The last time we checked in with Hook earlier this year, the commercial-art start-up was made up of its two co-founders, a couple of part-time employees and a stable of freelancers crammed into a small office in downtown Ann Arbor. Today it employs six people (meeting its goal for the year) and has tripled its office space.

"We just kept working, taking on projects," says Aaron Schwartz, who co-founded the company last year with Michael Watts, both former University of Michigan students. "It got to the point that we had to turn down jobs because we didn't have the manpower."

Manpower looks like it will be an important word for the 2.5-year-old firm. Schwartz expects to hire another 2-4 people in 2009 as his firm adds new clients.

Hook incorporates 3-D imagery into commercial art, such as animation and illustrations. The firm's clients include Toyota and its work appeared in this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"We'd like to have more national television work," Schwartz says.

Source: Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of Hook
Writer: Jon Zemke