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Working : blumenfeld + fleming by Janis Hewitt 10/30/03
They do it in the car, they do it on the beach. They even do it on walks in the woods and on the Hampton Jitney. Jill Fleming and Lynn Blumenfeld met through a mutual friend and got married, sort of. The partnership they formed when they created blumenfeld + fleming, an ad advertising agency is business in nature. But the dynamic between them is that of a married couple, said Ms. Fleming. And wherever they are, they brainstorm to come up with a new slogan or at design to catch a buyer's eye.
Both women used to work in Madison Avenue advertising agencies. Ms. Fleming is an experienced art director and Ms. Blumenfeld a copywriter. They met on the East End where Ms. Fleming lives in Montauk with her husband and two children.
After visiting every summer for many years, Ms. Blumenfeld recently bought a house in East Hampton. She drives to their Montauk office to work in a light-filled wing added to Ms. Fleming’s house on the eastern edge of Indian Field. Every day, when she reaches the crest of Old Montauk Highway where the first glimpse of the ocean is visible, Ms. Blumenfeld asks herself, “How did I get so lucky?”
The partners compliment each other every chance they get. Ms. Fleming laughed as she remembered the first time she set eyes on Ms. Blumenfeld, the more outgoing of the two. “Here I was living this very sedate country life, which is what I always wanted. One day, Lynn comes knocking at my door, all dressed up in her high-power mode, and I thought, uh-oh. But together we push each other.” Since they joined forces, Ms. Fleming says, the business has grown in ways she never imagined.
Before they became partners, Ms. Fleming had established her own business in Montauk, ThirdHouse Design, which remains a component of blumenfeld + fleming. She designed logos for local businesses, many of which would be familiar to anyone flipping through her portfolio.
Both women, in their former lives, worked on large commercial ads. Ms. Fleming is proud of her American Express ads, which featured Jerry Seinfeld, Daisy Fuentes, Mary Matalin and James Carville. She also worked on the Duracell battery account. Ms. Blumenfeld, a former actress and voice over artist who records most of their radio spots in local studios, worked on the creative teams which produced ads for Pringles and Clairol products among many others.
Now that they are on their own they have far more creative control. “In the city, we each wore one hat. Out here, we each wear many hats,” said Ms. Fleming.
Sitting in front of a wall adorned with jumbo Post-Its filled with ideas and sketches, the women explained how they approach new assignments. Taking into consideration the client's budget, they research the market then figure out what’s unique about the product. “We look for their point of difference so we can play that up,” said Ms. Fleming.
Since they joined forces officially a year and a half ago, the two have often dines at the local restaurants and shopped at the stores whose ads they create. “We become friends with most of our clients,” said Ms. Blumenfeld. Their client roster started with one and is now hovering at 13.
The ads they create are usually stamped in the corner with their own eponymous logo, which also brought in new business. “A woman from Water Mill saw the ad we did for Haven, (a vintage home furnishing shop in Montauk) and drove to Montauk to hire us,” said Ms. Blumenfeld, looking as if she might just pinch herself with pleasure.
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