Who’d have known that thirty years ago at the age of three, (only joking) when I went into a partnership and became my own boss for the very first time that all these years later the accumulation of knowledge has brought me to a place where I am proud to say I am launching ARC Studios as an agency.
I will go back a few years before that to go forward, I was mentored by the most amazing MD Michael Boland of one of the largest legal printers in the country. Michael educated me on the print and stationery trade and quickly noticed my natural flair for engaging with clients and encouraging them to buy. He still however made me learn the trade from each department and to him I am eternally grateful.
I took the leap of fate he had in me, and set up my own stationery company back in 1993. The business evolved and it is not too long before I was offering a print and design service to my stationery clients. I then sold the stationery company and launched ARC Printing.
It was during this time while offering a full print and design service to mainly the hospitality and beauty sector,( I mean who doesn’t love hanging around hotel foyers drinking coffee or sitting in a beauty therapists chair having work done while discussing what your are passionate about, design and print) that I noticed there was opportunity to provide a photography service to those who wanted to sell their business through the development of brochures. This was long before social media had taken over and is what it is today. I spoke to Colm who at that time was a director of the company, and asked him if he would turn his hobby into a profession… well for those of you who know Colm, the rest is history. He has won multiple awards for his work and continues to be recognised as one of Ireland’s leading commercial and architectural photographers. In fact he is triple nominated for Photographer of the Year 2023 with the IPPVA.
Anyway, what I am getting to is, now thirty years on, with the wealth of knowledge I have attained, through my ups and downs – and I will say the most challenging two years of my business career in 2020/21 – I am happy to say ARC Studios now offers the entire package to businesses who want to build brand awareness and drive sales through visual advertising. Commercial photography and video play major roles in all sales and marketing campaigns across all sectors but understanding brand identity and its role in business is so important and the first step in building any marketing campaign for our clients.
So, you see I have come full circle…little did I know that at 22 years of age that firstly I would still be self employed 30 years later and secondly, I now feel confident enough to launch ARC Studios as a multi-disciplinary agency a service that I have always offered to my clients in the past but was afraid to label it. I have finally grown up with my career… Happy anniversary to me!
ARC now provides the following services
Commercial photography and video
Corporate identity and brand guidelines
Design and print
Social media management and web development