” she said.
Tryg Jacobson, president and owner of Jaké's Cafe who is mentoring English on the project, said the book could have big implications for tourism, promotion and the recruitment of new employees to the area as well.
A potential employee from outside the area could bring the book back to his family as a way to introduce them to the community, Jacobson said, which in turn could get the family excited about relocating to the area.
“It’s a recruiting tool, it’s a tourism tool, it helps our own children develop a love and loyalty to Sheboygan, gets them off their computers…it does so many things,” Jacobson said.
This month, English is visiting area businesses in hopes to get sponsorships. She hopes to find businesses to sponsor different pages, with proceeds going to printing costs. Anything extra — and any proceeds from the eventual sale of the book — would be donated to art education programs in Sheboygan County schools.
“When I was little I always thought I’d stick with art, but I didn’t as I got to high school because I thought there was a push for honor and AP classes,” English said. “I really regretted it, so I want to make this a children’s coloring book so kids are involved, see the amazing parts of our community, and also so that they could have a part in the process in making the coloring books.”
Once sponsorships are in place, English said she will go full speed ahead on creating pages. She envisions the book being 32 pages highlighting all there is to do in Sheboygan.
English has set a June deadline to finish the book.
“The most exciting part for me has definitely been the community aspect. I really loved talking to the kids. It reminded me of the whole reason I did this project: so they could get excited about art,” she said.
The project is being made possible through a program at North High School known as the Innovator Fellowship, which brings students from the school into Jake's Cafe to “make an idea happen.”
“These are big projects. These kids come in with exceptional talent, but they need to be connected to people other than their own peers,” Jacobson said. “They need just a little more--a little more connection or assimilation.”
Students apply for the fellowship, give a presentation and are interviewed before being selected. English was one of three selected for the program this semester.
Established in 2010, Jake’s Café in downtown Sheboygan was created as a “home base” for creative-minded business owners in the area. It currently houses more than 30 local businesses across dozens of disciplines and emphasizes collaboration and community when it comes to solving business and advertising problems.
The students in the fellowship are introduced to Jake’s culture and can work with the various members in a collaborative work environment.
“They have all these opportunities to connect with different disciplines in the café and collaborate,” Jacobson said.
English said the project has already impacted her future career opportunities.
“This is definitely impacting my future decisions in that I want to ensure that, whatever job I do pursue, that there is a creative part to it,” she said.