Eric Gidley – Our First ImPRESSive Dealer Spotlight!
Today’s ImPRESSive Dealer Spotlight is on Eric Gidley of Gidley GRAFX.
Eric wanted a way to use the knowledge he gained in college, where he studied graphic design.
He loved the creative outlet and frankly, wanted a way to pay down the student loan debt he acquired while studying.
A friend of his had a heat press and a vinyl cutter, which introduced Eric to the world of customized t-shirts and window decals.
Within 48 hours of announcing on his Facebook page that in addition to his full-time night job, he was going to be working in this space, he received 8 orders.
Because those were smaller quantities, he was able to cut the vinyl himself and do the necessary weeding involved to produce the shirts.
However, when his first 50-shirt order came in, he quickly realized that the amount of work required to keep on the path he was on required time he didn’t have.
Fortunately, a customer asked if he used Easy Prints, which is what made him find Transfer Express and the world of heat press transfers.
When his friends were going on a hiking trip and wanted to have custom shirts done, Eric decided this would be a good test to see if he liked doing transfers.
He couldn’t believe it when he was able to complete the 10-shirt order in mere minutes. He was hooked.
Before finding Transfer Express, Eric found himself forced to turn down large orders due to the time involved with producing them.
When a tow truck company came calling with an order for 150 shirts, the 3-4 day turnaround time this customer needed didn’t phase Eric – even though he had another 120 piece order to fulfill that same week.
He turned to the Easy View platform to create a one-color job so it would be shipped fast. He easily met the deadline and was hungry for more.
One issue Eric was encountering was with transfers that they were inconsistent in his application. He learned that though his $300 press was great to get started on and serves as a great backup, the inability to control the pressure was hurting his quality.
He purchased a Hotronix press and found that the investment in himself was paid off with a mere 2 orders.
Today, Eric is working on building out his workspace in his basement. He still uses the vinyl cutter on small jobs, but wishes he’d found the world of transfers sooner than he did.
Eric’s new work space
Join us in giving a big high five to Eric. If you’d like to reach out to him, he’s very active on our Closed Facebook Dealer Page, or you can contact him at:
Website: www.gidleygrafx.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gidleygrafx
Instagram: @gidley_grafx
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