Big Picture - June/July 2020 - 15

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY YOU PARTNERED WITH
BRIAN ADAM, PRESIDENT AND OWNER OF OLYMPUS
GROUP AND BIG PICTURE EDITORIAL ADVISORY
BOARD MEMBER, TO LAUNCH OCG DENVER
(OCGDENVER.COM), AS WELL AS THE PROCESS OF
OPENING A PRINT SHOP IN ANOTHER STATE?
Denver was an up-and-coming part of our convention business,
but Denver had its challenges for us. We needed to find a way to
continue to service this market, and it was becoming apparent
that printing and shipping from Vegas wasn't a viable solution.
So, when an opportunity presented itself, we decided to partner
with Brian, whom we had already been in business with for four
or five years. I contacted him about targeting the Denver
market locally and he was all in. It's been a great relationship
overall and a great decision to work with him.
As far as the process is concerned, we decided to model
OCG after Color Gamut and Olympus. Both companies are
run very much alike. Brian and I flew to Denver and we held
a few days of interviews. We were able to find an amazing
group of team members in a short amount of time and from
there it was all Olympus Group. They flew their staff in and
out to set up and train until OCG was up and running, and let
me tell you, that group hit the ground running. I can't say
enough great things about Brian, Olympus Group, and our
new venture, OCG.
WHAT'S THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF
YOUR JOB?
There are no challenges only opportunities.
WHEN WE VISITED IN 2019, YOU MENTIONED
DONATING EXTRA FABRICS TO THE HUMANE
SOCIETY SO THEY CAN CREATE PILLOWS FOR THE
SHELTERED ANIMALS' CAGES. HOW IMPORTANT
IS SUSTAINABILITY AND PHILANTHROPY TO YOU
AND YOUR SHOP?

"From the creative
design to the final
installation, both
teams did an
amazing job,"
says Richards.

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF WORK
AND DO THEY EVER CROSS OVER INTO YOUR
PROFESSIONAL LIFE?
Outside of work... I'm not sure there is much outside of work
when the company you own is what you love.
THIS INTERVIEW WITH PAM WAS COMPLETED
PRE-PANDEMIC. I'VE ASKED HER TO GIVE AN
UPDATE ON HER BUSINESS:
I was on a returning full flight from Denver to Las Vegas
March 10 when they announced over the intercom that March
Madness in Vegas was officially canceled. Eighty percent of all
passengers were headed to Las Vegas to cheer on their family
or friend's college basketball team. We do not need to be
reminded what was to follow within the next two weeks. We
had 80 employees and zero business; what could we do? We
went from printing tradeshow graphics to making masks and
shields to help support hospitals, emergency shelters, family
members, and friends. Today, our normal day is planning for
the weeks to come and helping our city reopen to the new
normal. We are printing awareness signs, floor stickers,
hanging signs, and more. Working in today's world means
signs everywhere in every facility and not just your own. We
need to remind ourselves every chance we get to stand six feet
apart, wash our hands, and stay healthy. Heading back to the
convention center, hopefully very soon, will mean carrying a
bigger bag for the masks, hand sanitizers, and gloves. We must
do what needs to be done and understand we're all in this
together, and together we will succeed.

BIGPICTURE.NET

Very important. Actually, we found another resource for our
scrap material in a company here in Vegas called Klothes for
Kids (K4K). K4K is a nonprofit founded by a 14-year-old, Nijel
Murray. Nijel's family is involved in the foster care system here
in Las Vegas and their story is amazing. As Nijel's family would
foster children, these kids would leave with clothes that were
either too big or too small for them, and they were carrying
them around in a plastic trash bag. Nijel's parents did what they
could by rushing out and buying new clothes, but Nijel could tell
that his parents were stressed out about having to purchase
clothes for these kids, and at 14 he decided to do something
about it. He started his own non-profit that provides these kids,
who have had a really tough time in life, a duffle bag full of
clothes to get them going. When we heard this story, we thought
what an opportunity to help the environment and a great cause.
So, our sewing team gathered up all of our scrap cloth and
started making duffle bags. Once we had the bags, we contacted
Nijel and told him we wanted to help. We explained to him the
challenges we have with throwing away waste and we wanted to
make these for him in our free time. K4K loved the bags and we
are set up to run him some more when he runs out. Great story,
great kid, and a great cause. #ItTakesAVillage.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE SOFT SIGNAGE MARKET
IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? AND HOW WILL IT AFFECT
YOUR OFFERINGS?
It's anyone's guess, but we're pushing our strengths, ondemand. We want to see a soft signage market with a quality
turnaround time of under three hours from graphics to
shipping. As we get better, our turnaround times get faster,
and the demand gets higher. I expect the industry to follow
suit. On-demand is what we do best so we aim to be a leader
in the market.

http://www.OCGDENVER.COM http://www.BIGPICTURE.NET

Big Picture - June/July 2020

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