If anyone knows the meaning of shop local, it is Mikki Nanowski.
The owner of Bradford Print Shoppe, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, depends on Bradford West Gwillimbury residents to stay afloat.
“We’re basically 95-per-cent local,” she said. “I really count on local people. We also shop local. That’s what we do in Bradford — we help each other.”
Nanowski opened Bradford Print Shoppe in 1983 with her late husband, John, and they operated out of their basement.
They eventually opened a store at 170 Artesian Industrial Parkway in 1990 and have been there ever since. Now, the shop also has a staff of five, plus Nanowski.
Over the years, she has expanded the number of services offered at Bradford Print Shoppe, including framing, which she added about eight to 10 years ago.
“It’s the artsy part. You get to meet artists and talk about frames, which I really love,” she said.
Bradford Print Shoppe does all sizes of jobs — from large commercial orders, to small ones such as birthday and wedding invitations.
The store prints all sorts of items — inspection books, brochures, school booklets, hockey programs, construction plans, genealogy trees, maps, stag and doe tickets, and even crochet designs.
It can print in colour and black and white, do die cutting and make perforated items, and its staff can either print a ready-made design or create a client’s graphics for them.
While it uses modern equipment, some of its staff use pieces such as an Original Heidelberg press from 1960 that works just fine.
There is never a dull moment at Bradford Print Shoppe, and pretty soon Nanowski said she will be entering the next busy season for wedding invitations.
“I just love doing it,” she said.
