What’s In A Name?

After over 20 years working as an HGV Mechanic I knew I was ready for a new challenge and wanted to unleash my creative streak. I also wanted to spend more time with my family and in 2013 I finally got around to doing something about it. Becoming my own boss and working from home meant that I could see my wife and children more.

So many questions to address; could I do it? Would working from home work? What would I call the new business?

With family in mind and quite a few names in the mix, we settled on the name EAGL-S. The G is me, Gary. The S, my wife Sharon and the E, A and L are the initials of my children.

We were sure of one thing... we weren’t having another baby just to get the extra E!

Sounds like: ee·glz

Laying The Foundations

We have probably all been let down by poor customer service or products that didn't live up to expectations.

I knew I didn't want to be one of those companies and put this at the forefront of the business.

I also wanted to maximise customer confidence by sharing knowledge and pursuing excellence in everything I do.

I want Eagl-s to be at the core of our client's marketing strategy, to understand the identity/brand image our customers are trying to express and convert that image into end products they are proud to share.

Small Steps

I bought my first wide-format printer and dipped my toe into a whole new world.

I started creating and printing stickers for clubs and small businesses. Word soon spread in and around Doncaster that I had the facilities and imagination to be able to put their ideas into print, in the form of sticker printing.

Exciting Times

As our client base grew so did our desire to take the pain out of ordering print by becoming a one-stop-shop. After customer requests, we Increased our product range to fulfil what they required, while maintaining our eye for detail and ensuring quality control didn’t go by the wayside. Always with good old-fashioned customer service at our heart by treating our customers the way we expect to be treated.

Developing

Wanting the world to know about our services a company website was a must. With so many opportunities to 'create your own' that is the way we went.

Getting traffic on the site was difficult at first but we hit on a way of getting the site out there by offering a free-to-download runners' progress tracker. Sharon was doing the couch25k and wanted a way to increase her motivation. A shoe to be coloured in for distance ran was drawn up and then offered out to other runners. We had people from all over the globe hitting our site to take advantage. Some of those converted into design projects and more new customers.

Continuing To Grow

Developing an eBay store with wall art designs for interior décor, T-shirts and mugs, generally with a vintage car or tractor theme (which is a passion of mine). We were sending products out every day.

Going to 'The Print Show' at the NEC each year kept our minds active, looking into ways of making our products better and increasing our range. Investing in Eagl-s, we upgraded our large format printer for a newer version which had far superior print quality. We also purchased a laser machine to be able to offer engraving and small acrylic signs and cake toppers.

New Surroundings

Investment in new machines and increasing our stock levels meant that our home/office in Armthorpe was getting more and more cramped. The time had come to find a new base.

We found the perfect place in Blaxton. A home big enough for our family. A large workspace and a view of aeroplanes dropping into Doncaster Sheffield airport, trains travelling along the line between Doncaster and Lincoln. What's not to like? Finningley post office is just down the road to make dropping off parcels child's play. Doncaster, Worksop, Retford, Gainsborough, Epworth, Brigg, Scunthorpe, Goole, Thorne, Pontefract, Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield are all within a 35km Radius.
Having more space gave us the opportunity to to add embroidery to the list of services we offered.

Working and living on the same site isn't for everyone but we find it works for us. We are able to give our customers our best while still being close to our family.

Not Everything Goes To Plan All The Time

Continuing our investment plan in to the business saw us purchasing a DTG machine to service our T-shirt orders. Things were going great.  That was until we were forced in to the first Covid 19 lock down. We found out at great expense that this particular printer needed to be run often. Something we couldn't do, and as a result, it failed leaving us with a hefty bill just at a time when things were tough for many businesses. We stepped away from DTG for a time and hope to revisit it down the line. We are still able to offer direct to garment printing but this is now outsourced to one of our print partners.

Increasing our business-to-business work was a key strategy moving forward, unfortunately, our eBay shop with its need to create and get orders out the same day meant we were having to break off halfway through larger jobs to complete these smaller, one-off orders. We came to the decision that eBay was no longer a positive fit for us, we slimmed down our product range in 2021 and then finally closed the eBay shop in May 2022.

Bigger And Better

We are now growing faster than ever and continually strive to make buying quality print as seamless as it can be.  Trusting in the skills of others to grow and achieve our goals without blurring our core values which we set ourselves at the start.

Looking To The Future

We aim to be the name on peoples lips when it comes to print and embroidery in and around Doncaster primarily, and further afield too. Known for outstanding levels of customer service and high quality products.
To further develop partnerships with suppliers, outsource partners and of course you our clients. To be humble enough to receive wisdom from people further down the road than us which will ensure your print buying experience is the best ever!