Growing up, Vanessa Germosen (BFA 2003 Illustration) heard her fair share of germ-related jokes about her last name. This, along with a keen interest in biology, led her to launch her germ-based toy line, Germusu. Germosen, who worked in product development of licensed characters for several years after graduating from SVA, was motivated to impart a lesson that most children—and adults—don't always consider: Germs don’t just make us sick; many of them serve important functions. “I really wanted the germ-based characters to be useful as a product and unexpected in terms of germ characteristics,” she says.

Each brightly colored Germusu plush toy—designed not for strict biological accuracy, but rather to function as a zippered pouch, as useful as it is cute—comes with its own text about the characteristics of that particular germ, whether it’s lactobacillus (responsible for turning milk into yogurt) or brevibacterium (one cause for stinky feet). Germosen offers many other items—including a germy ABC's poster, mugs, pillows, phone cases and tongue-in-cheek greeting cards—and the line, much like real germs, continues to multiply, with new pouches currently in the works.

Germosen was one of the many alumni entrepreneurs who participated in SVA's last Markers Market, held in June, and she recently spoke with the College's magazine, Visual Arts Journal, about her growing business.

Features

"Not all germs are bad and out to kill us."