What started off as a design-build firm based in Oak Cliff has branched into a program that is teaching children important lessons in recycling and staying green.
Magic Garden was born from the company DB Green LLC while Paul Warmus, the owner, and local artists were working on the mural at Claxton Recycling.
“We were designing screws that looked like bumblebees and flowers made out of Coke cans,” Warmus says, “And we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we had a story for this?’”
Sue Benton, the owner of Claxton Recycling, became the inspiration for the main character of the story, and “Sue’s Zoo and the Magic Garden” was created. The story follows the tale of a young girl’s adventures in recycling and creating new friends out of recycled products.
Warmus has big aspirations for Magic Garden. Several more projects are in development stages.
Two more Magic Garden books are in the works; one is expected to release by the end of October. Warmus also hopes to turn these stories into an educational cartoon series one day.
But perhaps his largest project is the Magic Garden Education Station, which is still just a concept. The idea is that children will take field trips to the Claxton Recycling center to show them how recycling works. Warmus hopes to start the field trips within the next two years.
“It’s not just about recycling, but about creativity, imagination and art,” says Warmus. “To empower your child to look at the world around them and create.”
“Sue’s Zoo and the Magic Garden,” as well as any future Magic Garden release, is available at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
