D.J. Svoboda & ImagiFriends

D.J. Svoboda, the creator and inventive artist of ImagiFriends, is a local NC artist that Café Décor & More, is quite in support of.   He is about to turn 25 and although he has Autism, he is quite an extraordinary gentleman with a passion for making you smile with his creative, colorful and genius creations.   D.J. was born in Sumter, SC and moved to Cary NC in 1989 from Denver Colorado.  He graduated from Cary High School in 2001 and attended several other local (Cary) schools.  He loves to draw, color, watch cartoons, and make children happy through his creations.   

Café, Decor & More and Ashley Kendrick were introduced to DJ’s artwork in September of 2006, through Brandon White, a student at Campbell University who grew up with D.J..  Brandon brought in some of his pieces one day and Ashley was blown away to find out the creator of these masterpieces has Autism, a health issue she has worked closely with for many years in her non-profit work.  Ashley met with D.J. and his mom Cindi Svoboda and subsequently displayed and featured his artwork for the Halloween grand opening and also for the month of April which is national Autism month.  D.J. came to the Café and met and spoke with several students and local friends here in Buies Creek in the end of April 2007.   

D.J. should be inspiration for us all, as he has dealt with Autism almost his entire life but hasn’t let that stop him from achieving his dreams of creating a company and helping others understand Autism.  He has inspired all who have been fortunate to come in contact with him, as he has great follow through and responds to his emails and guestbook entries promptly. 

D.J. is working in conjunction with Café Décor and students at Campbell University and their Blank Canvas Art Club.  We are helping D.J. create a line of storybooks featuring his creations.  His ultimate goal is to teach children that physical and mental differences are okay and that everyone should be accepted for who they are, no matter how they appear on the inside and outside.  Everyone wants to be loved and he wants to help everyone especially children learn to love instead of learning to judge and being judged.