Maura Blaney And Courtney Moore—The Women Behind The Scene

Nestled on picturesque Stanton Lane in Mystic, CMB Creative Group is a full service ad agency and home business, celebrating five years in business this July. With a strong local following, owners Maura Blaney, 30, and Courtney Moore, 40, double team projects and provide what they call one stop shopping. 

As a youth, Moore straddled both Mystic and Ohio with parents living in both places. After college at Ohio State, Moore headed here nine years ago to finish up her degree in English and Journalism. 

Moore worked at the Middletown Press as a reporter and stepped into the design department out of necessity—a one-way street she’s been with ever since.

Niantic native, Blaney attended Plymouth State for graphic design and returned to Mystic. She and Moore met working at a local ad agency together and decided to team up. When not working at CMB, Blaney can often be seen helping out with the family business working an occasional weekend at Sea Swirl.

“Our transition [from communication] was seamless, so many clients stuck with us which was nice,” Moore said.

Booming with marine industry clients, Moore and Blaney’s client list includes Ocean Commotion, The Real McCoy at , Majestic Jewelers, P&G and .

Paying work is always steady which allows the duo to immerse themselves in large-scale volunteer projects such as the Hospice annual regatta and Art After Dark at .

“We are both on the regatta committee for Hospice South Eastern Connecticut. Last year we raised over 50,000 dollars for Hospice,” Moore said.

Moore and Blaney offer their services to the committee and have created a new website for the upcoming event this July. In addition, the two have successfully helped to create Art After Dark, a new venue for the younger crowd, a live art and music series followed by an art auction at Mystic Art Center from April through October.

Moore admits she enjoys feeling rooted, “Having gone back and forth for so many years, it’s nice to have a permanent home and I have a lot of family around which is nice.”

Although she rarely takes time off, when she does, sailing and dining at Daniel Packer Inne and the Seahorse are a few of her favorite local activities.

As for Blaney she likes Mystic's simple offerings: ”I live in downtown Mystic so I love to walk around downtown—it’s gorgeous with all of the historic houses. I also like to see live music and get together with friends.”

Although Blaney and Moore have seen a shift in advertising from newspaper to social media, they're thrilled they've been able to keep their clients happy.

“It’s just the two of us but we work hard for our clients and we love being our own bosses.” Moore continued: “Having a small town business allows us the opportunity to experience small town community.”