design and print county durham

Hi my name is Valerie Palmer and I own Vanila Design & Print.

I have worked in the print industry for over 28 years on everything from business cards right through to exhibition stands - and everything in between.

In April 2007 the company I was working for moved to another town which meant a longer journey to work and back and also the need to buy a car as I used to walk to work each day.
I was also becoming increasingly disappointed in the way things were going in the print industry - including the use of sales reps, who would go to visit a customer to find out their requirements and then book the job in with their ideas of what the customer needed. I would then use this info to set up the initial proof, email it off and then get an email back saying 'this is not what I asked for!' I would then redo the proof after speaking to the customer and finding out what they did want and reproof, to then get an email back saying 'that's great, why didn't you do that the first time!'

I was starting to feel like I didn't know what I was doing and I was speaking to a lot of irate customers - and I really couldn't see myself continuing in the print industry the way things were going.

So, with my husband and families support, I set up Vanila Design & Print in May 2007 and have never looked back!

It was hard going for the first three months but since then I have built up a customer base - many of who repeat order on a regular basis and have also become business 'friends' as well as customers.

I love meeting new customers, visiting them at their premises to get to know them and their business business so that I know what they require - and delivering the final product is still a thrill.

I have a lot of contacts within the print industry so when I am sourcing prices for printing I ask around them all and then choose the most suitable for the job in hand (not necessarily the cheapest).

Check out my website at www.vaniladesignandprint.co.uk for more information about me and my company.

Thank you for reading this brief intro to me and my company - this is my first ever blog, but I am sure it will not be my last!