Art students box up bandage business

Ringling College of Art and Design students Kristina Oliva and Jessica Marinello are the latest budding entrepreneurs to live out the school's unofficial motto: To shatter the myth of the starving artist.

The pair accomplished the feat in a contest sponsored by Sarasota-based ASO Corp., a manufacturer of adhesive bandages and wound care products. ASO products are sold worldwide, in Wal-Mart and other chains, and the firm's list of licensed bandage products, aimed at kids, includes Peanuts, Garfield, Shrek and Rovio's Angry Birds.

That's where the contest comes into play. ASO, according to a press release, sought designs that appealed to parents and children in one of two demographics: boys 4-9 years old or girls 4-9 years old. Each contest entry included a box design, bandage strip designs and box art highlighting the product. The first-place winners, Oliva and Marinello, in addition to a $1,500 prize, will have their names included on a bandage box that will be sold in Wal-Marts later this year.

ASO received 17 entries for the contest from 14 Ringling students. The three finalists, including Oliva and Marinello, pitched their design to an ASO management team. The second-place winners won $500, and third-place was a $70 gift card for dinner for two.

“There is such an incredible pool of talent right here in our own backyard in Sarasota,” ASO Bandage Category Manager Katrin Pfitzenreiter says in the release. “We are proud to introduce the exceptional work of these students to the nation through our ongoing relationship with Wal-Mart stores.”