Today we’d like to introduce you to Ed Salas.
Ed, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
This started as my childhood’s favorite hobby, grew up spending my evening and late nights drawing comic books and superheroes, discovering new techniques, from pencils to oil painting, acrylic paints, and just making cartoons of my family, started to sell my drawings since elementary, school mates asking me for custom drawings or characters and of course, they were willing to pay for… always applied my skills to a way to advertise, for school projects or small business or sales going on around my neighborhood, before I realized I was doing graphic design, at 14 years old did my first official project for a government department, and ever since I knew this is what I want to do for a living, back in 2007 created Start the Graphics as a side business while I was working for a record company making Cd Covers, DVD cover and Posters, I was getting subcontracted to create the graphics for a web site developer and needed a company name for my paychecks but nothing really happened by then, in 2011 moved to the Dallas area from Mexico City, and started to work for a small sign company where did learned a lot about this industry.
After five years working for them basically was running the shop all on my own and the potential was so much more than what the owners wanted to take that little shop to, so I took on my own, with no savings and no job, asked a friend for a loan so I started this business with -$4000 that I used to buy some equipment that got installed on my 1 bedroom apartment I lived with my wife, we had to get rid of our dinning furniture to get these machines there, after three months was able to rent a bigger house and used two of the bedrooms, ones as office and another as production room, did all the training possible I could afford for vehicle wrapping (isn’t cheap at all), worked for few companies just to make some extra cahs and earn more experience, applying my design skills created a brand and a style that my customers can recognize and stands from the average wrap designers.
After two years struggling and grinding, became Certified Wrap Installer, now knowing the skill of installing a wrap and being my self who create the designs, and the prints was able to put together something some shops aren’t able since this is a three person skill really hard to make flow, (a designer doesn’t know the complexities of installing a vehicle or vice versa, while we do, pre-production, production and pos-production, every thing seems to flow more naturally, with the big support of my wife, helping me to admin the shop, and customers knowing our true potential, we always got requested to create not only companies logos, but their business cards, work gear, and vehicles, so we invested on screen printing equipment to quit outsourcing these services, now we do everything in home, screen printing embroidery large format printing and of course our main thing the vehicle wraps, not only providing a service but helping small business owners to add value, quality work and professionalism to make their companies look as professional as any other big corporations has been the key of out continuous growth, with plans to expand and always do better, me and my wife are currently looking for a new spot that will host not just the business but the opportunity to also create jobs and give back to others.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Is never smooth, there’s always ups and downs, of course, is not that simple to make money, especially out of an artistic type of service, my thing is to design, to create images and numbers not always get along, especially when you have to face all the legal requirements and taxation obstacles that you find on the way, from having a place (shop) that creates expenses, keep up with supplies and the booking of a business aren’t part of an artist. Fortunately, my wife has been there to back me up on that aspect.
Please tell us about Start The Graphics.
1 Graphic Design, 2 Vehicle Wraps, 3 Custom Shirts, 4 Printing Solutions, 5 Embroidery, 6 Small and large Signage. We specialize in graphic design, and we always thrive for the best quality we can offer, not only on our products but our service. Everything we create is made from scratch for every customer, so what it sets us apart from other companies is that itself, our work is never generic or average, we’re not here to make more money, we’re here to be the best so we never hesitate to give out best on every project.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Of course, my wife that as to put up with me and this upside-down lifestyle, me staying till 3 am sometimes not even getting back home for sleep, always making sure our job is done properly and in time, over the time we have created a good team, Sara Hawkings (my wife), Shelby Turner, Andria Hawkings, and Trey Rhodes have given their best to help us grow this place where is at now, I starter on my own in 2016, I held the forth for over two years before my wife quitted her job to be full-time involver at the shop, early 2019 Shelby joined the team and recently in 2020 Andria and Trey, worth to mention my baby girl that born in January 2020 has been all the time at the shop this little girl is already part of our every day and most definitely my inspiration and well to go every day.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3105 Lomita Dr. Ste. 107B Lancaster, TX 75146
- Phone: 9728252789
- Email: ed.salas@stgwraps.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stgwraps/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Startthegraphics
- Other: stgwraps.com
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