397 - Dan Padavic of Vahalla Studios

Dan Padavic has run Vahalla Studios for over a decade emphasizing the power of craft and creativity. Through accessible design aesthetics and paying attention to consumer needs Dan has diversified his skill set over his own design work, printmaking, letterpress techniques, and running his own brand Tucker & Scout. In developing this brand Dan has found a unique blend in business that involves his entire family and creates a storefront he would purchase things from himself. You will be hard pressed to find a better example of a self made man using his passion to make a living off of. Mix in some applicable printing knowledge, a long term friendship between Dan and Mark, and some Midwest know how and you have an incredible interview with one the best out there.

Talking Points

• Staying in the design game for over a decade.
• The divided Kansas City and its resurgence in art.
• Developing the process of printing and then carving out your niche.
• Customer retention and its relation to quality control.
• Pre-press. Pre-press. Pre-press.
• The stress associated with printing for other people and on the on press decisions that need to get made.
• Who should separate your artwork?
• Expanding into the world of letterpress.
• The impetus of Tucker & Scout.
• Changing client expectations in design.
• The pros and cons of our entry point into the world of art.
• Creating accessible artwork and double dipping with art prints.
• Booth innovations and curating a customers experience.
• Diversifying your product line and making the store you want to shop from.
• Taking risks with your own product line.
• Blending parenting with creativity.
• Finding success in designing for the consumer.
• Building a brand around your actual family.
• Sexism in customers and why you should always talk to the spouse as well.
• Working on a team with a non designer.
• Tips from Dan on starting a new brand.
• The importance in staging product photos.
• Planning the Dad Forgot To Pull Out Furniture line.
• Tad Carpenter's place in Vahalla and how growing up doesn't mean growing apart.
• Keeping it real as a print shop.
• The dream of building a Vahalla Building.
• Dan's tips for developing an efficient print shop.
• Man to man advice on supporting your spouse and carrying a family.