Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Farren.
Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My Partner (Gilbertto Johnson) has been Screenprinting since 1986. This was his outlet for his artwork. I came along later, around 1992. Gil continued to screenprint and operate his small business. I was working for a large corporation and was offered a transfer from Auburn Hills to Grand Rapids. After consideration, we decided to make a fresh start and move. Gil closed his business, and after moving and settling, he went to work for a corporation as well. 2011 brought changes for me, and I decided that it was time for me to leave my corporate job. After taking about a month off, we decided that it would be good to open the screen-printing business back up and offer embroidery as well. We opened back up for business in September of 2011. We opened in what was then Centerpointe Mall. When the remodel came about, the management had all the small businesses move out. We found a nice small location on Wealthy Street NE. We were there from the end of 2012 until 2016. In 2016, we moved into the larger building that we are currently in. Having the space to expand has allowed us to offer sublimation and vinyl htv as well as the Screenprinting and embroidery. We are currently adding edible images that can be applied to cakes, cookies, and other food items. We are not going to do the baking of anything, just providing the customer with the images so that they had easily add them to a blank product for almost instant customization.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
NO. Not many things have went smoothly. Right purchasing all new equipment and getting open, the Mall informed us that we would have to move out. They didn’t have an exact date at the time but told us it would be based upon when the construction reached our location. When they finally let us know that we would have to close, they gave us 7 days to be out. We hadn’t had enough time to find a location and were forced to move home for a bit. It was then that we were introduced to the building on Wealthy. We went and looked at it, the building was filled with construction supplies, and didn’t even have a working furnace. We began moving all the items to the basement and spent the Thanksgiving of 2012 having the furnace guys hook up the heat. We were so appreciative that they took their time away from their families to complete the job. Initially, they had believed that they would have been finished two days earlier. The time on Wealthy was nice, not without problems, and the building was just way too small for us. We began looking for a new location in 2015. Once we found a location, the remodel began; there were two fires before we could get moved in. The wait was worth it. Covid had an impact on us since all businesses were initially forced to close, we didn’t know what we were going to do for income. We found that customers could ship items to us or leave them in a containment area. We made it through.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, the majority of the jobs that we do are either Screenprinted or embroidered. We are trying to add more sublimation this year as well as the printed edible images. We are both proud that we can work together with very little drama and that the high majority of our customers are completely satisfied. We specialize in custom items, no design is ever ours, but the customers. We take jobs that are as small as 1 piece and have completed jobs that are in the 1000s of pieces. I think that our care with customers and attention to detail is one of the things that keep our customers coming back.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Well. quitting a job and taking the step into self-employment was huge for me. We went from having a constant, steady income to the uncertainty of any income at all. Things have been tight at times, but we believe in each other and keep pushing ahead. Every time that we can add another service, we are proud of each other.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: wedocustom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wedo.customscreenprinting?__tn__=%2Cd-UC*F
