When Steve Sears purchased the Stationery Factory in Dalton, Massachusetts, his vision was to turn this former mill building into a landing spot for local artisans, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs.
And as Connecting Point’s Brian Sullivan found out recently when he visited with the building’s newest tenants, KSW Printing, that vision has come to fruition — as KSW combines art, craft, and entrepreneurship.
Read the full transcript:
Zydalis Bauer, Connecting Point: When Steve Sears purchased the Stationery Factory in Dalton, Massachusetts, his vision was to turn this former mill building into a landing spot for local artisans, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs.
And as Connecting Point’s Brian Sullivan found out recently when he visited with the building’s newest tenants, KSW Printing, that vision has come to fruition, as KSW combines art, crafts, and entrepreneurship.
Brian Sullivan, Connecting Point: In western New England, old brick mill buildings like this one are about as common a sight as the rivers that are often found running behind them. Many have even found a new lease on life by way of repurposing.
But one in particular, on 63 Flansburg Ave. and Dalton, Massachusetts, seems to be up and coming — which may seem like an unusual way to describe a structure that’s over one hundred years old. But within the confines of this roughly one-hundred-thousand-square-foot, erstwhile four- storey factory, we find a brewery that’s quickly becoming established and shedding its label of upstart. There’s an artist enjoying his second act, following a career in a completely unrelated field. It’s where a father and son get to bond while doing some high-end woodworking. And that’s only scratching the surface of the growing number of tenants moving in to the Stationery Factory.
The second floor here already has several businesses operating on it. Some have been here for a few years, others for just a couple. And thanks to the abundance of space in this building, there are still some just getting started.
And by just getting started, we mean the paint is still drying, and there are likely still some unpacked boxes.
Quintavious Walls, KSW Printing: We moved in February 1st. So you know, we’ve been here, you know, like 13, 14 days, you know what I mean?
Brian Sullivan: It’s a joint venture known as KSW Printing, with the letter standing for the principal owners Paul Keele, Kyle Sawin, and Quintavious Walls.
And even though his name is last in the title, there is no confusion among the three that Walls was not only the one with the plan and experience, but also had an eye out for the ideal location.
Quintavious Walls: This is the space I actually looked at a long time ago. It was already a screenprinting shop. So, you know, it fit our needs.
I have had like clothing lines and stuff like that, so I had a clothing store out of North Adams. So, it kind of became a necessity for me to just make my own things, you know what I mean? Instead of outsourcing them.
So, I gain the information, learned, and, you know, due to the pandemic, I closed down. And took it as a perfect opportunity to just get into manufacturing myself and help other brands out.
Brian Sullivan: In a world where branding has likely never been more prevalent and important for getting noticed, having young, talented artists on site only helps their cause.
Partners Keel and Sawin joined this startup by way of long-standing friendships; Keele and Walls, having worked together side by side in the restaurant business and Sawin, having been a bass fishing buddy of Walls’ for years.
What they bring to the table here is something Walls calls the “Q Factor,” an attention to detail and the insight to ask the right questions, which makes for a very short learning curve.
Paul Keele, KSW Printing: Anything I do, I really pick it up quick. Like I’ve done construction., I’ve been a foreman for Northern Foundations. You know, I’ve been the general manager at Five Guys. I’ve been a sous chef, I’ve done landscaping, I’ve done a lot of different work. So, anything I really do, I pick up quick.
So, it’s just like, you give me a template, you show me what to do. And then from there, I’ll figure it out until I get it right.
Kyle Sawin, KSW Printing: Good moral fiber was a huge thing for this, you know? Like I said, been good friends a long time. I’ve tried to help push his business in the past, and it kind of came to a point where he needed to grow and he made the offer and it was kind of an opportunity and I jumped on it!
Brian Sullivan: At the time of this interview, KSW was only two weeks into operations here, so the long-term effects of combining friendship and business remain to be seen for quite some time.
For now, the focus is strictly on the business end of things
Quintavious Walls: For this printing company, you know, big picture is, you know we just want to grow as much as we can. We want to, obviously get some corporate accounts, get some bigger accounts and service them, but we also want to service our community and our smaller businesses as well, because we’re a small business.
