As an Innova family member (by actual DNA, even), I’ve had a unique view of the company over the years. It's been fun watching the company grow, and every time I come back it seems something new and exciting is happening. I once again find myself here at Innova, spending the next month helping out in the copywriting department. It's been interesting to get an inside view of a company I’d primarily only known from a few tales around the dinner table. This blog gives me a chance to share some of the things I've seen "behind the curtain"...

Innova Ideas & Services started with a singular vision, a do-whatever-it-takes mentality and a group of motivated employees. Quite literally, though, it started with the destruction of a building in downtown Ames, Iowa.

A little over 11 years ago I walked into an old hardware store armed with a sledgehammer, axe and sawzall. My job: tear the building apart, demolish its interior. Over the course of a couple weeks that is exactly what I did. Alongside 2 high school buddies, we ripped the building to shreds…and we enjoyed it.

In 1999, Innova was a fledgling company looking to expand into new digs that would complement their vision and aspirations. Of course, it still had to have a serious creative vibe. It was then that Sigler Printing and Publishing, Innova’s parent company at the time, purchased the 304 Main Street location — formerly Carr Hardware — to house its startup marketing and ad agency.

The goal of the remodel was to create a modern office feel, while retaining the building’s historic look and integrity. Tour Innova today and little touches of the past still shine through: the tin ceiling is intact, original wood floors were brought back to life, and the upstairs offices are in their initial configuration, with refurbished doors and trim.

Shortly after Innova settled into their new home, I moved away. Since then, I've been back only a handful of times but each time Innova seems to have taken on a new life. While some familiar faces are still there, new ones are added all the time. While the building gets rearranged and renovated, its tenant goes through its own evolution.

As I pushed through Innova’s front door the other day I was taken aback by its newest incarnation, Sigler on Main. Where a receptionist once sat, a retail store now lives. Sigler on Main is Sigler Companies' apparel outlet for Signify Apparel & Merchandise, a full-fledged Main Street shop selling their unique brand of Iowa collegiate clothing and fundraising merchandise.

Much like how I helped transform Innova all those years ago, the company continues to update their vision to redefine and rebuild in an ever-changing global economy. Sledgehammers and sawzalls are no longer necessary. Innova’s tools for the future are a mix of Iowa ingenuity and savvy business decisions, combined with progressive thinking and non-stop concepting. Clients have noticed, too — whether located right here in the company's backyard in Ames and Des Moines, in New York City or across the globe.

Stay tuned for the next big idea as Innova continues to push the envelope for their community and clients.

- Andrew Cross