Today's Guest: Laura Bautell of Dynamic Designs in Bancroft, Michigan
Today's Host: Damien Allen
Listen to this Show
Publish this Show on Your Website
Show Sponsor www.morephotos.com
Dynamic Designs
Laura Bautell Transcript Page
Laura Bautell Expert PageANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio Photography Spotlight is brought to you by morephotos.com helping professional photographers with all their internet needs. Welcome to the VTalk Radio Photographer Spotlight.
DAMIEN: Good afternoon and welcome to the VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. My name is Damien Allen, and today we are at the Great Lakes Institute of Photography Show at Northwestern Michigan College, and we're speaking with Laura Bautell of Dynamic Designs. Good afternoon and welcome to the program.
LAURA: Good afternoon.
DAMIEN: So you're located in Bancroft, Michigan. Where's Bancroft at?
LAURA: Halfway between Flint and Lansing.
DAMIEN: Ok, so down state a little bit. We're currently in Traverse City, and what does Dynamic Designs do?
LAURA: We make soft custom cotton backdrops, both dyed...lots of them are just simply dyed. Some are dyed and then painted, but even after they're painted, they are still very soft and flexible.
DAMIEN: Really. How long have you been doing this?
LAURA: I've been doing this for about 7 years. I bought it from a lady who had started it 8 years previously so it's been around for a while. It has a real good reputation and good quality stuff.
DAMIEN: What type of back drops do you design?
LAURA: Well we do everything from the basic like pastel colors, soft grays, low key, high key stuff, but I also do what's called senior art. Sort of wild and crazy stuff. I also do traditional things like frames and columns, Grecian columns. I do everything from a 10' x 10' back drop to a 20' x 30'. I've done some of those for dance groups and for teams...different sporting teams, and I've done a few things for bands and theater as well.
DAMIEN: What type of care would you need with a soft cotton back drop?
LAURA: These are cold water washable. Since they're cotton, you wouldn't want to use either hot water or hot air, but they will stand a wash, and I recommend if possible to hang them out on the line; otherwise, use cool air to dry them. But they're very washable...they're very durable.
DAMIEN: For a soft cotton back drop what would be the lifetime of that?
LAURA: Well I had a customer, an old customer, call me and ask me to re-dye his. They're all coded so we have a formula for each one, and I looked it up and he had been one of my friend's first customers, and he had washed it so many times that it was originally a pastel and all the color was pretty much gone. So he sent it to me, and I said if the material is any good yet, I'll just use this material. I didn't have any trouble at all. I dyed it and shipped it back to him, and he was just as happy as could be.
DAMIEN: So almost 15 years old.
LAURA: Good quality stuff.
DAMIEN: What type of a price range is a professional photographer looking at for a soft cotton back drop?
LAURA: Mine are about in the middle range of back drops considering both the canvas and the muslins, and a 10' x 10' of the dyed ones runs around $150 and you can go up to a 10' x 10' in the top of my line which are the senior things done on black material. Those sell for $350 so and then like a 10' x 20' sells for $520, I believe.
DAMIEN: So very cost effective.
LAURA: Yeah. It's sort of middle range in the industry. I try to keep them in range.
DAMIEN: If somebody wanted to get a sample of your work, or maybe a catalog, where would they go to find a sample?
LAURA: My website is www.dynamicdesigns1.com, and I have very current pictures of my back drops on there, and I also have a contact me place and address, phone number, all that kind of stuff.
DAMIEN: Thank you very much for joining us today.
LAURA: Thank you.
DAMIEN: We've been speaking with Laura Bautell of Dynamic Designs of Bancroft, Michigan at the Great Lakes Institute of Photography Show at Northwestern Michigan College. I'm Damien Allen, and you've been listening to the VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. Have a great afternoon.
ANNOUNCER: You have been listening to the VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight; only www.vtalkradio.com on Radio for the 21st Century.