Co-owner of Victoria printer Taylor’d Press Kirsten Taylor is paving the way for female printers as she juggles an apprenticeship with the hard yards of running a business.
Kirsten joined Cremorne-based Taylor’d Press twelve years ago, pairing with her husband James who founded the business nine years before. Starting in administration, Kirsten climbed through the ranks and found herself working in quotation and estimation without any prior formal print training.
Already performing the difficult task of quoting the printing and embellishment for a job, Kirsten says a rude customer berating her for ‘knowing nothing’ motivated her to learn her Printing Apprenticeship, organised through Future Print.
The apprenticeship involves in-house tutoring, homework and workshops where Kirsten has learned the mechanics of operating the press, particularly the Speedmaster.
“Having worked in the industry for a while and being in partnership with James for the past 12 years there is a lot I understand about print and what's involved to produce some of the amazing jobs we get to print but am now lucky enough to go from the discussion about a job to estimating, to prepress and then production,” says Kirsten.
“I signed on to begin my apprenticeship in October last year and I now only have two cycles left to go. It is mainly about helping me master machine operation, so a customer can come in and I can quote, suggest finishing and actually print the job myself.”
Kirsten says juggling the apprenticeship, running a business with only herself and husband and raising three daughters is definitive proof females can succeed in a male-dominated print industry.
“I bring work home to my daughters and I tell them, ‘I printed this’, so I see it as power to women,” she adds.
Kirsten and James Taylor’s business accolades also include scoring gold at this year’s National Print Awards for the stationary category, and Kirsten’s nomination in the 2016 ProPrint Power 50.
Kirsten says winning gold was a proud moment for herself and for Taylor’d Press, as she was of the only women accepting the gong on stage at the Melbourne awards.
“Print can be so dominated by men so I felt proud getting up on stage and being one of very few women accepting the award.
“I’ve been working at Taylor’d for twelve years, and James has often been the face of the business so I’m happy to have my time in the sun,” says Kirsten.
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