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Article - Founder Story - Abrakadoodle
Two Women Co-Founders: A Franchise Success Story – the Abrakadoodle Story!
They’ve raised families, developed an innovative children’s computer education franchise in the late 1980s and committed themselves to the betterment of franchising, so why did Mary Rogers, M.Ed. and Rosemarie Hartnett, CFE return to their creative roots to launch a new franchise?
From the time Mary Rogers was a child, she was drawing, designing and creating. She took every imaginable art class in high school. She even took Engineering Drawing because it had the word “drawing” in it, despite being the only girl in class. She was voted “most artistic senior” in her class. But when it came time to choose a direction for college, Mary had a brush with reality. Her art teacher told her that she was “too smart” to go art school, which she interpreted as a lack of real talent.
Rosemarie Hartnett developed a passion for art as a child. Regarded as a “serious” student, Rosemarie enjoyed going on field trips to art museums. Her favorite art class in college took her to the streets of New York City to sketch buildings modeled on classical architecture. One of the highest compliments she ever received was from a respected art history professor who told her that she had finally learned “how to see” when analyzing a work of art.
Within franchising, Rogers and Hartnett observed other companies offering drawing programs but believed there was a void in creativity education. They also watched as arts programs disappeared from schools nationwide.
Rosemarie Hartnett reveals, “What excites me about Abrakadoodle is the joy and learning that our program provides children, as well as the expression of creativity.” How is the program “fun” for its founders? For Rosemarie, she has the satisfaction of growing a franchise from the ground up and tending it like a garden full of treasures. For Mary, she has the opportunity to try creative things. Together they are inspiring creativity in many thousands of children worldwide, which according to Rogers, leaves her “awestruck.”
Abrakadoodle is a truly multi-faceted visual arts program for children ages 20 months to 12 years old. The program includes a wide array of creativity-boosting classes, in-school field trips, workshops, camps, birthday parties and special events. Children learn such art forms as painting, sculpting, mosaics, collage, paper and fabric art, stamping, sketching, anime, studio art, foil embossing, digital photography and more. Abrakadoodle students gain a visual art vocabulary as they discover art history and learn techniques inspired by both master and contemporary artists.
