The Big Interview The simple things in life
It is often said that the best ideas are the simplest and this certainly applies to two screen printing innovations that received their debut at Printwear & Promotion LIVE! earlier in the year. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey reports.
The Squand
he first of these innovations could be found on the Pyramid stand. If you looked hard enough among the many consumables on the stand you would have found the Squand. The name doesnʼt automatically reveal the nature of the product and what it can be used for, but once you know you will wonder why you never thought of inventing it yourself.
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The Squand was invented by Joanna Pawlowska. Joanna fell in love with the art of screen printing while completing a degree in fine art at Central Saint Martins in London in 2010. She discovered a need for the Squand when completing a screen printing course at Hampstead College a few years later. She explains: “We were all putting our squeegees on the table and making a terrible mess. It was here that I made my first prototype of the Squand. A lawyer colleague suggested I get a patent for the invention. The rest is history as they say.”
But what exactly is the Squand? It is a small plastic block designed to hold squeegees up to 120cm wide upright. It keeps the ink on top of the squeegee rubber, preventing it from dripping on to any surroundings. It is made of durable but recyclable ABS plastic.
We were all putting our squeegees on the table and making a terrible mess. It was here that I made my first prototype of the Squand. A lawyer colleague suggested I get a patent for the invention. The rest is history as they say.
– Joanna Pawlowska
The aim of the Squand is to help screen printers perfect their practice by giving them the right tool for the job. “There is nothing like this out there on the market,” says Joanna. “Most screen printers leave their hand held squeegees on the edge of the table or rest them a brown tape roll, which is not very safe.”
Following large commercial exposure during P&P LIVE! at the NEC in Birmingham, uptake of the product has been great. Joanna says: “The reception from visitors at Printwear & Promotion LIVE! was very good and enthusiastic. I received some orders immediately and made some new contacts. The main thing for me was that the Squand was shown to the world and people have started noticing it.” The Squand is now being used in a few colleges, print studios and galleries, as well as by individual artists. “Artists who use it could not do without it now. They think it is a brilliant product. It is very handy, easy to use and most all it does the job very well,” says Joanna. Although very happy with the original product, the inventor and innovator in Joanna could not rest and she has now created a much heavier version of the Squand which also features non-slip silicone feet. The new version is aimed at textile printers who use large squeegees.
She concludes: “I do have other ideas in the pipeline, but I am determined to get the Squand fully on the market first so these ideas can be self financing.”
The Squand can be purchased from Dave Roper and Pyramid Screen Products.
| 42 | June 2017 The Squand
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
Joanna Pawlowska pictured with the Squand at P&P LIVE!
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