Like most moms, Robyn Pomonis had stacks of artwork, school assignments and report cards from her children lying around the house — about 21 year's worth.
They just sat there, never to be looked at or enjoyed.
Not anymore.
Tucson couple Robyn and her husband, Peter came up with an idea to solve that problem for themselves — and other families — with their new business 4everbound, which takes children's original art and schoolwork and turns it into a personalized hardcover book.
Using the child's original work, rather than digital copies, solves the problem of stacks of paper accumulating in bins and drawers and enables families to more easily enjoy the pages they've been holding onto.
Original artwork, photos, letters, report cards and other memories can be treasured and enjoyed more easily in a book.
"Even if I made a digital book of my kid's art, I can guarantee I'm not getting rid of the originals," Robyn said. "So I haven't solved the problem ... 80 percent of moms have this...tons of stuff...and sometimes it's really organized, but then what happens? They don't do anything with it. They don't look at it or enjoy it or get the experience of looking through and laughing or tearing up."
While looking through one of her family's books, Robyn found a note her now 21-year-old son had written to his sister years ago.
"I found this note he wrote to her when he was pissed at her and now we read it and we laughed," Robyn said. "So it's having all those things to look back on...So this way when your kid grows up and moves out, you're not handing them a box of their stuff. Because they don't want it...To me it's much more meaningful than saying here's a box of your stuff I haven't looked at in 20 years."
In their research, Robyn and Peter haven't found anyone else doing this type of book. There are online book publishers such as Shutterfly that use digital copies, but nobody is binding original artwork, Robyn said.
"Sometimes I'll look at Peter and say 'did we really land on something that nobody's thought of?' And he says 'yeah, maybe,'" Robyn said.
Peter and Robyn Pomonis sit behind their kids, left to right, Cali, 9, Ian, 21 and Becka 23.
How it works
The business hasn't officially launched yet, but families can go to the website and pre-register to be notified when it starts operation and to get a discount. The launch is scheduled for sometime this spring, Robyn says.
When you're ready to have a book made, you'll go to the website, choose the book cover you want — there are four colors to choose from, black, blue, silver and white — along with the fonts and graphics.
Prices start at $49.95 for a half-inch book and go up to $89.95 for a book that holds about 250 pages.
Books are 8.5 by 11 inches for now. Smaller artwork can be submitted, but larger works won't fit.
Once you've decided on a design and have checked out, you'll ship the artwork to 4everbound. They'll bind it and have it ready in about a week.
Robyn and Peter are currently making the books in their home. When the business expands, they hope to invest in more equipment and a separate work space as well as employees.
"As soon as we have enough revenue coming in we will get space and keep growing," Robyn said. "I'm really excited about being able to provide some employment opportunities."
Spines can be printed with the child's name and grade
