Anyone walking into OffCenter Designs at 115 W. Georgia Ave. in Gunnison is greeted by the whir and hum of machines, along with friendly faces and even a dog or two.
For the first time since the original owner and founder Kirsten Dickey opened the shop, the business has passed to a new set of owners: husband and wife team Kylie Collins and Matt Galvez. Collins and Galvez are new to the graphic design and printing industries, but not to the area. The couple has lived in the valley for ten years — Collins working as a teacher and Galvez as a fly-fishing guide.
“We’re excited by the opportunity to take over such an established business, grow something that will be ours and become more rooted in the Gunnison Valley,” Collins said.
In addition to teaching 4th grade at Crested Butte Community School, Collins also spent several years working in development and marketing at the Crested Butte Nordic Center. Her experience in marketing and interest in graphic design led to the decision to jump into the printing and promotional products business.
Dickey started OffCenter Designs in the early 2000s as a freelance graphic design business. She purchased her first wide-format printer for sign-making and, over time, the business evolved into a sign shop, growing into and out of several brick-and-mortar spaces. The business has since expanded its services to include screenprinting, embroidery, vehicle wraps and decals and promotional product-making. It has become a popular source of custom-made merchandise for many local businesses, athletic teams, event planners, government clients and non-profit organizations.
“The business has been so successful because of the Gunnison community and the fact that people value supporting local businesses,” said Dickey.
OffCenter Designs’ slogan reflects the importance of visible, custom branding: “Because everyone should know your business.”
“We are a local business that helps promote other local businesses,” said Dickey. “[We print custom] mugs, backpacks, hoodies, hats, pencils, candy, vehicles — basically anything you need your logo on, we can help with that,” Dickey said.
OffCenter Designs is in the process of renovating an attached garage area, which will allow the business to offer their vehicle wrapping and decal services year-round.
“We want to learn everything that we can, continue to grow the business, streamline things, keep working with the great customer base that Kirsten has built up and welcome any new customers that want to work with us,” Collins said.
During the transition, Dickey, along with the four OffCenter Designs employees, are mentoring and training Collins and Galvez while they learn the ropes of the business.
“Everyone has been super supportive and helpful,” Collins said.
Though Dickey has passed the torch of ownership, she and her husband Chris are still the owners of the Paper Clip Copy Center, which shares a building with the print shop. Dickey plans to stick around the shop, not only to mentor the new owners, but also to continue working as an assistant in the copy center.
“We were thinking that it might be time to slow things down in my life a little bit, but I’m not going to stop working. I’ll still be around a little bit — when I’m not sipping a margarita in Mexico,” Dickey said with a smile.
(Gia Wright can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or gia@gunnisontimes.com.)
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