Like most of our pursuits, MadCap came into being through a long and winding series of experiences that shaped our perception of the world and our place in it. First of which was our coffee shop Foolish Things Coffee Company, that we opened in downtown Tulsa in 2012. In building that brand I, Justin, drew a great deal of inspiration from the Lewis Caroll books “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through The Looking Glass.” We opened that space with the express desire to facilitate community through the intersection of craft and hospitality. Community is a narrative. It is a fluid, ever changing process, and as such we hoped coffee would be a means to the end of this narrative. There are a million coffee shops around town and around the world that all compete as “the highest quality product”, and we believed early on that we did not want to compete on those grounds. The main reason is, nothing is objective, especially the perception of “best”. There are preferences, and affinities, but best is never externally achievable or even quantifiable.  

A little over a year after we opened Foolish Things, I, Katie, launched Ever Something Event Styling. I met my co-founder, Taylor Fowler, through Foolish Things – where she and her husband, Jake, had their reception. It was there that I saw Taylor’s floral designs – they were natural and incredibly unique. Throughout college I wanted to be a wedding planner and it became apparent the way to do that was to build a company myself. I asked Taylor if she would be willing to give a floral and planning company 6 months – Ever Something is now 10 years old. We saw a need in the market and had similar goals as Foolish Things – to pursue beautiful design while having hospitality and a sense of calm for clients, through what could be a very stressful time. I’m so proud of what we created and what Taylor and the Ever Something team continues to build.

Foolish Things during construction – May 2012

Hospitality was and continues to be the guiding force of everything we do. We don’t take ourselves too seriously but still have big, lofty goals. Being facilitators of community will always remain one of the most important things for both of us. The name keeps us grounded, and the logo (a stylized cheshire cat) keeps us ornery.  

Which brings us to Madcap. we look at hospitality as a series of concentric circles constrained by resources. Initially, hospitality extended to our immediate family, then our extended family, neighborhood and with Foolish Things and Ever Something, our city. As we began to build more and more relationships with our cafe regulars and clients, we began to see how many small to medium sized businesses in creative industries either excelled at systems but struggled to tell their story publicly, or were excellent at storytelling, but needed help in operations. Thus, Madcap Industries (a PR and operations firm serving clients in creative industries) was born. The branding and imagery is the mashing of left brain and right brain, logic and creativity, fact and fiction, people and process. As we were thinking of a name, MadCap felt like the perfect fit. Not only is the imagery of a mad scientist (one who is wildly creative, but systematic in execution) appropriate for our vision, but it subtly harkens to Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter’s tea party. The MadCap is the embodiment of these values, all pursued in the lane of hospitality, owing to the incredible stories of the businesses that we work with that ought to be told.

STAY FOOLISH!

JUSTIN + KATIE