Field Operative,
You have found the online voice of Secret Mission. Congratulations!
We at Secret Mission have come to realize that until this point, nearly all of our communication to the outside world has been through purely visual and design means, with very little written information.
We apologize for any cryptic undertones, but it is our nature.
This communique is to introduce us, the Secret Mission team, to you.
We are Derek Atkinson and Christina Busch. We beam our information to you from the foot of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our exact location can only be revealed to those in need of our specialized services. Please understand.
Our involvement as Secret Mission began in New York City, but our roots are much older than that:
Christina was born in Texas, but grew up in Pensacola, FL and Atlanta, GA. Derek was born and raised in Pensacola, FL and the two were acquaintances in the small, but tight-knit early-late 90's punk scene of the Florida Panhandle.
Figure 1: Derek (far left) and Christina (far right). Outside Sluggo's. Pensacola, FL. Circa 1998.
Derek attended the Atlanta College of Art (ACA), where he graduated in 2004 with a BFA in Fine Art, concentrating in Printmaking. He later went on to work for ACA as an admission counselor, and eventually as the manager of the office of Student Affairs before the college was sold to the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006. After his work for ACA, Derek went on to do contract work for Cartoon Network, Turner Network Television, and Turner Broadcasting Systems while also working as a freelance designer.
Christina attended Georgia State University and earned her BFA in Fine Art studies in 2009. She probably poured you a drink or two as she bar-tended her way around Atlanta.
In early 2007, Derek moved to New York City and began working as the art director for a busy screen printing shop on the Upper West Side. It was here that he honed his skills in the art and business of textile screen printing. In 2008, he helped design, build, and manage the second incarnation of Seshwan Print Shop in Brooklyn with shop owners Tino and Desiree Razo.
A week after graduating from GSU in 2009, Christina shed all of her belongings and hopped a flight to New York City. She worked at a cafe in the East Village, interned at Factory Fresh and lived in Brooklyn.
Derek's clients from 2007-2010 have included:
Verte Clothing
Autumn Skateshop
KCDC Skateshop
In4mation Clothing
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Newsweek
JP Morgan Chase
MTV
Hard Rock Cafe
SoulCycle
Max Fish
Mirrorball
BBDO
McCann Erickson NY
In addition to working as a designer-printer, Derek was busy nights as the organ player for NYC garage trash band, THE OTHERMEN. The Othermen have released a full length LP on Killer Diller Records entitled "Just Pallin' Aroun' With The Othermen!" and recorded a 45 soon-to-be-released on !Puta! Records.
On Halloween night, 2009, Derek and Christina happened upon each other by chance outside of tiki bar, Otto's Shrunken Head, on E. 14th in Manhattan's East Village. Christina had moved to NYC in August of 2009, and neither of the two knew the other lived in the same town. In fact, they hadn't seen each other in around 10 years. This random encounter led to romance, and to make a VERY long story short, the couple were engaged to marry in February 2010.
Figure 2: The happy couple. New York City. Spring 2010.
In what would be their final months in NYC, the dynamic duo hatched the idea of Secret Mission. Christina had first-hand knowledge of operating a successful fine art business through her work with Factory Fresh, a Brooklyn gallery. Derek brought his design, printing, and general flair for ballyhoo to the table, and the groundwork for legend was born. Their (secret) mission: To inspire and to enrich a small community with a gallery/retail space/screen printing shop.
They left NYC in August of 2010 to their new home in Chattanooga, Tennessee where the mission becomes more and more defined each day.
We would love to be a part of your projects, and to help steer your missions to success.
Please contact us via our info on the sidebar to discuss any creative endeavours you may require assistance in.
Thank you.
Derek Atkinson and Christina Busch
Secret Mission HQ
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