PPB October 2017

that flexed with them,” he says. Dust City’s wood stickers can even be washed in the dishwasher multiple times without any negative impact. “We have an extremely strict quality control department and reject stickers for multiple reasons,” he says. “We know that every sticker we send out the door may be the only sticker someone gets. So, if there is even something slightly wrong, then they won’t have a good experience with our product. We want everyone to love our sticker and quality control is No. 1 here.” The final hurdle in the early days of selling the product was education. “We’re doing something with wood that blows most people’s minds,” says Glisan. “We’ve worked hard on our packaging to make sure that there are no questions left when it comes to this product. Once the end user understands that wood stickers work just like vinyl stickers, they instantly fall in love with them.” For Glisan and his team, the best part of the process has been the reaction to the stickers. “Absolutely everyone loves themwhen they get one,” he says. “They love them so much that they end up showing them off to everyone. (Isn’t that the best reaction you could get from a promotional product?) We also love the insane amount of designs that we get to turn into stickers. We’ve worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies all the way down to mom-and-pop shops in the middle of nowhere. “Every employee here has wood stickers on absolutely everything,” Glisan adds. “If there is a blank surface around the shop, it gets a sticker!” Read on to see how wood veneer becomes a flexible custom wood sticker at Dust City Designs. About Dust City Designs Founding date February 2015 Principal CEO Josh Glisan Number of orders filled per month 20,000 units Notable accomplishments: Best Made In America Product 2016, Urban Expo Size of production facility 4,000 square feet Number of employees 12 Types of specialized equipment Multiple Epilog laser CNC machines At The Office “One of the best things about our shop is how much fun we get to have here. There are Nerf wars all the time; we also fly drones through the shop from time to time. We try to get out quite often to have some fun as a family. We’ve gone to music festivals as a team. We’ve also gone to our local amusement park. It was such a blast to watch so many of our team members conquer their fears and go on rides they never had before. When everyone is egging you on, it’s hard to say no. We are a very tight-knit family here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 1 A variety of designs are burned onto a single sheet of wood 2 Individual stickers are tested for pliability before adhesion 3 Stickers are packaged for distribution 4 Packages are sealed prior to packing for shipment 1 2 3 4 | OCTOBER 2017 | 93 CONNECT