Why I work with local companies: A big shout out to Boston Packaging

This was a big week for us at Awkward Engineer Creations... we had a shipment due to a new customer, Urban Outfitters, who is going to test our Panic Button Light Switch in their online store soon. (I promise to tell you when it's live.)

Of course, this required having the proper retail packaging in house for assembly. The lead time on a custom box can be several weeks... the printing plates need to be cut, the press needs to be set up, and then the raw sheets get cut, scored, folded and glued. Setting up the machines for each one of these steps can be time consuming, so to keep costs down, print runs can be in the thousands of units.

(In case you're wondering what several thousand sheets of cardboard looks like, see below.)

There were a couple minor hiccups in the process and I had a due date fast approaching. But because he's only an hour drive from my assembly house, Steve McDonnell, the owner of Boston Packaging, was able to have his team hand glue enough boxes for my order and then show up in person first thing on Monday morning to ensure everything was going smoothly.

And that's why I work locally. The end result: on time delivery. (See below.)