Name: Skye Wellington
Title: Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Company: Garlock Printing & Converting Corp.
Company URL: www.garlockprinting.com
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skye-wellington-ab1b1555/
Did you choose print or did print choose you?
Print choose me. I choose a creative path in life and was fortunate that doors into the world of flexographic printing opened to me. I was always an artistic person growing up and I did not have your typical American upbringing from grade school up into college. I was homeschooled and learned what I wanted to learn. In my mid 20’s I had a scholarship from AmeriCorps that was about to dry up so I needed to make a decision quickly about what it was that I wanted to do. I decided at that moment that I could only imagine myself enjoying life as a “creative” so I went to art school, studied graphic design and then I became a freelance graphic designer. That led me into an opportunity in customer service at a large flexible packaging and tissue printing company. I constantly volunteered to do creative work inside the company which led to a promotion in marketing. My company is hugely supportive of my creativity and I get to see much of this come to life in print – both on film and in tissue-based packaging as well as tradeshow and other printed marketing materials.
How do you establish credibility with customers, colleagues and bosses?
I’ve always been known to be an honest hard worker and this has given me the opportunity to grow within my industry. I still manage to surprise co-workers, customers and suppliers within the flexographic print industry with my creativity and ability to think outside the box. We did a tradeshow in Vegas for the frozen food industry where we were pitching our sustainable packaging. For that show, I designed and built a booth made up of all recycled and repurposed materials found in our press plant. I got some crazy looks when I said I was going to do it but, once it was completed jaws did drop and we ended up winning an award for our booth at the show. This is where I like to push myself as a creative, I love to surprise people. I’m also a people person and people think I’m funny, I have built a lot of strong relationships this way.
What advice can you offer regarding negotiating salary raises/addressing fair pay issues?
Never stop believing in yourself and stand up for yourself when it’s necessary. When you are one of a kind, you are irreplaceable and sometimes we need to remind people of this. I’m never fake, and I’m honest and outspoken. When it comes to being unhappy about issues like inequality and knowing I’m not getting equal pay to men in the same field – I speak up and repeat myself – I don’t wear gloves to this fight.
What advice did you receive early in your career that you wished you had followed?
You can do and be anything you want. Listen to yourself – that inner voice.
