We sat down with Christy (also known as Reese) and Becca, the sister duo behind Dragons and Beasties, to talk about how our upcoming Zen & Harmony prints came to life — and to learn a little more about the incredible world they've built one dragon at a time.
The Story Behind the Dragon Collab
So how did you guys, you know, get started?
Becca: "So I started this business myself just with handmade dragons back in 2010. I was between jobs, so I was like, well, I'm really good at sculpting, why don't I just try this? Etsy was new, so that helped a lot."
For eight years, it was just Becca and her sculptures. But as demand grew, she knew it was time to expand beyond one-of-a-kind pieces into vinyl figures and beyond. That's when her husband joined the business, and shortly after, her sister Reese came on board too.
Reese: "I do all of the boring things. She's the artist, but she doesn't have the time to get things turned from the art side into all of the merch that we do. So I work on taking the art — the pretty art — and doing the business side of things to turn it into all the things that we sell."
So, what inspires your work?
Becca: "I've always really loved dragons. They're like my favorite thing to draw because you can draw them in so many different ways. I mean, a cat has to look like a cat, but a dragon can look all kinds of different ways. They're really fun and inspiring to do because they're just like an open canvas. So I really just— I just enjoy dragons. I enjoy fantasy, and that's just what I like to make."
What is your relationship like with your fans?
Becca: "We have some big sculptures we want to do. There'll probably be more plushies down the road. I'm not sure what exactly theme is yet, but it would be cool to do a new theme, you know. Right now, we're doing fruit dragons, which has been really fun, though we're all kind of sick of looking at fruit art."
Reese: "We would love to turn DB into like stories, children's books. A lot of time goes into that, but that's kind of the end goal. We're all about stories here, and all of our dragons have stories. Becca writes all of the stories, she draws all the characters, and she's fantastic at it, so I really want to push us into that next level of books. Then maybe even a show someday, big dreams. Oh, I've got big dreams for DB, yeah, no pressure."
What do you want a Svaha fan (who's never heard of Dragons and Beasties), to know?
Becca: "We make a lot of cute dragons, and you should have some of those cute dragons, because everybody needs a little cute dragon in their life."
Reese: "DB is just a fun place to be. It's just wholesome, family-friendly, always. We have some cute dragons here, but it's also just about community and making, you know, having having a good day, making someone, you know, realize there's some cute art out there that might make their day."
Becca: "If you want something that's going to uplift your day and not drag you down, come hang out."
[Svaha] Nikki: "I love that. And our missions are so similar, because we want you to be able to feel good in your clothes and express yourself and just have a better day, because you're wearing Svaha."