Decorator Profile
Printing for tourists — and locals Today, 59° North is shaped by Orkney’s tourism and way of life.
Jon explained: “It’s very seasonal over here, being in Orkney, so we have seven months of busy touristy times and then five months off in the winter. It is a lovely lifestyle if you can make it work.”
The product mix reflects that. “We print a little bit of everything, but we mainly do seasonal things, so we print onto T shirts and baseball caps. It’s like tourist merch, so we do bottle openers, key rings, water bottle mugs and then a fair few T shirts, polo shirts and hoodies.” Alongside the print side of the business, Jon also runs a café in which he sells a lot of his products. He continued: “In the summer, when it’s busy, I’m cooking pizzas and serving customers in the day and then printing shirts and trinkets in the evening, ready for the next day.
“It is a long summer, and we need the long winter to recover.”
The quieter lifestyle
However, it doesn’t mean that it all stops in the winter, as the lifestyle calls for long-term planning. Because of the remote location, sorting an order takes time, and locals are aware of that.
Jon explained: “We only have Royal Mail on this island. It takes about 10 days for us to post an order to you, so I can’t do anything urgent.”
“The good thing is that, when doing business with people in Orkney, people are aware of that. No one here orders things expecting them to come the next day.” “I do have a supply of stock of hoodies and shirts here, which means we can get a dozen orders out or so, but if someone wants 100 shirts for an event, they tend to get booked months in advance.
“But people know the other local suppliers are busy in the summer, so they book it in the winter, so it helps keep the wheels going round.”
That slower rhythm extends to sales. “People up here tend to phone in orders rather than buy online,” Jon noted. “It’s more like what times were like before the internet.”
The same logistical obstacles were also in effect when installing his printing kit, ready to set up the company. Working with TheMagicTouch, now trading as The Magic Transfer Company, there were logistical obstacles needed to overcome to haul all his needed kit to the island. Jon said: “They managed to deliver the machine up here themselves. It was a week-round trip for him to install something that is usually done in a day.” “But the guy loved it, we put him up in a neighbour’s log cabin.
“It was two ferries to get here, but they don’t line up, so you have to have an overnight in the local town, which is on the main part of Orkney. We are on a remote little island, so you have to spend half a day on ferries to get here. “But he loved it and has already joked about it whenever we’re ready for another bit of kit or need upgrades, he’ll get straight on the next boat.”
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk March 2025 | 35 |
A different definition of success At 52, Jon is clear that he has no regrets.
He said“I absolutely love it here. It’s got the kind of peace and tranquillity people aim for a bit later in life.” The winters are tough, as Jon mentions: “it’s just grey and can’t see very far,” but the trade-off is worth it. Mortgage-free living, community trust and a business that fits around life – not the other way round.
For 59° North, success isn’t about scale. It’s about finding a way for printing to work, even at the very edge of the map.
Jon prints onto a variety of items
Jon left the hustle of Surrey to move to the Orkney Island of Sanday.
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