Young Masters Unveiled as First U.S. Franchise to Transform Youth Artwork into Exclusive Product Line

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Eugene Yi

Atlanta - The parent company of TSS Photography, the nation’s leader in youth sports and school photography, announced today the official launch of its second franchise offering, Young Masters, allowing entrepreneurs to work closely with art educators across the country to showcase students’ artwork on lasting keepsakes.

Launched in 2005, the Young Masters program was originally introduced through a number of TSS Photography locations and quickly gained the attention of parents and art educators alike. After recognizing the potential for both nationwide expansion and tremendous success, executives made the decision to offer Young Masters as a separate franchise opportunity.

"Young Masters has already been embraced by art teachers and parents across the country," said Joe Lindenmayer, President & CEO of Young Masters. "The proven, home-based business model, coupled with low overhead costs, immediate cash flow and non-existent royalty payments makes Young Masters perfectly suited to thrive in today’s tough economy. There is no other franchise concept like it."

Through Young Masters, children create original artwork during organized art programs, which is then transferred onto mugs, mouse pads, sweatshirts, tote bags, postcards and a variety of other memorable keepsakes or gifts for parents and families. Schools, daycares, camps or other organizations that partner with Young Masters receive a percentage of the proceeds from product purchases to support the program of their choosing.

"Young Masters is designed to stimulate a child’s creativity, while also providing parents with lasting memories of their children’s artwork," said Lindenmayer. "For the children, it builds confidence knowing their artwork will be captured on fun products that people can order just for them. For parents, it provides keepsakes they can display for years to come. And for the participating school or organization, it’s easy to incorporate into the classroom and provides a new revenue source for art or other programs. It’s a win-win for everyone."

The Young Masters process was designed to be simple and hassle-free for participating schools and organizations. Students create their artwork on special paper provided by Young Masters using the teachers’ art lessons or free lessons developed by Young Masters. The franchise owner collects the artwork and creates a customized order form for each child featuring his or her artwork. Next, the forms are sent home to parents and families to review, where they can choose from dozens of products featuring their child’s artwork. Finally, the order forms are sent to the school or organization, the Young Masters franchise owner collects them and delivers the lasting keepsakes back to the school.

"Parents end up discarding much of their children’s artwork because it’s impossible to keep it all," said Lindenmayer. "We help parents turn some of their children’s precious `masterpieces’ into beautiful, functional memorabilia."

About Young Masters
The Young Masters program was founded in 2005 and became a franchised business in late 2008. Currently, 23 Young Masters franchise owners across the country work with art educators in their communities to transform students’ artwork into lasting memorabilia and to help raise funds to support fine arts and other school programs endangered by budget cuts.