In a world where humor and originality are getting harder and harder to come by, Zing's charming handcrafted home accessories and light-hearted greeting cards are a breath of fresh air.

Zing! was founded by two friends, Dawn Campbell and Sutisa Mullinix, who are self-trained craft artists, woodworkers, illustrators and humorists. The two met briefly in 1990 and became close friends after taking a pottery class together in 1995 at a community college in Baltimore, Maryland. Aside from their love of art, the two had a lot in common: both loved crafting, had a devilishly playful sense of humor and were inspired by creative family members. Dawn's father is a professional magician and her mother participated in his magic shows. Sutisa's grandmother taught her how to craft, paint and knit at an early age.

The women started out selling their designs separately, but they supported each other, setting up side-by-side at arts and crafts shows, sharing the same sales representative and bouncing ideas off of each other. Sutisa's business, Zing Designs, specialized in papier-mache Christmas ornaments, painted flowerpots and celestial-themed lamps. Dawn's business, MyAndi, featured items made from copper pipes and other hardware, hand-made jewelry and wooden crafts such as picture frames.

After years of growing together as artists and friends, Dawn and Sutisa decided to merge their businesses into one. In January of 2001, Zing! was officially born. In 2004, Zing Greetings was introduced to express their wicked sense of humor and fill a niche in the market left vacant by mushy, wordy cards. The two women, who have a diverse group of friends, also felt card options for the gay and lesbian community were particularly underserved, finding many of the cards out there to be too obscene or vulgar.

The last few years have brought a flurry of activity. Since Zing! was established, its home accessories and greeting cards have appeared in more than 100 stores, from Baltimore to San Francisco. In early 2006, the women started shipping to Target a scaled-down version of jewelry girl, which continues to be one of their hottest sellers. In February 2007, zingthings.com was launched to bring their designs and illustrations to a larger audience. It is Dawn and Sutisa's hope that "Zing things" will bring smiles to everyone who encounters them.