Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — Good news certainly travels fast, which is why Blvd Graphix has experienced success during the first few months of business despite the shaky economy.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Blvd Graphix has experienced a successful start under the ownership of Joe Lapierre, right, with Lianne Lapierre, his wife, and almost two-year-old Evan, their son.
From beauty queens to farmers, from Presque Isle to Canada, owner Joe Lapierre and his staff of four at Blvd Graphix have been providing quality embroidering, silk screening, trophies, banners, vinyl wrapping and magnetic signs to customers for a reasonable price with quick product turn around.
Embroidered hats have been in high demand at Blvd Graphix for a couple of reasons; they have a wide variety of hats to choose from and “we do all our own digitizing and designs in-house, which nobody else [around] does,” Joe Lapierre said.
With cutting-edge machines, Blvd Graphix is able accommodate the customer looking for a custom design or something special.
“We sell quite a bit of the Port Authority brand,” Joe Lapierre said, “[the Port Authority Company] gives us very good prices and we can turn that around to our customers, enabling them to get high quality clothing at an inexpensive price.”
The innovative business produces all of their products on location, whether it’s a four-foot trophy or a dozen custom-designed messenger bags and banners.
“Our machine prints the banners right in-house,” Joe Lapierre said, “We don't have to send anything away; if somebody wants a full color photograph blown up real big and put on a banner, we can do that [here].”
Success didn’t come easy for Joe Lapierre and his family, who have worked hard to build the business, literally. With the current recession causing financial belt-tightening on a national scale, banks appear to be more hesitant to lend.
“[Initially], we wanted to buy a building in Caribou, but obtaining financing was difficult,” Joe Lapierre explained, “everyone was afraid to lend because of the economy; Northern Maine Development Commission really came through [for us] and we decided to [construct the business] here [on their Limestone property] because that was really all we could do, and it really ended up for the better” he added.
Encountering another snag, miscommunications with local code enforcement put a three-month delay on the opening of the business. Despite a bit of pre-opening turbulence, business has been steady at Blvd Graphix. Joe Lapierre plans to expand the business this winter to sell car audio and video equipment.
“We're planning to offer inexpensive equipment for the do-it-yourself-er that wants a CD player put in their car or a flip-down TV,” Lapierre explained. A knack for customizing, he has an extensive background in custom cars — his previous entrepreneurial business in Florida is still bustling with customers clamoring for custom wheels, tires, hydraulics, and classic restorations.
“I think it's just great that Joe has this,” Lianne Lapierre, Joe’s wife, who helps out part-time at the shop. “This used to be a three-car garage,” she said, gesturing to the freshly remodeled building that has gone through a complete aesthetic transformation in the past few months. “Now it's this business with customers and with cars constantly coming in; it’s very rewarding,” she added.
We're thankful for everyone that has been supportive of our business,” Joe Lapierre said. “People even just drop by after they see the sign to see what we have, [and often] they turn into a customer.”
Keeping customers happy while continuously drawing new customers leads to long hours of hard work, but Joe Lapierre comes from a family of hard-working entrepreneurs and enjoys turning ideas into finished products.
Blvd Graphix is located at 77 Main Street in Limestone and can be reached at 325-2583 or through BlvdGraphix@aol.com.
