(Above & below) Karen, Wendy, Lissie, and Paris—the team behind Griffin Designs
I wrote a feature in the November issue of Signlink called ‘Boxing Clever’, which discussed how small sign companies are staying competitive with large sign houses due to their hands-on approach and entrepreneurial spirit. The same can definitely be said for West Sussex-based sign-makers, Griffin Designs.
I got an insight into the business from owner Karen Griffin, who is clearly passionate about the company. She also proves that you do not need a background in signage to get involved in the industry, explaining: “I was made redundant from a business development manager job and I went to a show with my father, who has always been in big sign businesses, and I ended up in the spur of the moment buying a rubber stamp machine, which led to the creation of Griffin Designs.
“I had a very happy year making rubber stamps until I had an accident and I was off my feet for eight months. It gave me time to think—the rubber stamps were so good that I was not getting very much repeat business. I spoke to my customers to find out what else they bought, and found it was vinyl lettering. Some wanted it for their vans or for the windows in their offices.”
It was then that Griffin Designs began to branch out, starting with reusable banners in response to a market that was looking to not make as much vinyl landfill waste. Griffin says this was the company’s first innovation and now the single biggest thing the company makes.
Expanding horizons
Griffin Designs covers products such as rubber stamps, vinyl lettering, reusable vinyl and gazebo banners, sign writing, and vehicle signage. However, Griffin decided it was best to diversify and created the new divisions, Stickers 4 Walls and Fabristick. Stickers 4 Walls is sold on Amazon, Etsy, and their own website in pre-cut shapes, and is aimed at individuals, while Fabristick is the ideal solution for businesses.
The soft matte material can be printed on in any size, and its biggest USP is that it can be crushed up and then pulled apart without stretching. The team has fun testing it to its limits, hosing it down and setting fire to it, with Griffin describing it as “indestructible”. It has an adhesive backing, so you can take it off a wall, replace the backing, and take it to your next event, for example.
Fabristick has been used at this hairdresser’s as the wood effect around the work stations
Some popular applications include lapel stickers for high-end charities and events, as it does not damage suede or leather like a normal sticky label, and point-of-sale displays in marquees at shows. Griffin also tells me it is sold into three continents, as well as to brands such as Superdry and Capita.
She says: “My son moved into rented accommodation with a list of rules of what you could and could not put on the walls. I thought ‘there must be something I can do’, because there are so many different vinyls, but not a lot that can be reused. I found a product at a trade show and we market tested it three years ago quite heavily. We struggled to profile cut it because it was sold as removable reusable wallpaper, so we had to register the name Fabristick, the know-how, and the machine to cut it.
“A lot of businesses are in rented premises and looking for a temporary product that they do not have to throw away at the end. We started off only selling it locally so we could keep an eye on it, but now we sell it on the website. It is really exciting.”
Around a year ago, Griffin Designs extended its premises to make room for a new Roland Versa Camm VP-300i. The installation of the machine was made possible through an enabling grant of £4,000 from the local council. Griffin says: “To have this huge machine is fantastic. All of our different products make sure the efficiency of the machine is maximised.”
Griffin Designs was able to buy a Roland Versa Camm VP-300i with help from an enabling grant from the council text
As well as the Roland, Griffin Designs houses two Puma III vinyl cutters, a heat press for making t-shirts, and a couple of laser printers.
Griffin says: “There are not a lot of premises nearby for A1 and B1 usage, retail sales and manufacturing. So, we decided to stay where we were and create more space. Within the year we will look to move again, probably outside of the district, to get the space we need. The move made a massive difference. I think you have got to think big, rather than for the short-term. Things have grown so much this year with Griffin Designs, Stickers 4 Walls, and Fabristick; they are all racing up in turnover.”
Personal touch
Griffin is a great advocate for diversifying as a small business. She explains: “I think small companies are in a unique position because they have got the flexibility of adapting their products or moving into new markets quite quickly, which perhaps some of the bigger sign houses cannot. We can also produce these quickly. We had a really big customer come to us recently needing large banners within four days, we were able to do it, and now we have all their business. Also, people like people. As there are only four of us here, our customers get to know everyone.”
I think small companies are in a unique position because they have got the flexibility of adapting their products or moving into new markets quite quickly”
On the subject of the team, Griffin elaborates: “They are all fantastic and we all have quite unique skills. Wendy, who works in the workshop, is so good at hand finishing everything, making sure there are no spelling errors and that everything goes out perfectly.
“We also have Paris who is a university student, who comes to us one or two days a week. She does the most amazing how-to videos and we get a lot of business off the back of those. People feel like they know us because they see us in the videos. That is the uniqueness of a small business, you can be really approachable without actually meeting someone.”
In the future, Griffin says the company would like to find new uses for Fabristick and maximise marketing opportunities. “I think we need to be clever with social marketing, I am sure that it is the future,” she says, adding: “As we do not necessarily have the capability between us, we will be looking to recruit maybe more social marketing aware youngsters to help us.”
As we wrap up our conversation, Griffin offers her advice to anyone else starting up a new business: “Have the confidence to turn something down, and most importantly, listen to your customers. If ten people are asking for something, you know it is worth looking into.”
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