Hicks Graphic Co
Supporting local businesses starts with getting to know them. This month’s Member Spotlight features Hicks Graphic Co., a local business helping bring ideas to life through creative design, quality products, and personalized service. From custom graphics and signage to branded materials that help businesses stand out, Hicks Graphic Co. is a great example of the talent and creativity found right here in our community.
We’re excited to shine the spotlight on Hicks Graphic Co. and give you a closer look at the business, the people behind it, and the services they provide to Thomaston-Upson!
What inspired you to start Hicks Graphics, and what has the journey been like from the beginning to where you are today?
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What services are the most popular at Hicks Graphics, and what types of projects do you enjoy creating the most?
For some reason, somewhere along the way our custom laser cut metal car tags became very popular. It doesn’t matter if it’s the tags, vinyl, or signage I enjoy talking with my customers who always say that they “don’t know what they want” and then getting to basically translate their end goals for their business and sign project into reality. They say they don’t know what they want, but I usually find out quickly what they DON’T want. I feel like one of the biggest parts of my job sometimes is helping pull their ideas out of their imagination and make them a real functioning product.
How do you work with customers to bring their ideas to life and create products that represent their businesses or events?
Some of this question is answered in #2. I like to meet with my customers. See what they have to work with – their wall, building, vehicle, or storefront. My wife says I talk too much and keep people too long, but I like to discuss a project enough to get a feel for the client’s budget and goals. I basically build it out enough “virtually” that the entire process will go smoothly for everybody. After meeting, I will spend days thinking about the needs of the customer and the practical aspects of the project. What type of substrate will work best? Which paint is going to be most appropriate? Do I need a special vinyl or laminate for the prints? Is this project supposed to be good enough for a season, for 10 years, or an heirloom? I go back and forth through messaging and emails with suggestions, pricing, and mockups until the customer is satisfied enough to move forward.
How has Hicks Graphics helped businesses and organizations throughout the Thomaston-Upson community?
For as long as I have been interested in making signs and other creative projects, I have wanted to follow in the footsteps of my first employer in the sign business and become the “sign guy” for whatever community I live in. I want to make myself into the “go to guy” for signage in my community. Kelly and I are surprised sometimes when we drive through Thomaston and Upson County and are reminded of so many projects we’ve done and the people we have worked for. From one of our first jobs being the storefront vinyl for the Ritz Café to the monstrous Hometown Printers script laser cut metal sign to the Wholesome Bowls wall painting to the signage for the new Chamber of Commerce building and back over to the Rock and the sign I made for Mr. McCrary we see our mark made throughout our town and county. We’ve also designed and created the sign for the Duke's Wine and Spirits, which is one job I’m particularly proud of and consider a landmark sign. We’ve also seen several business signs come and go over the years, but with each change comes the exciting opportunity to create new signage and welcome a new business as they open their doors in our community. One of the biggest marks we helped make on the Thomaston Square area is the Ridge Creek Fudge building. The pink building with the dripping chocolate across the top, the signage, and storefront vinyl are all things we were able to do. We have also had the opportunity to either rebuild or refurbish things that have been in the area for many years, such as the Fletcher-Day sign. We just finished that project up and the Silvertown entrance sign we did a few years ago. I can’t walk away from question #4 here without mentioning hand lettering the roughest surface I’ve ever painted on a few years ago when HGTV came to Thomaston for their Hometown Kickstart program. I spent 8 hours up on a lift painting letters on the wall above what is now HJ Wings & Things.
What sets Hicks Graphics apart from other graphics and sign companies?
We’re pretty small. Personable. It’s just me and my wife Kelly. We both work full time jobs and still manage somehow to pull of Hicks Graphics Co. I think it says a lot about our customer’s patience and their faith in us to design and make them a good product. They put up with our schedule which sometimes makes us a little slower than most. I really take every job pretty personally. That’s my family’s name out there with every job. We have great customers that have turned into really strong cheerleaders for us.
What has been one of your most memorable or rewarding projects, and why does it stand out?
One of the most memorable jobs I feel like we’ve done was actually in Chattanooga, TN. A customer found our Facebook page and asked me to help come up with an idea for a laser cut metal sign. After doing that, she had us do some interior signage for a pottery shop in Chattanooga. That led to doing all of their storefront vinyl. I cut out all of the vinyl and shipped it to her with instructions and layout drawings. She tried to install it and things didn’t go very well (ice, rain, cold). Before it was all over, we wound up recutting all of the vinyl and driving to Tennessee to install it. She became one of our biggest cheerleaders and told everybody that would listen about us. The most impactful job I feel like we’ve done was the Ridge Creek Fudge storefront. It’s one that still continues to make a bold statement and is working great for the business’s second owners today. One of our jobs I’m the most proud of is the Chamber of Commerce signage on the new building. I feel like it made a huge difference and really made that building theirs.
What are your goals for Hicks Graphics over the next few years? Are there any new services, equipment, or projects you’re excited about?
We would love to continue serving our fellow citizens and businesses here in our area. That’s a big goal. Like I said before – I want to be “the sign guy”. My biggest goal for my business would be to become confident enough in it to be able to do it full time. To give it all of my professional energy.
I’d love to be able to expand my offerings. A real shop with a roll-up door to be able to do vehicle graphics in a clean environment would be extremely helpful. The biggest goal equipment-wise (outside of having a real shop to work in) is to purchase a fiber laser for cutting out my own metal products and also a CO2 laser for cutting out shapes and letters from substrates such as acrylic or wood.
Is there anything else you’d like Chamber members and the community to know about Hicks Graphics or how they can support your business?
Follow our Facebook Business page @hicksgraphicsco. It’s a living portfolio of our work. Also, check out our website hicksgraphicsco.com
We can be messaged or emailed from either.
One of the biggest things people can do to support us is to share our posts. Recently we created a post on Facebook showing the new “Avi’s” sign we recently did for their reopening. I know it was mostly because of the love and support for Avi’s, but we received over 22k views from that post. This was due in large part to the 28 shares that occurred on this post. Sharing posts is CRITICAL for supporting local businesses. Reviews are also the online lifeblood of businesses. Go to our Google business page and review us if we have done work for you that you were satisfied with. This really helps get Google to push us out there for more views.