We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Reyes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

Risks are necessary for progression and I like to think of them as opportunities. Multiple risks played an important part in how I became the owner of Art Printer. I was hired for a full-time position at Art Printer in the fall of 2012. I had been struggling to get a steady job post college (Brooks Institute of Photography class of 2010) due to the recession. Finally the original owner of Art Printer, Adam Redner, gave me a job and an opportunity to learn new skill sets like stretching canvas and large format scanning. It turned out that I was replacing his only employee and Adam had business in Florida that took him away 85% of the time. I was left to run the operation by myself shortly after getting hired.

As tricky as that was to navigate and self-motivate, I ended up loving the work! I didn’t know much about art, but I was good at reproducing it. I loved getting to know the clients and enjoyed the challenges I faced with difficult jobs. The business revenue doubled within a year. Then Adam let me know he was selling the business, but it fell through. I realized that I was already doing most of the work so I considered buying the business myself. The problem was, at 26 years old, I had no credit and no assets. I could not get a big enough loan on my own. I went to my parents to ask for help.
I grew up in Monrovia, CA where my parents still reside. My mother Andrea Reyes is a Spanish professor and my father Hector Reyes was a chef. My family had no experience in owning a business and thought I was crazy for trying to take this on alone. I showed my parents Art Printer’s finances and got them to consider talking to a financial advisor to get a professional opinion. It took some time, but after they met with an advisor they were convinced it was a good idea.
Now I had to convince Adam to sell the business to me, a young woman with no business experience! Art Printer was his creation and business was going well. He wavered a bit with the decision, backed out at one point, but ultimately decided he wanted to sell to me. My parents took out a loan on their mortgage (our family home) and drew up a personal loan for me. By the end of June of 2014, at the age of 27, I became the owner of Art Printer!
I realize how much of a privilege it is that my parents were able to do that for me. They took a huge risk, and I will forever be grateful. Adam took a risk hiring me from the beginning, and I took a risk taking on this crazy endeavor with little experience. It’s been nine years now, which is insane to me. I’ve made many mistakes along the way and I’ve learned from every one of them. I have been able to grow the business and employ wonderful people. Best part of it all, my dad joined the Art Printer team in 2020 now that he is semi-retired!
Please tell us more about your business. Art Printer specializes in reproducing artwork with a one-on-one experience. We have built a reputation on delivering high quality scans and archival prints with a quick turnaround time. We work with artists, photographers, set designers, art consultants, and anyone with an image they want scanned and/or printed for their walls!
How did you get to where you are today business-wise. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others.
I think we got to where we are today by perseverance and staying genuine to ourselves. It has not been easy, but we have managed to keep this niche business going by proving time and time again that quality and customer care are what really matters. Art Printer has been competing with bigger and online companies for years. People choose us because we’re small and we truly care. If we make a mistake, we’re quick to admit it and find a solution. We support clients by going to their art shows and promoting them on our social media and in-store. We become invested in their success and our clients feel that with every interaction
The other big factor is the quality of our services and our talented team. We have impressive large format scanners that capture fine detail and texture. We use the best professional printers, genuine archival inks, and archival paper for production. Our experienced team members are artists themselves with the experience and knowledge our clients need.  Integrity is important to us, so we strive for the best customer care. Our clients speak directly to the person who is processing their order and executing each service. We get to know our clients and anticipate their needs. We’re your friendly neighborhood Art Printer
Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?
Ha! It has not been easy to say the least. The greatest challenge that I’ve ever encountered in my business was getting through the pandemic. Right before the pandemic we were in an unkept building with a terrible landlord. He jacked up my rent I think to push me out. The business was going well, but I was exhausted. I was struggling to stay on the rollercoaster ride of being a business owner. I had to get out of that building if I wanted to survive.
Then the pandemic hit. Did I really want to commit to a new lease, renovate the building and move during an unprecedented pandemic?! The thought more than crossed my mind to get out, cut my losses and hide. But I really liked my team (3 employees at the time) and I didn’t want to let them down! Our current location (conveniently right next door to the old one) became suddenly available due to the pandemic. I felt like this building was my silver lining in all the chaos. I signed the lease and what a benefit it has been! I love the space and my new landlord Marika Williams.
With the help from family, friends, clients, my team and government loans we moved into our current location in June of 2020. Business was going well before the pandemic so I had faith that if we could get through one tough year, business would be back. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still recovering and I have loans I’ll be paying off for a while, but business came back! This experience gave me many emotional breakdowns, a lot of white hair, and a greater confidence in my business.
Now that we have this new location, I’ve been able to put more of my personality into the space to make it my own. My mom and her green thumb took over the planters, we have beautiful murals on the building from some of my favorite local artists (Lang Maddox Ploszek, Gustavo Zemeño Jr., Lindsay Carron, Cameron Calderon, and Jayson Matias), and even a window front gallery space that my team and I get to curate.  Moving here put new energy into me and my team which is exactly what we needed to survive the pandemic.
What do I want people to know about me and my business?
Every day my team and I get to see cool, strange, beautiful, and surprising art. It gives me endless joy. The fact that a print we make is going to be displayed in someone’s home, gallery, movie set, etc. gives me great pride. I’m truly a fan of our talented clients, and I’m thankful that we get to have a hand in giving other people the joy of art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. In your view what are some of the most fun, interesting, exciting people, places or things to check out?

Born and raised in LA, I got the goods with this question!

Daytime activities:
Enjoy that sunshine with a beach bike ride from Venice Pier to Will Rogers State Beach and back! Take your time and people watch along the way, you won’t be able to help yourself. Stop at the Venice Skate Park and observe the fun. Stop at Hinano’s on the way out for a beer, a burger and some live local music.

Go for a hike on the Westridge Trail with all the off-leash dogs! The view of the coast on one side and DTLA on the other is killer, plus if you hike on the large mounds it’s a good workout.

Enjoy another beach bike ride in the South Bay! Bike from Manhattan Beach down to R.A.T Beach and back. Stop in Hermosa Beach at Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co. for delicious cocktails and seafood.

Hit up Kenneth Hahn State Park! Lots to explore with a killer look of DTLA and a beautiful MLK JR Memorial. Hit up Bee’s Taqueria afterwards for some delicious Mexico City style food.

If you’re in town during a local festival, for sure hit that up! My favorites are the Abbott Kinney Festival, Venice Fest and Fiesta Hermosa.

Evening activities:
Definitely hit up a Dodger night game! Get an early dinner at La Cha Cha Cha for some fancy and delicious Mexican food on their rooftop in DTLA, or go to Highland Park Brewery for some delicious bar food before the game.

Catch a comedy show at Largo at the Coronet! This small playhouse is my favorite place to see comedy. Very well known comedians go there to work on their material, and it’s always a good time. Go The Rodger Room for some seriously delicious cocktails before the show.

Go to an Art Show– ALL OVER LA! Support local artists! Make a night out of it and hit up a new restaurant along the way.

Other restaurants in no particular order:
Tangaroa Fish Market
Playa Provisions
Bee’s Taqueria
Scopa Italian Roots
Sushi Beluga
Don Chuy’s
Sonoritas Prime Tacos
Hiho Burger
Superba
J Nichols
Lodge Bread
Jackson Cafe

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh yes, there are many people who deserve recognition because I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them! Shoutout to my family Andrea, Hector, and Joaquin Reyes for believing in me and helping me every way they can; to my husband Jason Speth for his emotional support, and for always coming through with the most random fixes and problem solving; to Jennie Speth and Tony White for all of their support and guidance, to Stan Speth for always knowing how to fix everything and willingness to get his hands dirty; my friends for their support, encouragement, and helpfulness; to Adam Redner for starting this business and for trusting me to keep it going; to our wonderful clients, many who saw me become the owner, gave me advice, and stuck with me through the years; and to the talented people who have been part of my team, took pride in their work and treated our clients with great care. I appreciate all of you more than you can imagine! Special shoutout to my current team: Nathan Sebakijje, Margaret Larabel, Ela Thompson, Hector Reyes, and Jayson Matias. You are talented wonderful individuals that make a badass team and I’m very grateful for you all.

Website: art-printer.com

Instagram: instagram.com/artprinterla

Twitter: twitter.com/artprinterla

Facebook: facebook.com/artprinterla

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/art-printer-los-angeles

Image Credits
Photos by Nathan Sebakijje, Jason Speth, and Amanda Reyes

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.