Our Story
With over 45 years in the trade (okay, one of us has forty five years but the rest of us are pretty good too!) we have a little bit of know how and a lot of passion for all things Print and Design but let us tell you a little more about how we became the almighty Tell Design & Print!
1957 and onwards...
December 1957, our Supreme Leader, Company Founder & All Around Office Grump or Tommy was born, 60s fashion reined supreme and at that point all he wanted to be was a football megastar. Came pretty close too, but it turns out he doesn't like being told what to do...who knew! However it didn't take long for his printing career to start after he left (or was chased) out of school!
1974 & Beyond...
1974 Ser Grump started his apprenticeship in George C. FairService, a General Printers & Wedding Stationers on Bain Street in Glasgow. He initially started out as the general dogs body and was the butt of a few practical jokes, being sent for a long stand, cheese & banana crisps, you know 70s banter! Its also the same place he got a few black eyes from swinging doors...ahem! However never one to be held back Tommy (at only 17) asked to be trained on the Linotype 48, which no one else wanted to work cause it was too hot to handle, just like the man himself!
The 1980s
Aside from having the best hair in the world our Tommy had quite a decade in the 80s. Working in Armac Printing Co. Ltd, Swains, K & N Studio, McNaughton & Sinclair and Finally Artwork Associates! In the 80s the printing trade was booming, and Tommy went from being a Linotype operator to a typesetter (120 p/m thank you very much!), to a paste up artist and you know general badass and from the dogs body to the actual boss man!
1988-1995
In January 1988 & July 1990 Tommy produced his best work, his two really really cute daughters (I'm the bossy looking blonde one - also an accurate description of what its like to work with me now), oh and he did some work in London in those years too at Centre Media! Apparently on his first day in his new job in London his boss said theres beer in the fridge, help yourself...now thats a printing trade I want to get involved in! The printing trade was crazy in London, and the whole Kelly clan was almost uprooted to go live there, but the call of the Scottish Wilds was too strong and here we are.
1995 - 2007
So we are jumping ahead a whole decade here, I am aware. But at this point you have probably stopped reading and you don't even care! So I'm just going to do what I want. So from 1995 Tommy stayed in the Glasgow area, he couldn't bear to
be away from his family (and by that I mean the football team
he also happens to run) working for Bureau Graphic, Campsie Litho, Hay Nisbet, Digital Imaging & Scottish and Universal Newspapers. If there was a job he worked it and when there wasn't one he did a little Freelance, covering sick leave, maternity leave and holidays wherever and whenever he could. But after five years working in the newspapers from 2002 - 2007 Tommy finally decided (what we already knew) he really hates someone else being his boss, and so began...
The Tell Design & Print Years!
Okay, so why Tell Design and Print, well let me tell you (see what I did there?). Tommy wanted to name the company after what was most important to him and since he couldn't name it Football he went with us, Thomas, Elizabeth, Lauran & Liane...TELL. Get it? Good right! Tommy started the business in 2007 and rented out a little office space in Baillieston, it all started with a mac, a digital press and a man, seriously check out our first logo, aww!
So for the first few years it was just Tommy, with him occasionally dragging his poor family in for a bit of free labour (and every time we said no well he cast up every single lift he had ever given us, including the one home from the hospital first day of our actual lives). Tell Design mostly dealt in personal printing, invites, banners, wedding stationary and bereavement stationary but then we added on our dedicated design service and suddenly things started to get a little bigger. Before we knew it we were branding or rebranding for companies, building websites and producing business cards like they were going out of fashion (which thankfully they are not!) and with the new and improved TD Services came our new office spaces, with all our fancy equipment taking over three offices - big change from one desk in the worlds smallest room.
The Middle Bit...
2017...
Then came 2017, and what a year it was! We rebranded again...obviously!
We also got a new top of the range Digital Print Press (check it out, over there on the right!) & gained some amazing new colleagues officially making us a dream team! Thats right, a more than just Tommy team! I mean we may be small, but what we lack in size, we make up for in big ideas! We gained some amazing new clients and did I mention we went Limited? Fancy!
2018 and beyond!
2018 brought our most exciting company development yet, Happy the office Labradoodle. Now we don't mean to brag or anything, but we without doubt have the coolest little office dog ever, who will provide plenty of puppy cuddles and cheek for your entertainment, but also loves nothing more than a nap in her bed if you're not to keen on pups, but I'm pretty sure she could convert you! Oh also, we did some printing, some designing, some websites, even got ourselves a spiffy new UV Printer for doing banners and outdoor posters. But lets not forget the dog!
So we've just hit 2019, and this year we have our eye on a new T-Shirt Press, a new Guillotine, World Domination and possibly a second office dog...you see we're constantly improving our equipment, our skills and Tommys mood (by keeping him heavily medicated at all times) in a bid to be the best that we can possibly be to ensure that you keep getting the awesome service we like to think you've come to expect from us! So here's to a New Year, we can't wait to work with you!