We produced
some business cards for a very special person a couple of weeks ago.
The cards
themselves were unremarkable – simply black ink on white card but they will
probably be valued by all those who receive one in the next month or so.
The cards
were ordered on behalf of William Speakman-Pitt (better known as just Bill
Speakman).
He is famous
because he is one of only six living recipients of the highest military honour
this country can bestow.
He has been
awarded the most prestigious military award for gallantry – the Victoria Cross.
It was
awarded for his considerable acts of bravery when serving with the Black Watch
during the Korean War.
He has now made
a decision to donate his medals to the country of Korea rather than display
them on his chest at the Chelsea Hospital.
A full
account of his heroics and background to the story was shown on television and online
at the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-32396241).
He is
currently in Korea to attend a number of commemorative events.
When he meets
up with other veterans and various dignitaries – he wants to sign and hand out
the business cards as a small memento.
Who Else Have We Done
Printing For?
This got me
thinking about the printing we have done for other famous people or interesting
characters over the last twenty years or so.
There have
been various politicians, knights of the realm, seriously wealthy businessmen,
sportsmen and a few very successful entrepreneurs.
Quite a lot
of celebrities want postcards that they can sign and hand out or sell at
various events they are attending.
The problem
with dealing with some businessmen or entrepreneurs is we often do not
recognise them when they come in. And
appearances can be deceptive. We never
try to make any immediate judgement.
One
seemingly “eccentric” customer pulled up
in his jeep on the pavement outside our premises to order some printing – wearing
just shorts and a T-shirt we later realised he had been a founder of one of
Ireland’s largest businesses and was just in England visiting some friends.
Then there
is Sir Malcolm Guthrie with a background in motor racing, who calls in occasionally
wearing his Stetson hat and cowboy attire, and exuding his “larger than life”
personality.
The Power of Television
But it is
the power of television that makes personalities recognisable.
And when we
see people from TV in real life we almost assume we know them.
We don’t
often get TV stars walking through the door.
But earlier this year a gentleman who has been reading the local evening
news on ITV for the last 20 years or so came in and ordered a complete range of
personalised stationery.
It was like
serving an old friend rather someone you met for the first time over the
counter!
The problem
is even worse for the TV “soap” stars.
They could
be on our screens a few times a week and usually have to portray a completely
different personality to their own.
One of our
local customers was Johnny Briggs who played Mike Baldwin in Coronation
Street. He was often cast as the “bad
guy” in the programme and was often confronted by members of the public trying
to persuade him to “change his ways”.
Even when
collecting his children from school he would often prefer to wait inconspicuously
in his car with a hat on rather than stand by the school gates.
The international reach
of film and television
Another of
our regular customers became a millionaire when he created an ingenious piece
of software to stop all our computers from failing at the turn of the
millennium.
It was never
required because the computers kept working but his contracts with most of the
world’s leading computer manufacturers funded the real “love of his life” which
was making films.
He set up
his own production companies and created a number of short films using some
famous actors in the later years of their careers.
Sadly in
about three cases they turned out to be the last films they made – one of these
actors happened to be Norman Wisdom.
For those
who don’t know Norman Wisdom – he was probably the most famous actor in Albania
in the early days of television.
His
particular brand of comedy was acceptable to the communist censors – who wanted
to avoid showing anything glamourous from the decadent “western world”.
And because
this particular brand of comedy was mainly visual it could be easily
“translated” internationally.
As it turned
out that this particular short film became particularly popular in Albania and
was a roaring success.
And it also was
around this time that another of our long-standing customers sold a series of
cartoon programmes that became well-known across the Soviet Union.
Jim Driscoll
from Stourbridge created the “Shoe People” cartoons based upon reading his
children stories at bedtime and little realised that it would be such an
international success.
My current
graphic designer was one of those artists who drew the characters and scenes by
hand before the days of computer animation.
The success
was again the result of communist countries trying to avoid the expansion of
Hollywood into the homes of their own citizens.
However, Jim
did have one major problem to overcome.
How was he to be paid when the rouble had virtually no value in the
western world at that time?
The answer
was payment in art treasures and artifacts.
In return
for the cartoons the Russians supplied paintings and various artworks that
could be converted to hard currency in England.
His son,
Adam, was put in charge of A4 Publications, a company set up solely to sell the
paintings through contacts in the art world.
We managed
to print some magazines and catalogues for mail order and it would be
interesting to see what value these paintings would have in the current day.
So, we never
really know where some of our printed products will end up.
And
hopefully, there will be a few people so impressed with our business cards that
we will start selling online to customers in Korea very soon!
