Long time extras casting director Joan Philo has opened the Darling Series Studio in Roscoe Village, where she satisfies her passion “for all things film” by selling her custom designed greeting cards and movie-themed merchandise.
The other half of the space is where Philo holds her acting classes and rents mini rehearsal space to actors and musicians.
The idea for the greeting cards began percolating five years when she cast extras for “Stranger than Fiction.” Desiring to congratulate cast members, Philo searched for the perfect greeting card to hand out at the wrap party.
After an unsuccessful search, Philo figured, “Hey, why not make the card myself,” one that would convey meaningful greetings exclusively for performers and people who work in the film industry.
She sketched up her ideas and tapped talented illustrator Roderick De Jesus, “a very groovy young man,” to create them. “I wanted glamour and decadence, humor and fun. Roderick wielded his paintbrush and magic!”
She named the “decadent Hollywood greeting cards” custom cards Darling Series Studios, the “Darling” being a vision she’d had of a certain type of 1940s gushy blond, and introduced the series last fall.
