In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to spotlight our Co-Founder, Angel Saemai. We took it upon ourselves to dive deep with Angel by asking 6 questions to get to know how Overall Murals started and her journey as a successful business owner. Hear #herstory… When did the entrepreneur bug bite you? It was in 2006 when I was working at an advertising agency and found myself feeling disconnected in my role as a Media Planner. I repeatedly asked myself, “Why am I here, and who am I here for?”. As a large company, there was no interaction with the owners, stakeholders, or board members. I found my experience impersonal and shortly after starting my role, I yearned to create something of my own – something transparent in its purpose. And that’s when I was bit by the entrepreneur bug. Tell us about your first entrepreneurial venture: How did you come up with the idea and how did you start your business? I met Dmitry, my soon to be husband and business partner in 2007. He was a rebellious and strong-willed artist, the kind that marched to his own beat (in fact, nothing has changed). He had just opened a small sign and mural painting business, okMitch Studio, while I was working at a large social network in sales. I spent my spare time helping Dmitry track down new clients for his business. During the recession of 2008, I found myself laid off without a job. This became the perfect moment to take our two backgrounds and combine them into a business we both were passionate about. Who were the mentors that encouraged you? The most encouraging mentor has always been my mother. My parents immigrated with me to the US from Thailand when I was about seven months old. Since then, my parents worked multiple low-paying jobs, day and night, to put my younger brother and me through Bay Area private schools and colleges. As hard as they worked my mother was strong and took pride in all that she did and I admire her for that. She always pushed me to excel in whatever I pursued and supported me to the fullest. Today, she continues to urge me to make decisions that are both honest and productive and for that, I am thankful for her. How do you balance your entrepreneur life with friends that don’t understand the challenges of running a business? Work-life-balance has always been difficult. For a long time, I felt that working as much and putting in as much effort as possible meant that success was imminent. In the beginning, in order to build and learn the industry, I sacrificed what was a busy social life. As I’ve gotten older and my company grows, I am more cognizant of the need to set aside time for myself, my family and loved ones. What is the biggest challenge for you as an entrepreneur? There are challenges in every stage of a business’s lifespan. The beginning comes with issues that may affect your self-esteem and self-belief. And there is a lot of picking yourself up and dusting yourself off. This never completely goes away, but eventually as one learns from past mistakes and failures it is more infrequent. At the stage I’m in now, I’m navigating how leadership requires making crucial decisions that impact a team of people, their livelihood, and safety. What tips do you have for other women who would like to start their own businesses? Starting something on your own can be daunting. It requires one to be unafraid of failure and oftentimes, you are not an expert with every aspect of what it takes. This has only gotten harder with the influence of social media. We are so aware of what our friends, colleagues, competitors, and consumers are doing. In embarking on your own, it’s important to stay true to yourself and not cater to anyone else’s expectations.

Many of us can relate to moments in our personal journeys, when there was a fork in the road of our careers. For me, that moment was in March of 2018. Then a middle school teacher, I made the tough decision to stand up for a student and in doing so, I gave up my career in education. Who would have thought the day after my last day as an educator, I would find myself in a familiar situation — seated on a bench in front of my Brooklyn apartment making small talk and bonding with a handful of passersby over our neighborhood’s local haunts. It just so happened these new acquaintances were considering moving to an apartment on the block and invited me along. As soon as I walked into their prospective home, I commented on the gorgeous wood beams, the exposed brick, and the reasonable rent. By the time we were all leaving, the agent assured the future tenants that I wasn’t a hired plant to get the deal done and asked if I ever considered a career in real estate. Shortly thereafter, I headed into what would soon be a thrilling, eye-opening real estate journey. I became immersed in a completely new industry. It was intoxicating — making transactions, building a business, and forming a team. It was, at least, what I thought my new career journey would be. Calling on building owners, property managers, and prospective tenants, day and night, seemed like a movie on how to succeed in business while really really trying. Over the course of the next two years and with two brokerages, more often than not, I found myself sitting in front of men who were the decision-makers, the negotiators, landlords, property managers, and… well you get the picture. They were the ones justifying my worth on whether or not I would get the deal closed or even get the chance to pitch a deal. Half of the time, meeting with these property owners meant wondering if they actually respected me. I found that I was trying to survive in a male dominated world, exchanging polite laughs for commissions and listings. Eventually these kinds of experiences began to pile onto a deep feeling of inequity. At my last brokerage in Williamsburg, I closed five rental deals in my first 30 days. Being new to the company and navigating new systems, I felt excited about my prospects. My manager even commented on my celebratory social media post and said, “You say what you mean and mean what you say. Your positive attitude, willingness to learn and help others is admirable. Congratulations, Jaclyn. The first of many achievements for sure!” These words affirmed my capabilities and I was confident that this would be the first of many celebrations. But, I quickly learned that the “boys club” wasn’t going to be admitting me anytime soon. Regardless of my hustle, dedication and delivery, leads and listings that were previously directed to me, were handed off to a male co-worker, instead. When I challenged the switchover, my manager responded, “He has a family to support” or would require me to share my commission with an agent who had a loose tangential history with the deal. It became clear that unwritten rules and unspoken common practices exist to benefit those in his inner circle, and that’s where I drew the line. In December 2019, I took a leap of faith and interviewed for a fully female-led Out-of-Home Advertisement Real Estate Team at Overall Murals — a hand paint advertising company located in Brooklyn. I am very proud to say that I did not have to leave real estate to find the right path for me and in January 2020, I was officially invited to be a part of Overall Murals’ Real Estate Team. It has been an honor working alongside female leaders like Angel Saemai, co-owner of Overall Murals, and Director of Real Estate West Coast, Ashley Bunnett, an industry veteran. Together we make up a squad that focuses on encouragement, partnership, and growth and in celebration of Women’s History Month, I want to use this space to celebrate us and the community we’ve built here at Overall Murals. I can’t convey enough what a difference it has been to have female mentors as colleagues. It is not lost on me that we are still very much an anomaly in an industry dominated by men, but it goes without saying we are better together. Our shared experiences make us a unique force in a predominantly male industry. Regardless of our respective markets or gender identity, and with great tenacity, we are always working collaboratively towards one goal, and that is the success of Overall Murals.

Overall Murals made, from scratch, something we really love and are proud of. Spoiler alert, it’s not an ad. We painted three big art pieces dedicated to the adventures and misadventures of 2020, thus far, in a package we titled “Do the Right Thing 2020”. The murals can be found on our largest and most unique set of walls in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at the foot of Domino Park. This is a passion project spearheaded by my partner and I, with immense support from our talented team and the undeniable skills of our favorite artists. If it appeals to you and you’d like to donate to a great cause, head over to our online store. Here you can buy some cool DTRT2020 mural related stuff, like a bandana or print. 100% of the bandana proceeds benefit an important organization, Art Start. I detail in the article below how we got here and what it means to us. Check out more photos here. In the middle of the Great Recession, in 2008, my husband, Dmitry Pankov, and I started a little painted sign shop called okMitch Studio. For two years we designed and painted most of our own murals and logos for small and big businesses around New York. When the recession was supposedly over, in 2010, we felt the pull to go bigger and beyond just the two of us. In April that year, we birthed Overall Murals, a hand painted outdoor advertising company. Fast forward 10 years, to 2020, which as many of you know, has been less than ideal. Living in a global pandemic feels like a bad acid trip, making our initial company struggles seem like a birthday party at Disneyland. I can’t imagine there’s one person out there who has not been affected, big or small, inwardly or outwardly, by the unfolding events these last several months. As an operator of out-of-home locations, the usual space filler on a piece of unsold inventory, might be a company logo, a phone number to “ADVERTISE HERE”, or in some cases, a piece of art. We’ve definitely done one of those before, but given the circumstances, felt it’s the time to contribute more. As an organization that is run by people with art backgrounds and deep artistic passions, there’s an inherent need to make something iconic and that could be a piece of art history. We consciously seek to challenge people’s minds and eyes with what we can create for the world. At the very least we could say we put our blood, sweat and tears into it. When we first entered New York’s “Pause” this past March, we were naively optimistic. “This will blow over by April… Okay, maybe May. Um, who the hell knows?” The virus continued to permeate our lives but luckily we didn’t lay anyone off and we’re still working. Subsequently, we felt compelled to make work that could respond to this new uncertain world. If you’ve received any swag from us you would know that OM enjoys making all kinds of merch. Part of our collection includes custom designed bandanas, which we’ve been making for years. This piece of cloth is needed more than ever now, and the next one required a Covid-19 inspired design. My husband concepted and gave direction to illustrator, Pedro Oyarbide, based out of Spain and an artist we have relied on over and over again for quick, yet inventive work. The art we arrived at is of a painter, wearing a shirt with “F___ the Virus” scrawled across it, whilst surfing in the barrel of a wave of viruses bobbing about. Upon its completion, we decided we’d make a coronavirus themed mural with the same artwork.' As June neared, re-openings across the country were impending. Is this big wave finally crashing down? Will business bounce back in a promising V formation? We’re all wondering where the twists and turns will lead us and hoping for the best. Black Lives Matter. As a result of built up tensions, horrible events, unsettled historical BS, plus to be honest… cabin fever, boredom, economic downturn, and the need to feel alive and that life has purpose… peaceful protests as well as unrest unfurled across our nation. Yes, although this did suck and setback business further, it was a necessary awakening for society. It became clear to us that developing relevant and informed work was a race against the everchanging newscycle. Internally, we decide to change our bandana up and make the other side dedicated to a guy surfing a wave with BLM stuff floating around him. After some debate, his shirt says, “FTP”. As we reflected on BLM and the rest of the year, the mural’s concept grew. In only the middle of June, we all felt that although the year is not yet over; it has felt like two years have passed these last three months. “How are you?” is a question we now feel uncomfortable answering. We are still riding the first uncertain wave of this already monumental, chaotic and unforgettable 2020. The news and discussion of it all is inescapable. Cell phones are glued to our hands and just about everyone is constantly reading, sharing and reposting. At this point, a recap includes the Australian fires, Kobe Bryant’s sad departure, to of course, coronavirus and its massive ripple effects, and then there were swarms of locusts and murder hornets, onto the vital flourishing and uproar of the BLM movement (including supporters and foes) to monumental events like Space X, inexplicably nonstop fireworks, and historical mass nationwide protests… As a world, country, city and people we can’t help discussing and contemplating these experiences. It is in some respect, our responsibility and the most American thing we can do to exercise our right to engage in these conversations. We’ve all been provoked. Art, too, is meant to provoke. Whether it be beautiful, thoughtful, disgusting, political, funny… what art does is question our reality and defy popular thought. The best work should make us talk, reflect and question. We must not be afraid of it. “My belief is that art should not be comforting; for comfort, we have mass entertainment and one another. Art should provoke, disturb, arouse our emotions, expand our sympathies in directions we may not anticipate and may not even wish.” ― Joyce Carol Oates At OM, a bandana design gives rise to asking… What about murals? As a mural painting company, we wanted to use our voice and platform to visually and artistically represent all of this. We made a list and sent it to our artist to create the designs. We strived to cover as much as we could and wanted to put it on our favorite advertising location. A call was made to prepare our landlord partner. Then there was a lot of internal back and forth, adding, editing and removing items, testing our designer’s patience. The final design by Pedro, who prefers to work with limited colors, was sent to us in black and white with red blood highlights. It was striking on the screen and as a print. Blowing it up in real life, however, still felt unfinished. At the last minute, after our team had already prepared the patterns for production, we enlisted a friend, Anya Karbashyan, an illustrator who works with watercolor to quickly color in the illustration’s bones. Usually color is finalized before prep, so it was a rash but essential decision. A couple of team members questioned the aesthetic need and timeline, but we were adamant that the visuals be more challenging and remarkable. The end product allowed the digital image to come alive, helping differentiate the various scenes with pretty and somewhat hallucinogenic colors and watercolor effects. The addition also helped balance some otherwise aggressive images. Still, the original deep red was purposely stained throughout. Finally the team could start painting. It took roughly seven days with seven painters. While the 100-foot street level wall documenting an out of sequence timeline of things that occurred, the second upper wall looming above it, beckons viewers, “Do the Right Thing”. The statement harkens one of Dmitry and my favorite Spike Lee films, and like our office, it’s based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and oh, so fitting for today’s narrative. Surrounding the text are roses, stars and hopeful symbols of better things to come. Smack dab between a pair of bird wings is a large QR code to bring folks to our store, where you can donate and receive the black and white bandana. We added a third mural to this unit, which is normally sold as a duo. We’ve never painted this wall because it’s too close to the park for advertising. This time we could use it and placed big letters stating, “2020, Now but Not Forever,” in black and white. Underneath is an artists statement or synopsis of what the mural is about, pretty much a shorter version of this whole article. We added another QR code here to bring users of it to vote.org. The public response has been largely positive. During production, those who loved it walked up to the painters with sincere compliments. Like most of our work, and especially this time, many snapped photos or simply stood there and digested it all. Of course, as expected, there were those who were not so fanatical about it; and they only let it be known from their quick passing bikes, cars or patrol vehicles. In some countries we would be censored for such a piece. We feel lucky that we are able to express ourselves and bring what’s shining daily on our screens to a big outdoor canvas. The circumstances we all experienced must be accepted as they are but as humans we innately feel the need to solve problems and implement change. And in today’s postmodern world, what can we do? DO THE RIGHT THING. We can empower one another and offer suggestions on how, by using whatever tools and means possible.

I’ve been working at Overall Murals for just over 3 years now and it’s been nothing short of awesome. I love the people, I love the process, & I love the product. When I explain what we do – create hand painted advertising murals on the sides of buildings, the reaction is almost always: “WOW – that’s dope!” (from friends) or “WOW – that’s amazing – love it” (from industry professionals), to which I nod my head and agree, yep it is. Even when prospective clients aren’t buying hand paints as a format in their OOH mix, they always seem to express how much they love hand paints and hope to have a campaign that we can work together on soon. I recently started thinking about the WHY. Why does everyone love and appreciate hand painted murals so much? It’s got to be more than just the beauty, vibrancy, and spectacle of the process and finished product, right? More than the fact that anything artisanal, organic and artsy gets a lot of love on ‘the gram’, right? Perhaps it’s also the artistry, talent, craftsmanship and creativity behind it all… Out-of-Home industry leader, artist, & philosopher Rick Robinson writes, in his 2013 publication of The People’s Space, that hand paints are “the magic of OOH” and “an organic medium that speaks to our soul.” Whoa, that’s powerful stuff right there, sounds like the secret sauce that advertisers would love to get their hands on. But back to the WHY…could it be something in our collective DNA? Science now tells us that humans have been hand crafting signs for the past 75,000 years now, so there must be something instinctive that beckons our attention and compels our minds to absorb the messaging being delivered through hand painted signs. I think everyone can agree that a handwritten thank you note carries a little more endearment than a text message or an email. In that same regard, hand painted signs cut through digital clutter of our increasingly pixelated lives. After reflecting on this further, I think it really comes down to LOVE – love is the x-factor here. When human hands are involved the love is amplified – pure and wholesome LOVE. Our talented painters love painting, they put their heart and soul into every job. Their lives are literally on the line as they often dangle hundreds of feet in the air, with acute attention and focused presence, completely absorbed in the present moment! There’s a lot of LOVE when you’re living in the moment, so it’s only natural that the same energy being put into the mural is radiating back out to the people seeing the murals. Good advertising is all about connection and when that connection is made with LOVE, then that’s a solid connection. After all, love is the most powerful thing in the world and that my friends, is the POWER OF HAND PAINTS. For all you advertising gurus out there putting together your OOH marketing budgets for 2021, be sure to earmark some significant dollars for some good ole fashioned HAND PAINTED LOVE and let’s make your brand shine, while also making this world a better place.