It started with printing, but then several business decisions led to an eclectic mix of merchandise that makes Kelly Printing and Signs a truly unique retailer in Bluff Country. The latest addition to the merchandise line is Grizzly coolers and mugs.
According to Kelly Printing’s Facebook page, Kelly Printing and Signs has been a family business since 1996. Richard and Esther Kelly first owned and operated the Fillmore County Journal and expanded with offset printing in downtown Preston, becoming “Kelly Printing.” Along with sons Brad and Mike, they started designing and making signs and vehicle lettering through FCJ Signs located in Harmony. Later, screen printing was added and produced in Brad’s garage, located in Fountain. Eventually they began embroidery on clothing and also started heat transfers, self inking stamps and more. In 1999, they purchased the current building on Highway 52 just north of Preston and changed the business name to Kelly Printing and Signs The business is now owned by Brad and Mike and currently has eight employees.
The road that led to selling Grizzly coolers is a somewhat irregular and winding one, influenced by customer demand and the underlying principle of carrying goods that can be personalized.
“We began doing clothing for the city of Preston, putting their logo on it and they said, ‘why don’t you just get Carhart so we can buy everything from you,’” recalled Mike Kelly. “A couple phone calls later we had Carhart. Then somebody jokingly said, ‘now if you just carried Redwing shoes we could get it all here.’ So, we got Redwing shoes. Full color stuff is getting bigger (brochures, booklets, bulletins, auction bills) so we just got a bigger digital printer,” Kelly remarked.
Most recently, Kelly noted, “We had quite a few customers that were bringing in coolers and we were putting decals on them. We’d do any kind of cooler, but most of them were the Grizzlies,” Kelly said. “They’re more cost effective than the Yetis, which is their competitor. My nephew who works here has a friend that works at Iowa Rotocast Plastics, Inc. in Decorah which manufactures the Grizzly coolers. So we kind of had an in as far as knowing somebody and knowing something about the company,” Kelly said.
“Most (of the Grizzly cooler buyers) have been local businesses, whether they’re giving them away as gifts or some coolers have gone to silent auctions and money makers,” Kelly said. For example, Rushford Foods had a two-day sale and gave away a customized cooler at each of its three stores. Kelly noted that “We’ve sold a few to farmers to take to cattle shows, with their logo on them.” They’ve also sold personalized coolers for wedding gifts.
Kelly Printing offers a range of five different Grizzly cooler sizes starting at a 15 quart ($124.99) all the way up to a 400 quart cooler ($625). It also offers Grizzly’s line of insulated mugs and can koozies. “The mugs have been real big sellers. You can put ice in them in the morning and at night you still have ice,” Kelly noted. In July the store will begin offering two different sizes of a soft sided cooler (12 quart and 20 quart) that Grizzly is releasing.
So, what is the next new item for Kelly Printing and Signs? “We don’t have room for anything else,” Kelly laughed, “Of course I said that three things ago. Kelly noted that the criteria for adding new lines to the business is “anything you can personalize.”