BEHIND THE COUNTER: Sublime Images personalizes gifts Eric Bender,
Business Reporter
David Hall doesn't think
he necessarily has a gift for business, but he does have gifts. As a couple looking to start their own enterprise, Hall points to a business planning course they took at London's small business incubator and support from Human Resources and Development Canada as valuable steps in getting going. While still home-based, they are testing the walkup retail trade in Covent Garden Market in London. "We knew we had to go retail," said Hall. "We came into Covent Garden to determine acceptance without entering a lease." After a career in the IT industry in Montreal and 10 years in Saudi Arabia, the couple decided to settle in a medium-sized city. "It's not quite true to say we put a pin in the map. I had been to London 20 years before," Hall said. They moved to London in 1998 and, after commuting to IT jobs in Toronto and Stratford, set out on their own last year. They researched small businesses on the Internet and Hall was intrigued with image transfer -- photographs, script, crests, logos, etchings, corporate names, almost anything -- onto a host of items. The process the Halls use is sublimation, which they say is superior to silk screening. Hall, who grew up in England near the Scottish border, has a collection of 500 Scottish tartans and 250 clan badges that can be transferred. In all, he has an inventory of more than 2,000 images in stock. Their niche is in small orders, Hall said. Noting he and his wife are not artists, Hall said, "We're very gift oriented and we work more with images." He sees commercial potential in tile, where businesses or homeowners could have their logos or names inscribed on tiles when constructing a new building or renovating.
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