Designer Spotlight: Liquid Courage & Mr. Mavericks

Liquid Courage started producing flasks in May of 2010 while Mr. Mavericks started producing phone covers in October of the same year, based out of Cookeville, TN.  We originally started as an Etsy Shop, but as our brands have grown we have expanded to our own website and now wholesale to Boutiques all over the U.S. Amy. We are entrepreneurs at our core and after our wedding we realized there was a real need for fun, unique gifts for bridal parties. Honestly, we were walking through the store one day and Amy spotted the flasks hanging from a kiosk and it sparked her imagination to print custom designs to the flasks. We had no background whatsoever in printing, but we were determined to learn it. Once we learned the technologies involved it really opened our eyes to the vast opportunities of printing to different medias. This has led to a product offering way beyond what we had originally envisioned from flasks, to iPhone covers, to custom canvases, and more.

Photos: Meg Kraft

Carbon Magazine: What makes Liquid Courage  different from other companies that create favors like flasks and phone covers?

Tyler: From the beginning, we have always made it a priority to offer a product of higher quality, with a quicker
turnaround time, and with better customer service than our competitors. Amy and I really researched the different medias and application methods of print design to ensure that we offered products that would look better and hold up
longer than other choices in the market. Since a vast majority of our business is done on the web we wanted to offer what our customers expected but rarely see, a lighting fast turnaround time. We are constantly under promising and
over delivering when it comes to ship times and it has really paid off. After working several corporate jobs we decided that it was key to offer true, genuine customer service. We wanted to create an atmosphere where our customers felt the sincerity of working with a small company.

CM: What is your favorite phone cover/flask you’ve designed?

T: Amy’s favorites include Love, TN and the Polaroid flasks. My favorites are the Honey Badger, and the Fear the Beard flasks.

CM: Is Liquid Courage a family run company?

T: Amy & I started the company and now actually employ other members of the family as well.

CM: What is the best selling design for the phone/flask?

T: Best Selling Design Flasks: Keep Calm & Drink on and the Best Selling iPhone Decal: Monogrammed Chevron Designs

CM: If a celebrity used your flasks or phone covers, who would you want it to be?

T: I would have to say Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother or Kunal Nayyar as Dr. “Raj” Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory.

CM: What advice would you give to aspiring designers who wanted to get their companies going?

T: The tortoise always wins the race. We made sure to take our time in every step of our journey with our business. Amy & I started this company out of our home while still working our corporate day jobs. We made sure that we had emergency funds both personally and for the business before we took the leap and quit our day jobs. Both of us are Dave Ramsey gurus and believed it was important for us to have a solid foundation so that we could launch and run our business debt free from the start. We can breathe easier since we operate this way. Read. Leaders read. In business things change quick and it is extremely important to stay on top of what’s going on around you. I can not express enough how valuable it is to continually be in touch with what is going on in your industry, what the latest tech is, what are the best practices in business, leadership, customer service, etc.

Live what you love and be confident.
Believe in yourself, your work, and your brand.

I was browsing the net looking for some stellar designers to feature to our Carbon viewers, thinking of items that could serve as perfect Valentine’s Day gifts, or party favors. I pondered the obvious jewellery, clothing, and other accessories until I came across Liquid Courage and Mr. Mavericks, Tyler & Amy Fisk’s flask and phone cover shop. Immediately, I clicked through the designs and fell in love, acknowledging how much my friends would love these covers and party favors. I received the tie-dye and crown flasks, as well as an anchor phone cover and decorative flower cover. The prints were crystal clear and the quality was professional. With my iPhone being cutely covered for two weeks now, the sides have not curled or faded. If you want to party in style, rock a Liquid Courage flask with your chicest club wear. For
wedding favors, birthday gifts, and simple surprises, you cannot go wrong with Mr. Mavericks or a bit of Liquid Courage.