I can't believe it... I worked 8 jobs for a week each and it's over! To be honest, I'm a bit relieved. It's also a bit unnerving since I'm back to the dilemma of "what's next." This summer has been extraordinary. Before I start on a soapbox about it, let me share about job #8.
This week, I was in my hometown of Cleveland, TN, working with At Your Service, a small printing business. At Your Service is a one man operation, consisting of printing genius Stan Pegram. Stan and I met when I worked at Scott's Bike Shop earlier in the summer. After hearing about his work that week, I ordered a shirt from him. I was blown away by the quality of my custom Boise State jersey so naturally, I wanted to work with Stan for a week!
Stan specializes in sublimation printing. Unlike screenprinting and other types of printing that print on top of the surface, sublimating gets the ink into the fiber of the shirt. Besides printing shirts, Stan also offers really cool photo gifts that can be customized with logos, graphics, or photos.
When he wakes up in the morning, Stan has an easy stroll to work: his workspace is his 1200 square foot basement! It's really a cool set-up with the computer, the heat presses, mug presses, and samples of his past work.
On Monday, I started my job with Stan and learned more about how he got into the business. Oddly enough, the business grew out of his wife's love for quilting. To make a long story short, Stan's wife saw really unique quilts that had sublimated printing on them. After sharing with Stan, Stan researched, bought the gear, and started doing projects for people in the community.
Some of his most popular items are name badges. In hospitals, offices, meetings, and more, name badges are worn. Stan makes really classy looking badges!
Why did I choose this job? (working as a printer)
When I met Stan earlier in the summer, we hit it off. He's the sweetest man you've ever met and I was intrigued by his home-based business. As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I knew I would really benefit from spending more time learning from Stan.
It's interesting to note that the employer played a major role in the job that I chose for my final week. Sometimes in life, you are going to have the opportunity to work with a really great person. The job itself might not be your forte' or something that revs you up, but it might be worth taking the job to learn.
So, to get back to answering the question. I chose the job so I could work and learn from Stan, not because I absolutely love printing things. Fair enough?
Monday Recap:
First, Stan showed me how he prepares graphics and text on his laptop. He uses CorelDraw software to edit his graphics and then prints them.
Stan received a huge order for car dash plates for an antique car show. I'm not very informed about car shows, but each attendee receives a dash plate to recognize their presence at the show. Stan had to print 400 for the show!
The bottom picture shows Stan taping the plates to the paper that has the image to be transferred. After he tapes the plates on, they are placed in a hot press for 60 seconds. After cooling off, they're done!
It was a busy first day and I did loads of taping! I had fun though and learned a lot.
Stay posted for more details about my week at the printer!
