Woody was the first artist model I got. I don't even remember when or where I got him. I bought him to do some sketching with, but I realized that these artist models are not interesting to sketch. It was more fun posing them. So, I posed Woody in my office once in a while, experimenting with sports positions – golfing, bowling, basketball. Then, in September 2003, I went on my third Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and I had him posed enthusiastically taking a long stride. When I got back after the walk, Chuck remarked about it, as he walked by my office. I had an audience!
That same year, while shopping for Christmas gifts for my nephew Ian at the local Daniel Smith store, I found the more articulated gray plastic ones and I brought them in when I got back from my holiday vacation. I named them Manuel and Quinn, from the word "mannequin". Well, I needed names that were easy to remember....
So, the series began. Chuck remained the sole audience and critic for a while. "They're funny!" he said. So, one night, I had them sit and wave at the door and, when Chuck walked by the next day, I waved too. "You've been waiting all day to do that, weren't you?" he asked. ;-)
One day, Chuck asked if I had pictures of them. He wanted to show them to his wife. Of course, I did! So, I posted them up in the internal web and added captions.
Slowly, more and more people noticed the mannequins. Sheridan suggested letting other people post their own captions; I'm still working on that. Troy suggested starting a marketing blitz with t-shirts and mugs; I'm still working on that too. So, I had to get it out on the World Wide Web. And here we are.
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