It's at the heart of everything we do.
From our modest start in a tiny one-room office fifteen years ago we have grown
into a powerhouse full-service integrated marketing... (oh man, how ridiculous,
that’s what everyone says).
Here’s our elevator pitch. We are really just a small boutique/brand think house
for small to mid-size companies on the rise. We are run by a few design-driven
people who are known for bringing the passion daily and doing insanely great
creative work. We can do practically anything you need in both the print and
digital arena and we will respectfully tell you when something is truly out of our
wheelhouse and refer you elsewhere.
We are not the place to maintain status quo.
Married in business and in life, Rick Bonelli and Deena Hartley run Sunspots from
a simple skill set. Rick can stare at the blank piece of paper and come up with the
idea and concept and orchestrate it to production either by himself or with
a select team he chooses per the given expertise needed.
Deena, in turn, can not stare at the blank piece of paper and come up with the
idea,
but instead has a strong organizational mindset, is a great communicator
and account manager and aesthetically knows when things look good.
Make sense? It does for us and it has worked well since we opened our doors for
all our clients, vendors and collaborators.
Either way, you are dealing with one or often both of us on every project.
Partner / Design Director
Rick is widely regarded as one of top designers in the state of NJ. He has won
over 250 awards in design & advertising and garnered acclaim in nearly every
major design competition, nationally and internationally. He is a multi-time
Best of Show winner at the ADCNJ Awards and Best of Advertising winner at
the Jersey Awards. In 2007, he became one of the youngest inductees into the
New Jersey Advertising Hall of Fame.
Partner / Managing Director
Prior to forming Sunspots, Deena worked as an account executive for several
fast-paced NYC public relations firms. She and Rick came to the conclusion
that their combined experience presented an ideal opportunity to branch
out
on their own and they haven’t looked back. Deena also runs her other
business, Bingepop, which is a collection of her rare music artifacts, vinyl,
and pop culture whimsy and memorabilia.
We assemble teams per project based on what we call, “The Hollywood Model.”
For example, when a movie is made in Hollywood, one general company or
studio is chosen to produce and orchestrate it. But from there, a top director picks
best of breed practitioners most ideal for the given project. In other words, the right
cinematographer, the appropriate casting director, the best film editor for that
specific movie. All then work under the direction of a Scorsese or a Spielberg, etc.
That’s kind of what we like to try to do.
We are small but agile. We have a vast network of talent in every design, production
and media genre who works with us to perfect the final product and brilliantly tailor
the end result.
Our team is select, elite and vetted by us from years of working together. Above all,
we challenge preconceived notions as to what should be done and how. You are
assured of a group that doesn’t adhere to conventional methods and is always driven
for the fresh idea. All done in the full collaboration with our clients who become not
only co-collaborators, but an integral part of the overall effort every step of the way.
We are not the large chain that just bangs out economy priced standard dishes
and lives on volume and fast table turnaround (think Olive Garden, Applebees, etc.).
Instead, we are the small 10-table corner Italian restaurant with the red checkered
tableclothes. Everyone in the know’s favorite little secret. The bistro you are dying
to try and the place with the line out the door every night. A place where the head
chef comes out to talk to the patrons at their tables to see if they liked the meal.
And mostly, the place where you can get that special dish with that extra seasoning
no one else makes.
That’s us.
