My Biz: Since 2001, business owners sell the art of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck

By Katie Mills Giorgio, correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS - Wanda Lunn and John Cairns may spend the day looking at cartoons, but that doesn't mean their work is child's play.

Lunn is gallery director and Cairns is president of First Animation Art, a niche business based in Cedar Rapids that sells one-of-a-kind, original art works from animation. They represent the major animation studios and are an authorized gallery for art from the studios of Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Disney, Cartoon Network and 20th Century Fox, among others.

'These are one-of-a-kind and the real thing,” said Cairns noting that their average piece sells for between $800 and $900.

The business partners have been selling animation art for more than 35 years.

'We have been in the business for so long that we have extensive knowledge,” said Cairns, pointing out that Lunn can tell what year an animation is made simply by looking at the paper it was created on. 'After a while, there are many things you have memorized.”

He pointed to a library of resources they've amassed over their careers.

'We are the only ones in the country doing this for as long as we have,” Cairns added.

'We are a bit under the radar,” said Lunn, noting that most of their sales are to national and international customers. 'I would say 98 percent of our sales take place with customers outside of Iowa.”

But having their business located in Cedar Rapids is a distinct advantage, she added.

'Our customers trust us,” she said, 'because we are from Iowa.”

Lunn and Cairns somewhat stumbled into the business. Lunn started in 1981 when she began working for Gallery Lainzberg - a one-time Cedar Rapids gallery that's no longer in business that specialized in the sale of animation art - and traveled the East Coast as a saleswoman.

'I spent a great deal of time out on the road and had the chance to meet all of these famous artists like Chuck Jones (best known for Bugs Bunny) and Mel Blank (who voiced Bugs and Porky Pig, among others),” she recalled. 'It was a truly wonderful time to be in the business.”

Cairns joined Gallery Lainzberg in 1984.

By 2001, the pair had gone into business for themselves, creating First Animation Art.

'Gallery Lainzberg had been out of business for many years at that point and we really ended up taking over the business,” Cairns said.

Since, they've worked from an office in the basement of Cairns's home, which helps keep the business operating with very low overhead.

'When the weather is nice, we go out and have garden breaks,” Lunn said, noting that they both enjoy the flexibility of having a home-based business.

At one time, Lunn and Cairns worked with a team of 20 people at Gallery Lainzberg, but as the sole employees of First Animation Art, they have figured out a very amenable working relationship.

Both Lunn and Cairns have their own customer base - at least 600 strong each. Lunn handles much of the accounting and office tasks, while Cairns handles most of the internet activity including website administration.

While both Lunn and Cairns said their expertise is an important business component, they said their relationship-building skills have been essential as well.

'This is a personal-relationships business,” Lunn said, noting that one of her customers based in Buffalo, N.Y., has been buying from her since 1983 as she seeks to collect one animation of every Disney character created. 'I'll come across a piece and think of a particular collector it would be perfect for,” Cairns said. 'But these are not impulse buys. You need to know what you are buying. These are one-of-a-kind vintage pieces of film history.”

l Know an ideal business, open for more than a year, we should feature in 'My Biz”? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.

At a glance

l Owners: Wanda Lunn, gallery owner, and John Cairns, president

l Business: First Animation Art

l Address: Cedar Rapids

l Phone: (319) 862-1169

l Website: www.firstanimationart.com