THANK YOU FOR 20 YEARS PRINTING

We’ve always wanted to start a blog and after twenty years, we have some stories to tell…try to keep up…

Entry #1 - January 6, 2025

by Marissa M. Guevara

It’s strange…I don’t really journal a lot, but I have always wanted start a blog…probably because I can type faster than I write, but I just wanted a place where I could chronicle our memories - our story. When Instagram came out, I was hooked, it was a really easy way to capture moments in photos and video. But then I blinked and “suddenly” twenty years flashed by and while we’re planning this big party to celebrate, we start digging through hundreds of old photos - each one had bits and pieces of memories that came back to me one after the other after the other. Most are happy memories, but some pierce my heart so deep because I’m remembering how much this took. The wins are always fun to remember, but the losses…I don’t know how we had the strength to push through sometimes. How did we juggle a marriage, a family and EVERYTHING that comes with running/growing this little print shop at the same time?

We definitely had some amazing people work by our side to help, but we started this business as a family, just the two and a half of us (I was pregnant with Remy when we opened). We had no idea what we were doing, just that we wanted something different. We had no idea what that looked like, but we were willing to figure it out as we went. Whatever obstacle came at us, we would get through it together. From the beginning, despite any challenges we faced, my family would stay intact - they would not be collateral damage.

And now, as we continue to work past our twentieth year, I can see how ASG was always meant to be a family business. My family was always THE WAY - the way we celebrated the highs AND the way we trudged through lows. You know the way overused saying, “create your own magic”? Well, we can actually say we did just that. These humans are the magic we created and they are the magic that have and will keep us going.

While we couldn’t have done it without each other, we also couldn’t have done it without you - whoever might be reading this. If you are, it’s probably because you’ve been a part of our journey or soon will be. Thank you, thank you, thank you - here’s to twenty years printing with you and to many, many more.

Photos Starting w/ Top Left:

• November 2004 - Marissa (pregnant with Remy) sitting at desk in original front office.

• November 2004 - Mike sitting at the desk in our original front office. Fun fact - this desk was left by the previous business and we used thumbtacks to pin our samples to the wall.

• January 2005 - Brought Remy to visit with Mike on one of his very long nights of printing after his very long days of delivering beer. Fun fact - Mike and I both worked a day job for most of the first year of business.

• September 2009 - Trying to get some work done with our newest little one, our daughter, Olivia.

• Summer 2010 - Remy helping his dad hustle equipment.

• Summer 2014 - Our Liv was and still is the best little helper.

• September 2014 - Our little shop kids using mom’s computer as a TV while they wait for us to finish for the day.

• November 2017 - Celebrating 13 Years Printing!

• June 2023 - Having lunch with our Rem.

• November 2023 - Marissa, locked in.

• August 2024 - Liv helping Mike setup for a live printing event.

• The last photo is a little out of place (taken in the summer of 2023), but it’s my favorite of the two of us in front of our new film wall.

  So many stories, so little time…