Color Center Celebrates 20 Years of Service to Ellwood Community

A lot has changed in 20 years. Gas was $1.15 a gallon and a stamp was $.32, but for The Color Center it has always been business as usual.

Opening its doors in 1995, The Color Center will celebrate its 20th Birthday tomorrow at the 2nd Annual Fall Fest by offering free cake to visitors and participating in the Soup Crawl. The cake will be made locally by Kimmels Bakery.

The Color Center came into existence when Linda Gardner purchased Miller Printing on 226 Fifth Street. Back then, printing was a very different world.
Digital printing was in its developing stage, and the older, mechanical equipment created a more industrial environment. The store used an offset printing machine, a noisy behemoth that required a licensed pressman to work a night shift to set up plates and lay down inks.

The Color Center still uses one of the old mechanical pieces- a steel booklet trimmer- nicknamed the guillotine by employees, that, if you’re not careful while operating, can bonk you on the head.

With the new millennium, The Color Center eliminated most of its old equipment and became more of a digital printer. The storefront transitioned to a clean, quiet, customer friendly environment, and the services expanded to graphic design.

In 2008, Gardner sold The Color Center to Eric Venezie. The business moved downtown, to 536 Lawrence Ave, which formerly housed the Eric Ryan Corporation, which had relocated to Early Street.

“We have grown drastically since the move, at least triple the number of customers,” Chris MacDonald, one of the longest-serving employees, said. MacDonald started as a customer receptionist, working only two hours a day, and is now the office manager.

About a year after the move, The Color Center developed an internal spin-off brand to help distinguish themselves as an expert in the wedding invitation and stationary market. Today they are elated to announce that this spin-off brand, Wedding Invitations by The Color Center has grown beyond expectations and beyond their retail walls.

The “wedding division” of The Color Center will now be located at 226 Sixth Street with their own store front and entrance. The move allows for the boutique look and feel that most of their clientele are looking to experience. This business is known attracting non-local customers, and they have even been successful on a global scale through Etsy.com.

“We have people drive here from up to three hours away for appointments,” Erin Thomas, senior designer, said. Thomas started working a year after Gardner opened The Color Center.

It is their hope that the move and re-brand will not only continue to bring outsiders into Ellwood, but that it will do so on an even larger scale. To celebrate the move, the Wedding Division will be entering its own Wedding Soup in the Soup Crawl this Saturday at Fall Fest.

Fall Fest will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Lawrence Ave. The Soup Crawl is from noon to 3 p.m. More information on Fall Fest can be found here.