Front-Runner

Grazing on BlueSky
Hodges Badge’s Portsmouth neighbor BlueSky Brands was forced to close its doors this past March after failing to secure additional financing for its floundering operation, which included the Paragon Gifts, Bits and Pieces, National Wildlife Direct, and Winterthur catalogs. Hodges Badge seized the opportunity and brought in some of the now-defunct BlueSky’s higher-level talent, including Jean Giesmann (creative), who has since joined Uno Alla Volta full time; Gary Smith (marketing); and Eileen Houlihan (marketing) — all in freelance/advisory roles. In fact, Houlihan became the first freelance copywriter in the company’s history.