by Kitch Walker
COMPLETE STORY AT: Bozeman, Montana Importer Brings Unique Products to U.S. – Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
published on Thursday, November 5, 2009 8:45 AM MST Bozeman Daily Chronicle
When Ripple Marketing principals Kurt Palmquist and Dodd “Kitch” Walker went to Italy a few years ago as part of a marketing-Montana trip, they had no idea the ideas they were pitching would turn into a wholesale import business in Bozeman.
But when Richard Helzer, former director of Montana State University’s art school, asked Palmquist to turn his attention to Umbria — a region in central Italy, between Florence and Rome — a business was born. Helzer had been taking students to study in Umbria for years, where they stayed at a villa owned by Filippo Vasta. When Vasta asked Helzer for help developing an artisans’ cooperative, Helzer went to Palmquist for help.
Now Palmquist and Walker work out of a 5,200-square-foot warehouse behind industrial buildings in Four Corners, where shelves are stacked with exquisite and folksy Italian hand-painted and hand-thrown ceramic dishes and woven tablecloths, all tucked into cardboard boxes that rise toward high ceilings…..
Photo By NICK WOLCOTT/CHRONICLE
Kurt Palmquist, Nikki Walker and Dodd “Kitch” Walker of Ripple Marketing have gone beyond marketing and now import handmade Italian goods.
Tags: Autentico Italiano, Flat Earth Imports, Kitch Walker, Kurt Palmquist, Nikki Walker
Posted in Flat Earth Imports/Autentico Italiano, Recent Ripple Marketing Projects, U.S. Import, Wholesale & Retail Trends | No Comments »
by Kitch Walker
In March 2009, Flat Earth Imports | Ripple Marketing founders and Montana State University (MSU) Alumni were fortunate to be featured in the MSU Alumni’s prominent publication, the MSU Collegian magazine. The featured article, ”Flat Earth Imports: An Artful Collaboration of Alumni, Artisans And Art Professor, by Marjorie Smith, appeared in the March 2009 issue.
…If you happen to have a terrific idea for a business, but think you’d like to mull it over for a few years, don’t mention it to Kitch Walker, ’96 BioSci/F&WL, ’98 BusMrktg,BusMgmt. With Walker involved, you’re likely to find yourself helping manage an international corporation within a matter of months.
Flat Earth Imports, the company Walker created with [his wife Nikki Walker, '97 Photo] Kurt Palmquist, ’88 Art, and his wife, Denise, ’86 Bus, also his partners in Bozeman-based Ripple Marketing, markets the creations of Italian artisans in Umbria, poetically known as “the green heart of Italy.” [read/download PDF of complete article]…
Special thanks to Ron Lambert, Art Director at MSU Marketing and Creative Services and Marjorie Smith, writer, for their creative efforts and professionalism in sharing our story. Also, special thanks to Jaynee Groseth, President & CEO of the Montana State University Alumni Association, and Richard Helzer, retired Director of the MSU School of Art, for their ongoing support, friendship and advocacy.
Article. Marjorie Smith, “Flat Earth Imports: An Artful Collaboration of Alumni, Artisans and Art Professor” MSU Collegian, magazine, March 2009.
Tags: Autentico Italiano, Denise Palmquist, Flat Earth Imports, Kitch Walker, Kurt Palmquist, MSU Alumni, Nikki Walker, Ripple Marketing
Posted in Flat Earth Imports/Autentico Italiano | No Comments »
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