MISSION
The Smiles Studio Company’s mission is to inspire people around the world to bring their memories to life through storytelling, entertainment, and by providing high-quality products and experiences that foster new connections.
VALUES
Foster Meaningful Connections
Our products and platform create purposeful memory making for authentic interactions, enriching lives and building communities. We entertain, innovate, and inspire people's ability to form meaningful relationships through the act of bringing memories to life.
Inspire Positive Change
We aim to inspire positive changes in lives and communities. By connecting people through interactive media and story making, we help them to catalyze their ideas and collaborations for a more compassionate world.
Think Creatively
We value creativity as source of truth in building safe, affordable, and easy to use solutions — both digital and physical — that amplify the incredible portability and capability of smartphones and tablets by connecting them with purpose-specific prop accessories that inspire each individual as a creative memory maker.
Playful Creativity
Our designs, brand, and mission seek to inspire old-fashioned play for children of all ages, especially as a portal through which memories of special occasions and every day journaling inspire the world.
Our products and platform create purposeful memory making for authentic interactions, enriching lives and building communities. We entertain, innovate, and inspire people's ability to form meaningful relationships through the act of bringing memories to life.
Inspire Positive Change
We aim to inspire positive changes in lives and communities. By connecting people through interactive media and story making, we help them to catalyze their ideas and collaborations for a more compassionate world.
Think Creatively
We value creativity as source of truth in building safe, affordable, and easy to use solutions — both digital and physical — that amplify the incredible portability and capability of smartphones and tablets by connecting them with purpose-specific prop accessories that inspire each individual as a creative memory maker.
Playful Creativity
Our designs, brand, and mission seek to inspire old-fashioned play for children of all ages, especially as a portal through which memories of special occasions and every day journaling inspire the world.
Biography
Hello and welcome!
As a Social Impact creator, I have enjoyed a career dedicated to advancing nonprofits to serve others while continuing my own product and art design practice.
In 2021, I opened Smiles Studio gallery in Essex, NY, to display hand-crafted, classic inspired video camera accessories for smartphones, as well as driftwood sculptures and oil paintings.
My work focuses on matching the needs of creative people seeking to compose meaningful videos using their smartphones. Please join me on this quest by completing the BRIEF SURVEY being done with a team of Capstone Students at Champlain College. Thank you!! Mike Smiles
Mike Smiles Bio:
Mike Smiles is a dynamic creative product developer, philanthropy professional, artist, and education program expert with a lifelong commitment to advancing impactful initiatives through effective leadership, fundraising, and community engagement. His career spans various sectors, including environmental conservation, maritime museums, digital photo archive, higher education, secondary education, and the arts, where he has consistently championed sustainable change.
Currently, Mike plays a pivotal role at The Sarara Foundation, where he leads efforts to protect biodiversity, indigenous communities, wildlife, and natural habitats in the Namunyak Conservancy of Northern Kenya. His work supports the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary www.reteti.org and other initiatives that empower the Samburu community, ensuring long-term conservation of one of Africa’s largest elephant herds.
Beyond his philanthropic endeavors, Mike is a passionate Social Impact creator who enjoys the curious nature of inventors, artists, and creators, from the experimental to the practical. He leads Smiles Studio Arts, which operates a gallery in Essex, New York, and media operations through the Media Factory in Burlington, Vermont. His creative projects are deeply rooted in promoting natural and environmentally sustainable practices.
In 2021, Mike opened his gallery in Essex, NY, primarily to display his unique driftwood art sculptures, inspired by the debris collected from Vermont’s public beaches. Now in 2024, he is launching an interactive community project that embraces creativity and collaboration, with terms like “projects,” “quests,” “prototypes,” “games,” and “fun!”.
Mike’s extensive experience in nonprofit leadership includes developing programs as well designing endowment and capital campaigns to advance new approaches that meld experiential learning and practical hands-on education. serving as the Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM), where he expanded the museum’s impact through innovative educational programs and historical exhibitions. His previous roles include Vice President and Director of Advancement at the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) in Connecticut, and leadership positions at Mystic Seaport and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for seriously ill children, founded by Paul Newman.
Mike holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of New Haven and a Bachelor’s degree from Beloit College. A long-time summer resident of Essex, NY, he continues to blend his creative talents with his dedication to philanthropy, always seeking new ways to inspire positive change in the communities he serves. Stay tuned for more updates on his latest artistic ventures and how you can get involved in the fun!
Mike Smiles is a dynamic creative product developer, philanthropy professional, artist, and education program expert with a lifelong commitment to advancing impactful initiatives through effective leadership, fundraising, and community engagement. His career spans various sectors, including environmental conservation, maritime museums, digital photo archive, higher education, secondary education, and the arts, where he has consistently championed sustainable change.
Currently, Mike plays a pivotal role at The Sarara Foundation, where he leads efforts to protect biodiversity, indigenous communities, wildlife, and natural habitats in the Namunyak Conservancy of Northern Kenya. His work supports the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary www.reteti.org and other initiatives that empower the Samburu community, ensuring long-term conservation of one of Africa’s largest elephant herds.
Beyond his philanthropic endeavors, Mike is a passionate Social Impact creator who enjoys the curious nature of inventors, artists, and creators, from the experimental to the practical. He leads Smiles Studio Arts, which operates a gallery in Essex, New York, and media operations through the Media Factory in Burlington, Vermont. His creative projects are deeply rooted in promoting natural and environmentally sustainable practices.
In 2021, Mike opened his gallery in Essex, NY, primarily to display his unique driftwood art sculptures, inspired by the debris collected from Vermont’s public beaches. Now in 2024, he is launching an interactive community project that embraces creativity and collaboration, with terms like “projects,” “quests,” “prototypes,” “games,” and “fun!”.
Mike’s extensive experience in nonprofit leadership includes developing programs as well designing endowment and capital campaigns to advance new approaches that meld experiential learning and practical hands-on education. serving as the Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM), where he expanded the museum’s impact through innovative educational programs and historical exhibitions. His previous roles include Vice President and Director of Advancement at the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) in Connecticut, and leadership positions at Mystic Seaport and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for seriously ill children, founded by Paul Newman.
Mike holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of New Haven and a Bachelor’s degree from Beloit College. A long-time summer resident of Essex, NY, he continues to blend his creative talents with his dedication to philanthropy, always seeking new ways to inspire positive change in the communities he serves. Stay tuned for more updates on his latest artistic ventures and how you can get involved in the fun!