BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Mungy | A creative studio — ‘We partner with brands to build community’
Running all areas of their lives in a meaningful way is the goal.
by Robbi Hartt
Tom and Susanna Sharpe came to the Berkshires filled with specific intentions and open to a new path for their life as a couple and family.
Mungy (in Stockbridge) is a handcrafted full-service studio that offers “creative strategy and branding, all aspects of design and content creation, as well as ongoing brand management.” Starting with a truly family-inspired, home-grown business with Susanna creating and developing all of the digital designs and Tom creating and developing the business relationships, they have recently grown to a seven-person global team offering an innovative approach focused on “purposeful design that reflects the community and clients you serve.”
A partnership rooted in creativity and relationships
Coming from a long line of artists, Susanna’s creative passion is no surprise. Her Swedish grandparents owned a rug company, her mother studied fashion design in Paris and created amazing quilts, and her dad loved woodworking and other creative outlets. They were also entrepreneurs. “I didn’t really understand the traditional way of living,” she confides.
When she was 18, she moved to the States to live in and explore southern California with her aunt and uncle. That led to taking classes in graphic design at a local community college. By the time she was 22, she had become general manager at an Irish pub (where she and Tom met). In that role she worked with a website designer to build the company website. “I thought this is so cool,” she admits. “Pretty soon I was working with the designer and taking more classes. Naturally, I had a good eye.”
Tom grew up on Long Island, in a culture that revolved around “business, banking, and finance,” with the end goal being achieving a successful career in the city. “I remember feeling out of place,” he recalls, “being more motivated by what I wanted to do and where I wanted to live than by making money.” After college he moved to California, where he met Susanna and spent a year traveling the world. When it was time to ‘get a real job,’ he put his resume (which was all about traveling) on Craig’s List. John Reinhold, owner of Skyhook Stairs and Rails, read it and was intrigued enough to hire him—an opportunity he says gave him incredible business training and insights.
Berkshire beauty and community beckon
Both Susanna and Tom share a deep belief that the Berkshires are a wonderful place for starting a business. “Support from the general community and specifically from the business community is so strong,” Tom says, “and there is such an interesting mix of people from different places, all filled with worldly experience and all truly wanting others to succeed, to do well and thrive here.” “When we began attending networking events, there was a clear excitement,” Susanna adds. “It felt like a natural incubator, and there was genuine enthusiasm from people we didn’t even know as we got started.”
Given that Susanna is from New Zealand and Tom grew up on Long Island, you might wonder how they landed in Stockbridge in a small house and a growing business in their garage. It wasn’t a straight path. “We had moved here from San Diego in 2009 when our daughter Solana was born,” Susanna begins. Living so far away from both of our families, part of the motivation was getting closer to Tom’s family, but we also had a good friend in Great Barrington and were struck by what a beautiful place it was to raise a family.” Even before the post-COVID addition of more young families, the small community and rural nature of the Berkshires felt right. Plus, they both loved to hike.
