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new from Baltimore

schosports

Cookie Monster
Hello everybody! First, a big THANK YOU to all who have posted here. I've learned quite a few great tips here so far and I had to join to at least say thanks.
Anyway, born and raised here in Baltimore City, can't wait to move out to the country. I'm married and have a two year old daughter.

I graduated high school and went right into the family business, an automotive parts warehouse. While working days, I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, studying Graphic Design. Worked there nine years, did almost everything and the family sold the business. Before we sold, I had bought a BMW (a USED 318ti, not an expensive model) and fell in love with vehicles. So my next job was at local BMW dealership selling parts. I joined the BMW Car Club of America and started doing track events and racing autocross (all legal, no street racing).
Well, I then moved on to another local BMW dealer after the first dealership sold it's franchise and closed it's doors.
While doing the BMW parts thing, I still did a few night, graphic design classes at the Maryland Institute to keep me feeling creative.
As most of you can attest, once you get married, time really FLYS and I stopped night school.

About a year and a half ago I bought a used vinyl cutter for a couple reasons.
- I wanted to keep the creative juces flowing again.
- I wanted to do my own racing numbers and help out some of my fellow BMW racers.
- At my current dealership, the turnover was so bad I thought I could pay for my cutter by doing all the window lettering for the sales and service departments.
- Call me strange, but I have always wanted to do signs. I love seeing somthing I created, no matter how big or small.

Well, my Father-in-law owns a small embroidery business and started to send me a few small jobs for some of his customers. Not just signs and banners, but graphic design as well. I did some business windows, a few boats, a few BMW race cars, designed some company logos and I'm hooked. I'm not setting the world on fire but it very fulfilling to me.

That brings me to now.........
I just left my BMW parts job and I'm looking for a job for in sign business. I would like to learn all aspects of the biz, from design, fabrication to installs. I hope I could join a company and really contribute to it's groth and sucess by adding my design skills.
I going to post over in the employment forum and we'll see how it goes.

Sorry to ramble, thanks for reading, and look forward to being a member of Signs101.com.
 

Ken

New Member
Welcome from Beautiful BC.
I agree that working in a sign shop at first will help to give you a leg-up on just how things work ( or don't). Pay attention to the marketing focus of regional businesses and you may well find a niche that has not been satisfied.
Sounds like you've got a real good start to this endeavour and I wish you all the best...AND..a Happy New Year!
Ken
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Welcome from PA.

Wow, how much your story sounds like mine… except the part about my family owning a business… or the part about owning a BMW… or the part about racing… or the part about in-laws owning a business and sending work my way… actually only the part about being feeling strange is really close, the rest is, well, I don’t know why it sounded so familiar ??

Anyway, again... welcome to:signs101:.
 
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