We work remotely with clients not only here in the northwest, but nationwide and we have a few clients abroad.
Having been in the graphics industry since 1986, I’ve designed a variety of things, but these days most hours are spent on website maintenance, upgrades and troubleshooting. However, I usually have at least one website, a logo or two, and other print production going at any given time.
One job we’ve been doing more of lately is redesigning websites I originally created 8-12 years ago. Gotta freshen up those sites! Styles have changed.
For our web maintenance clients we keep websites as up-to-date and secure as possible as a preventative measure. We’re always here to support clients who are having website issues or need more features.
New web builds and other larger projects normally begin via email and/or phone, followed by coordination to produce a project plan, budget and schedule. The occasional video conference or face-to-face meeting may also be necessary depending. We take budgets and schedules seriously and do our best to keep things running smoothly.
Work History & Experience
(Am noticing the older I am the longer this gets lol!)
After high school I went through the Visual Media program at SFCC, where we got one of the first digital Compugraphic computers available. It was very high end – you typed code in one end, and “galleys” of finished typeset columns came out the other. Then it was run through a processor to develop. While taking Visual Media I got a work study job in the print shop helping produce the SFCC Class Schedule on a quarterly basis. We would receive files transferred via modem from a Wang computer in the district office, and run them through translation tables that converted Wang files into something the Compugraphic could understand. We then finished prepping the book for printing. The whole SFCC was a great experience, Visual Media was an incredible program with an incredible instructor.
After graduating in 1986, I worked for a stamp company where we used a Compugraphic 7500 (see pic — that exact machine). It had a first generation computer frontend, a big drum inside where you wrapped the font filmstrips, and a light tight container to catch the exposed film so we could transport it to the processor. According to what we typed into the computer, the typesetter made clunking and whirring sounds as it rotated the filmstrip to the right letter and passed light through it onto the photo paper. Kind of sounds excruciating to witness now that everything is so fast, but is a fond memory. After the typesetting paper was processed we would cut and paste chunks of text where desired on a blueline paper, then made films we sent to either the sign or stamp department so they could finish creating the end product.
Then I worked in a prepress/graphic design studio with contemporary Compugraphic equipment — digital like what we used at SFCC. Soon after I started, the first Macs were put in our shop — I believe the Mac SE was our first — sometime 1987-88. That was a nice studio, we always had the best computers and equipment.
In 1993 I started a prepress shop in Spokane. Graphic designers in town would send us files on floppy, cd, or zip disks (oh my!). We opened these files on a Mac and prepped them for offset printing. Then we queued the files to the imagesetter where they were exposed onto photo paper or film. We then processed it, and delivered to whatever printer the graphic designer specified to be plated and printed.
While in the prepress shop we setup our own web server with a photo library selling my friend’s professional local photos. AOL dialup. Need I say more. By the time I left the prepress business we had gone from building websites via raw html, to using Adobe Pagemill, to finally Adobe GoLive.
After selling the prepress shop around 2001 I moved to Friday Harbor where I was blessed to work with 2 of the nicest people ever. We created websites, logos and other print matter for island clients.
7 or so years later I relocated to Bellingham and continued freelancing remotely for many of the same Spokane and Friday Harbor connections I had made along the way.
After my youngest graduated from high school, around 2013, I moved to Glacier near Mount Baker where I live today. Most that know me would say I have a bit of an obsession with solitude, so this works well – surrounded by mountains, forests and rivers is amazing.
In May 2019 my son Ian joined me in the business, we’ve been working together nonstop to get him familiar with every client and their needs. It’s been really great working together, he’s very smart, and as a bonus, very good natured. Looking maybe like this year I can get away to Bali for a vacation knowing Ian’s got your backs! Of course my laptop comes along just in case though. I can use a laptop in a hammock right?
Besides Ian and I, we’ve got other great freelancer buddies to help fill in the gaps for specialty programming and overflow work.