Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike & Keli Weeks.
Hi Mike & Keli, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our journey started with the search for the perfect Christmas gift for a creative tinkerer. We were at an artisan fair at Watters Creek in Plano, Texas in 2018. There we walked up to a booth that had an old bed slinger slowly printing along with several 3D printed goods for sale. At that moment Mike was hooked and yes, we still have the first print that he could not leave the market without. Mike just could not stop talking about how cool those machines were. Then it hit me. He loves a challenge, working with his hands, and building computers. The most perfect gift that I could give my Honey, who, in his spare time, would go around the house fixing things that were not broken! So I did extensive research and went to Microcenter to purchase an Ender 3, 3D printer with a couple of rolls of filament. Christmas day Mike opened his best gift ever! (7 years later and I still have not found anything to top that one!) He immediately said “I know exactly where I am going to put this!” and we did not see him until supper was ready.
Over the next few months, the printer was always running, the bed was continuously in need of leveling with copy paper (if you know you know) and making objects for friends and family. He could not wait for the prints to finish. It took sooo long to print anything. So Mike, being Mike, went and bought two more printers so he could print more things while he was waiting for the others to finish. Mike started modifying the printers and slicers to speed them up, make filament changes faster, stop the incessant bed leveling hassle and you guessed it, he bought more printers. He started learning how to CAD design and work with manipulating 3D designs from start to finish. By the end of 2022, it got to a point that our home was overrun with 3D prints, filament, and 3D printers. We turned our game room and pool table into a mini 3D print farm. I tell you what, sleeping above all those printers was like sleeping on an airplane. We enjoyed everything about 3D printing so much that we wanted to share it with more than just our immediate circle.
Over the next couple of years we did artisan fairs, pop-up markets, farmers markets, Southfork Ranch 3rd Monday Trade Days, McKinney Trade Days, and the world’s largest flea market, First Monday Trade days, Canton, Texas. We loved all of it! It was so much fun introducing people to the enumerable possibilities 3D printing could do for individuals and businesses. Talking to people about what 3D printing is, how designing works, how the machines work, answering questions, and sharing tips and tricks with fellow enthusiasts was the highlight of all of those markets. It was a lot of work though. Mike was a generator technician and I am a teacher, both full time jobs and 3D printing, printing, Always printing. Getting ready for shows/markets every weekend meant us signing up for them, having and packing enough inventory, tables, tablecloths, displays, signs, banners, 3d printers, tents and fans/heaters in our car and driving to the venue. Then when we got there we were setting up tables, signs, displays and products. During the shows we would spend the time talking about 3D printing, sharing our story, and selling our 3D prints. At closing time we would pack everything back in the car and drive home, pass out and repeat the process Friday, Saturday, Sunday and sometimes on Thursday. Monday morning we would unpack the car and head to our full time jobs. After work we would go through inventory and go to Microcenter for our filament.
Well, we are not spring chickens anymore and that was a lot! We got to thinking and did a ton of talking and brainstorming. What if we never had to go to Microcenter to buy filament? What if we never had to find venues, travel, load the car, set up, take down, or unload the car? How can we still build and inform the community without going to shows/markets? Where are we going to get the funds to start our business? Should we have a kiosk at the mall? Is a brick and mortar even possible? Then, our daughter came home one day and said she went to the leasing office at the mall where she worked and that if we did not open a store there, we were crazy! After speaking to the leasing office and running through many financial scenarios we decided it was worth the risk! We added a DBA; 3D Print HUBS tm to our parent company. My Honey quit his job of 38 years. We scraped together every last penny we could find. Being a new concept and a new business we were unable to obtain a loan or any funding. We have done this all on our own with the exception of our daughter’s help here and there (with the promise of a few bucks or food).
We opened our additive manufacturing storefront in September of 2024 and have never looked back! The response from the public has been amazing and so supportive. We wanted a store that was more than filament and supplies. We wanted a place where people could feel welcome and comfortable to ask questions, get good service, with knowledgeable staff. A place that was affordable to the general public. A local “go to store” to get advice, commiserate in failed prints, get things printed if they did not have a printer, and get help with ideas and designs. We feel that our store front 3D Print HUB and website www.3DprintHUBs.com has done just that for the community. We make it easy for you to get a quote online at our website and we are starting up a YouTube channel where you can see all we do. While I still have a full time day job, I do my best to help out where I can. Mike is currently holding most of the weight. Running the store is not easy but we feel like we are helping and giving back to the community and that is the truest of rewards!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our biggest struggle is getting help financially to fund machines and filament. It has also been difficult not being able to get a partnership or purchase filament as a wholesale/reseller in the US.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What sets us apart from others is that we are family owned and self taught. We care about our community and genuinely want to help others make their dreams come true. Our motto is “You dream it, we make it!” We are dedicated to getting the job done right not taking shortcuts to get it done fast.
We specialize in additive manufacturing and 3D designing for commercial, industrial, and individuals.
We are known for excellence in personal hands on customer service.
Here is what a normal day entails above and beyond helping in-store guests:
Check and Respond to emails
Send out quotes, prints are ready, and Invoices
Plan appointments and tasks
Make any calls that need to be made
Clear off beds, Restart prints
Send items to print
Change and Refill filament
Check on printer repairs for store
Lunch break~ Eat something!
Design Time
Get quotes made
Repair machines in the front of the store
Take videos for shorts
Clear off beds
Start prints from list for store
Wrap up today’s tasks and prepare materials for the next day
Check emails
Check new quotes folder
Clear print Que of finished prints
Clear To Do list board
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Mike was in the Air Force for 15 years and was a generator technician for 38 years. Keli is a Jill-of-all-trades. She is an artist, an Art Teacher, a Chef, she has worked every position in a restaurant from dishwasher to General manager, a nutritionist, used to be a Realtor, a Banker, a home healthcare worker, and her first job was delivering news papers at the age of 9.
Pricing:
- $2.69+
- Reasonable
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.3dprinthubs.com
- Instagram: 3dprinthubs
- Facebook: 3D Print HUBs
- Youtube: @3DPrintHUBs
- Other: @3D_Print_HUBs
