I'm a newcomer to this blogging lark so please bear with me as I jump out of my comfort zone and share with you some of my experiences.
The shop has been online for a month or so now and I've taken on a host of new challenges since deciding, about six months ago, to set it up. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you about them in these posts as the weeks and months go by.
First, though, a bit about me. I've worked in the printing industry since I left school at 16 and became an Apprentice Photolithographic Retoucher. School and I had not been on the same wavelength for quite some time and we were going nowhere. But once I attended college on day release, I became interested in learning and studying again. So much so that I ended up, thanks largely to the backing of my generous employer, with a degree in Printing Technology.
Since that time, I carried on my love for learning about printing; I've been a Lecturer, teaching others about printing; I've acted as a Consultant to printing companies; and I've successfully managed Graphic Reproduction and Printing companies in and around Leeds and Yorkshire in the UK.
In 2002 I took the plunge and started working for myself thanks to the generous support of my wife without whom I couldn't have achieved half of what I have. I bought a large format giclée printing machine, adapted my retouching and colour management skills to the digital environment, and started helping Creatives bring their artworks to market in the form of high quality giclée prints. Not long after setting up as a Giclée Printer, I created the shopforprints.com site to help my customers promote and sell their work.
And that's how things have carried on pretty successfully for the last twenty years.
Peter