Latest / Integrate This! Ed Tech Podcast / From Pixels to Product: When Student Creation Gets Real | Peter Valinski & Vik Patel

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From Pixels to Product: When Student Creation Gets Real | Peter Valinski & Vik Patel · Integrate This! Ed Tech Podcast

0:00
Welcome to Integrate This, your go -to EdTech
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podcast where curiosity meets classroom innovation.
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Join your hosts, David Berner and Jeremy Mikla,
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as we explore the rapidly evolving world of educational
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technology. From game -changing tools to insightful
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conversations with today's top EdTech voices,
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we're here to help educators stay informed, inspired,
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and ready to innovate. So tune in, level up,
0:25
and let's integrate this. Welcome to the Integrate
0:40
This EdTech podcast. I'm Jeremy Mikla, joined
0:42
by co -host David Berner, and we're really excited
0:46
to welcome on as our special guests here today,
0:48
Peter Walensky and Vic Patel. David and I had
0:51
the opportunity to meet both of you on the floor
0:54
of the Expo Hall at ISTE this summer. And we're
0:57
really excited to be able to connect once again
1:00
so that you can share a little bit more about
1:02
the exciting things that you guys have going
1:04
on. So Vic, you want to kind of start us off
1:07
here, give us a little bit about your background,
1:09
share some of your story, how you got into this
1:11
EdTech space. Oh, yeah. Fantastic. Well, first
1:14
of all, thanks for having us on the podcast.
1:18
It was great meeting you guys at the show, and
1:21
I've actually been looking forward to this. So
1:23
thank you. So from my perspective, my journey
1:27
into EdTech has been kind of a labor of love,
1:30
to be perfectly honest. I've been in the digital
1:35
customization space for over 20 years now. And
1:38
I've always said to, in the back of my mind,
1:41
I've always said, you know, we've got to get
1:43
into Ed, right? We've got to start teaching kids.
1:47
that the power of customization or digital decorating
1:51
and let them evolve into their own little businesses.
1:56
So my journey really started at a company called
1:58
Sawgrass, where Peter works, where I was a head
2:01
of marketing in global biz dev. And Sawgrass
2:04
makes the printers and the inks to decorate products
2:07
like coffee mugs and tumblers, et cetera. From
2:10
there, I started my own company, Craft Express
2:13
here in Charleston, South Carolina. And between
2:17
the two of us were both based in Charleston.
2:19
It made perfect sense now to start looking at
2:21
the EdTech space. And here we are, right? And
2:25
I literally dove into it last year, feet first,
2:30
and it's like learning from a fire hose, and
2:33
I'm loving it right now. Yeah, and we'll definitely
2:37
get into what you just talked about a little
2:39
bit in your intro there. But Peter, how about
2:42
your story? Yeah, again, Peter Valensky with
2:46
Sawgrass Technologies and as Vic had alluded
2:49
to, right? We've been kind of eyeing this edge
2:52
base for quite some time. You know, it does have
2:56
multiple layers to it. But from our standpoint,
3:01
I think the real eye -opening was the ITZY Orlando
3:06
show that happened this past summer. Very, very
3:10
eye -opening experience to us, right? Again,
3:14
market validation, there's definitely a connection
3:18
between the technologies that Sawgrass creates
3:21
and the needs of the educational market. So now
3:25
it's just a matter of connecting those two dots
3:27
at the end of the day. And so I think you both
3:31
bring a really interesting angle here to our
3:33
conversation today. David and I coming from the
3:36
education space because we both started out as
3:39
classroom teachers, you're coming more from the
3:41
business side of things, finding that little
3:43
niche where, but yet your focus still seems to
3:47
be on. doing things with educational technology
3:51
that are going to help students in their futures.
3:55
You know, and I think one of the things that
3:57
David and I have plenty of experience with, and
4:00
I think students and classroom teachers do as
4:03
well, is students are creating digital artifacts
4:06
now all of the time. They're creating presentations,
4:10
they're creating graphics, they dabble in videos
4:13
and websites. But really what you're talking
4:16
about here is taking those digital creations
4:19
that they're doing to kind of another step of
4:22
actually taking their designs, taking their work,
4:25
and then creating a physical product. about that.
4:29
So what do you think then changes for a student
4:32
when they take their digital creation, maybe
4:35
something that they've invested amount of time
4:38
learning a lot about that process, and now they
4:40
can transform that into a physical thing that
4:43
they can hold in their hands? That's a great
4:47
question, Jeremy. And from my standpoint, I think
4:51
the big delta here is it's something tangible,
4:55
right? It's something that the students can touch.
4:58
They can feel, they can look at with their own
5:03
hands. And it's that connection that they have
5:06
with this tangible object. Yeah, you can have
5:09
it on a screen. Yes, you can have it in printed
5:13
form. But when you put it on a product, that
5:16
creativity, I really think there's a connection
5:20
that's made. It's maybe stereotypical to say
5:24
that the wow factor, right? But it's really really
5:27
cool when you see a student and and they pull
5:30
a mug out of the mug press for the first time,
5:33
you know after being transferred with our our
5:36
our airing technology and they just go wow That
5:40
is is really cool. I I can't believe my image
5:44
looks that good on that product. So again, I
5:48
think it's that real connection that they have
5:51
with a tangible product. Almost like they feel
5:54
a sense of ownership over it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
5:58
I think it's a great way to put it. Vic, were
6:00
you going to add something? Yeah, there's actually
6:02
a real and true emotional connection to this,
6:05
right? So the kids are pouring their heart out,
6:11
creating a digital artifact. And now they're
6:14
actually putting it onto something that they're
6:16
going to use, or they're going to gift to a family
6:20
member, right? You know, I've got a 13 -year
6:24
-old son. He brings home artwork. When he was
6:27
younger, he used to bring home artwork every
6:29
week, right, from kindergarten. Then we framed
6:32
it. It's actually still hanging up in our home.
6:35
It's been there, you know, 10 years now, and
6:37
we love it. It's part of an emotional connection
6:41
we have with our son learning and growing and
6:44
doing art. Now, if we can take that piece, that
6:48
emotional connection and say, okay, how do you
6:50
take it to the next step? How do you continue
6:52
to add value across this value chain, right?
6:55
And now you're gifting it to someone, they're
6:58
loving it, they're using it. How can you now
7:00
take it to the next level and say, learn how
7:02
to become what I call a micropreneur, right?
7:06
build your Etsy store. You create a small incubator,
7:11
sort of secondary form of income, right? Learn
7:14
how to run a business on a small scale and maybe
7:17
grow that in the future. So new skills, but we're
7:21
actually putting the academic knowledge that
7:24
they're learning from school, whether it's English,
7:26
math, engineering or science, STEM, right? And
7:30
then putting it into more of an entrepreneurial
7:32
play, bring it all together. That's what encourages
7:36
me because as a child, I grew up in an entrepreneurial
7:40
household, but I left to go to full -time employment
7:44
and now I'm in my own company. I know what it
7:47
means to do that and how fulfilling it is. And
7:49
I think that's the beauty of what this creates.
7:54
Do you think there's some resiliency that could
7:56
be learned by students as well? Because I'm sure
7:58
sometimes when their product finally does come
8:01
out and they hold it in their hands, that it
8:02
doesn't quite turn out the way that they want
8:04
as well. And so, you know, what did they then
8:08
learn about, you know, is that part of the process?
8:11
Is that part of what's expected that iteration
8:14
is key here? Failure is success, right? I mean,
8:17
how many times have we heard this phrase, we
8:19
fall over, get up and keep going. Because if
8:22
you're not failing, you're not succeeding. Our
8:26
users fail all the time. I fail all the time.
8:31
I do this every day. Making a coffee mug or a
8:33
t -shirt, the number of products I ruin, that's
8:36
great. But you know what? I'm learning every
8:39
time. And I try not to make the same mistakes
8:41
over and over again. It happens. But it's a small
8:45
mistake to make as you go through this journey.
8:48
So, yeah. I think it's all a learning process.
8:52
I mean, how many times have we failed a test
8:53
in school? Yeah. And to add what Vic just said,
8:58
I think it's also students learning to control
9:02
variables, right? Because with this decorating
9:05
technology, as long as the variables are held
9:08
in check, then the product does become repeatable
9:11
in terms of its output. Now, there's the garbage
9:14
in, garbage out. If the artwork file, to begin
9:17
with, is flawed, obviously the end output will
9:20
represent that. But I think it's really, really
9:23
helpful for students to know, hey, look, A plus
9:26
B does equal C with these processes. And if you
9:29
change A or B, that's also going to impact or
9:33
reflect the ultimate output result. Peter, I'm
9:38
kind of curious, too. You know, coming from this
9:40
industry perspective here and applying it in
9:44
a classroom setting, what sort of skills do you
9:47
think a student is going to learn from the design
9:50
to production process that an educator might
9:54
not immediately see, right? They might see, you
9:57
know, like, hey, can they follow the steps sequentially
10:01
to get from A to B? But, you know, what are some
10:05
of these, like, other things that teachers might
10:07
notice that a student is learning while doing
10:09
activities like this? I think, well, you know,
10:15
there's certainly a sense of independence that
10:18
comes from this as well, just from a workflow
10:22
standpoint. Yes, you can have particular processes
10:27
that are defined and repeatable, but that's where
10:32
the creativity side comes in. as well. And that's
10:36
a very, very key component, because if the solution
10:41
lacks the creativity, I think that kind of strips
10:43
the fun out of it, right? And that, for educators,
10:47
is something difficult to inject is the fun component,
10:52
but I think that's the brilliance of this decorating
10:55
technology is that it is fun, right? They can
10:58
be creative. They can be expressive in terms
11:01
of the products and the artwork and putting it
11:04
on. It could be really the same artwork file
11:09
going on a multitude of different products, but
11:11
they kind of have their own look and their own
11:13
feel. Yeah, I think that's that creative component
11:18
that's really unique. So Peter, kind of a follow
11:22
up here with that as you look at students in
11:26
K through 12, right, schooling and obviously
11:29
upper grades that are getting more into like
11:31
the career aspects and exploring some of those
11:33
things. What do you typically see as career opportunities
11:38
for students that are you know, in those like
11:41
later years of high school and they're figuring
11:43
some of those out, we see a lot where it's like,
11:46
you know, they're exploring things like, you
11:49
know, welding or, you know, some industrial tech
11:51
type things, but with with the customization
11:54
of like shirts and signs and, you know, creating
11:58
or being creative with art and that type of thing,
12:03
and the hands on processes that you're talking
12:05
about, what kind of careers usually do you see
12:08
come out of out of your industry for students
12:11
that are leaving high school or maybe starting
12:14
college? Great question, David. And, you know,
12:19
I think the beauty of the technology is that
12:23
it kind of reaches a broad base of potential
12:26
careers. Because at the end of the day, if you
12:31
look at what Vicks kind of said earlier, if you're
12:33
creating like a little Etsy store, right, you
12:36
have to figure out, OK, How do I run a small
12:39
business? Where do I get my raw materials? What
12:43
are my raw material costs? What do I sell these
12:46
for? How long does it take me to make them? What
12:50
do I charge the end consumer? What type of profitability
12:55
do I make? And I think all of these, whether
13:00
you go into the business world, or the medical
13:03
world, or you know, any type of it doesn't necessarily
13:08
be the creative side. I think these are all really,
13:12
really helpful skills because we're all managing
13:15
a business, whether it's our household or, you
13:19
know, maybe it is our place of work or place
13:23
of worship or wherever. Right. There's you're
13:26
kind of managing something. And I do think that,
13:30
yeah, this this technology is kind of lends itself
13:34
to that broad base of experiences and technologies,
13:39
and they can be applicable in many different
13:42
areas. Yeah, and I kind of like that a lot, too,
13:46
because obviously you're talking about teaching
13:48
kids a lot of different skills that they're learning
13:52
along the way. Like you mentioned Etsy. Etsy
13:54
is pretty awesome because I think there's maybe
13:58
even a misconception for those of us who look
14:00
at, there's a lot of cool things on there that
14:02
people create. But what you're just mentioning
14:05
there, it's kind of fascinating because as you
14:08
look at the product, you don't typically think
14:10
of all the different things that went into that,
14:13
like the business aspects and managing all those
14:16
type of things. Can you talk to us just from
14:19
your own experience? And for either of you, Vic,
14:21
as well, what does that typically look like to
14:25
go from, for those of us who maybe aren't as
14:28
involved in that type of field, to go from an
14:31
initial idea concept to working its way out to
14:35
an actual market or place where people would
14:38
buy things and sometimes we see kids do this
14:40
too where kids have invented all sorts of cool
14:43
things that we've heard stories about where they
14:45
you know they'll make something and then and
14:48
so filling in the gaps of from we always see
14:51
it as like idea product but can you talk a little
14:55
bit about what happens in the middle between
14:57
there yeah yeah yeah vick why don't you take
15:00
this one because you see customers do this all
15:02
day long All day. Yeah, this is probably the
15:06
most, this is why I love this business. It's
15:09
so varied, right? However, there's one thing
15:12
that's consistent, and that is the process, right?
15:15
So if I'm allowed to go back to the previous
15:18
question on what the kids are learning, there
15:21
is a consistent process, a consistent rhythm.
15:25
Whether you're making a t -shirt, a coffee mug,
15:27
it doesn't matter. the process is the same. And
15:30
if we can instill that discipline into kids,
15:33
right? It's almost like being in the military,
15:36
you're learning a process, you're learning a
15:38
discipline, and hopefully that carries forward
15:40
to whatever you do in your career, right? So,
15:44
and going back to your question, you're designing
15:49
something, you're making something. Now, you
15:51
don't have to be a designer. You don't have to
15:53
be great at drawing. You don't have to be great
15:56
at Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It could
15:59
be something as easy as your favorite movie phrases,
16:03
right? I have a former employee of mine who has
16:08
a degree in movies and classical movies. And
16:11
all he does on Etsy is sell 15 ounce coffee mugs
16:14
with movie phrases on there. And every month,
16:18
every two months, he'll come back and get a couple
16:20
of cases of coffee mugs from me. Right? You've
16:23
got other people who are photographers who take
16:27
photographs. I mean, we carry around a dish.
16:30
Everyone carries around a digital device today
16:32
where more photographs have taken than ever before
16:35
in history. Right? And we're carrying a catalog
16:37
of photographs and a great high res images. You
16:41
could take those pictures and put those onto
16:43
products and sell those. Just have to have a
16:46
theme. We have a store in Charleston. We have
16:49
a photographer in Charleston and This is mind
16:52
-blowing, but all he does is take photographs
16:55
of doors in Charleston. It's a historic town,
16:58
it's a beautiful city, and he has a small retail
17:02
store in Charleston where he sells the photographs
17:06
on aluminum photo panels at astronomical prices,
17:10
and he makes a brilliant living out of it. He
17:13
employs his wife, he employs his daughter, he
17:14
employs his son -in -law, right? All photographers.
17:19
So take your passion, and put it onto something.
17:23
And the process is really easy. You put it into
17:26
Canva, you put it into a design tool, you press
17:30
print, it comes off of the Sawgrass printer,
17:33
which has these really special inks on there,
17:35
and you put it under some heat, using some form
17:39
of a heat press, for a short period of time,
17:43
you take the paper off, and now you have a finished
17:46
product. You don't need to treat it, you don't
17:47
need to post -treat it, pre -treat it, it's done.
17:50
Coffee mugs can go in the dishwasher forever.
17:53
The handle is more likely to fall off than the
17:55
print coming off. So it really hones in on individuals'
18:03
passions. And it really hones in on what they
18:06
really, really love doing. And it's brilliant.
18:09
My former employee, he's a creative director
18:13
at a college here, and yet he has a side gig
18:18
doing these mugs. He comes home, he loves it.
18:21
He absolutely adores it. He's found his passion.
18:27
I'm kind of curious your take too on this because
18:30
you mentioned Canva for design and obviously
18:33
that's not the only one, but to me it seems like
18:36
if you look at the landscape of the ability to
18:40
create things, the barrier to entry seems really
18:45
low. Like a lot of people can get into these
18:48
things and explore them I mean when canva came
18:50
out like for I know for Jeremy and I like we
18:53
design a lot of different stuff like even just
18:55
you know thumbnails and things for our videos
18:57
and all that in our podcast And so like it's
19:01
really easy to do some of those things. So I'm
19:03
curious what your take is on comparing like the
19:07
low barrier to entry to opportunity for K through
19:12
12. Do you have any thoughts on like do Do students
19:17
have enough opportunities in your working with
19:21
schools or the things that you do creatively?
19:24
Do you feel like there's enough accessibility
19:27
for students to do some of those things? Even
19:31
though tool barrier to entry is really low, opportunity
19:36
might not be there as readily. Well, you'd be
19:40
surprised, right? And this is for adults and
19:45
the students. It's the same advice. When we're
19:50
promoting a product, whether you're selling or
19:52
you're giving it away, you're giving it away
19:54
to your tribe, to the people that are closest
19:56
to you, whether it's your immediate family, friends,
20:02
your neighbors, then your social tribe, right?
20:05
People on your Facebook or your Instagram. That's
20:08
your audience. That's your customer base. And
20:11
they're loyal to you. They follow you. Right?
20:13
Your parents are your parents and your grandparents
20:15
are going to buy anything from you. But that's
20:18
your that's your learning ground. That's how
20:19
you grow and start turning this flywheel. And
20:22
this is where you make your mistakes. And then
20:24
you go outside of your neighborhood, you go into
20:26
your zip code and you grow there. And so, yes,
20:31
the tool barrier is extremely low. Right. Thankfully,
20:34
it is with the with the emergence of Canva. Canva
20:38
has made it so accessible. even on their free
20:41
platform for you to create simple designs and
20:46
to print. So, you know, AI aside, Canvas made
20:51
it really easy. Sawgrass has made it really easy
20:53
with their printing solutions and finding blank
20:56
products is easy. Now, finding your audience
20:58
is just as easy. You don't have to think global.
21:01
You don't have to think nationwide. Just think
21:03
local, right? Think about your friends and start
21:08
there. Think about your family. Think about how
21:10
the lemonade stand operates. It operates in your
21:13
neighborhood. And is there a market for a lemonade
21:16
stand? Yeah, every Saturday when I'm going for
21:20
a walk with my dog, there are like three or four
21:22
lemonade stands in our neighborhood. And all
21:24
of them are relatively busy, whether they're
21:26
cookies, lemonade, or a different product that
21:29
they're trying to sell. So yeah, the barriers
21:32
are actually really low to entry for both market
21:35
and for tools. Yeah, I think I won't be coming
21:40
to your neighborhood anytime one piece of advice
21:42
I got from my father -in -law before he passed
21:44
away was like never walk by a kid's lemonade
21:47
stand without buying something So yeah, you have
21:50
to I might have to reach deep into my pockets
21:52
if I were to walk in your neighbor We have literally
21:55
we have literally Walked by said we're gonna
21:58
be right back and we come right back, right?
22:01
You just don't want to disappoint and that is
22:03
exactly what I'm talking about. We don't even
22:05
know these kids And now what's changed, Jeremy,
22:09
when you walk by Lemonade Stan and you say, hey,
22:12
I don't have any cash, the kids will look at
22:14
you and say, we take them, though. Yeah, it is
22:19
my QR code. Now, I am seeing a pretty natural
22:26
extension here for what you are both talking
22:28
about to the classroom. What I could envision
22:33
is taking the technologies that you're discussing
22:36
and that becomes kind of like the basis for a
22:41
small business or a small business type class
22:43
to operate within the school. And I mean, those
22:45
classes already exist, right? But you know, to
22:48
some extent, it's a lot more, you know, philosophical
22:52
or theoretical. And this brings an opportunity
22:56
to bring about maybe a more practical way. So
23:00
I guess, you know, like How would a teacher go
23:03
about wanting to begin doing something here with
23:06
the sawgrass products and bring that to their
23:11
students as a basis for a small business class?
23:17
I can, Peter, if you're okay, I'll take this
23:19
one head on. Take it away, man. I'm dealing with
23:21
it right now. So two weeks ago, I got a call
23:25
from a principal. from a Title I school in South
23:30
Carolina. This is a brilliant, brilliant example
23:32
of how we implement something like this. She
23:35
met at ISTE, just happened to be in South Carolina,
23:39
so she called. We had an hour and a half long
23:41
chat. It was amazing. She has got together four
23:45
teachers, including the counselor in the school,
23:50
a teacher that teaches marketing, English, and
23:54
a science teacher. And she says, we're ready.
23:58
Put the kit together for us and we'll get, you
24:01
know, we'll figure out the funding piece, right?
24:03
From the grants, et cetera. And the palette is
24:06
on the dock, ready to leave on Monday, right?
24:11
And she's literally kitted out this whole area
24:16
in her school to teach the kids how to actually
24:21
start their own business. And I keep calling
24:25
them micropreneurs because that's exactly what
24:28
they are, right? We want them to have this entrepreneurial
24:32
mindset. We want them to have these skills when
24:35
they go out in the workforce after school. And
24:40
it's so valuable. And these teachers are dedicated.
24:42
They're taking the time to pull this together.
24:45
And I've literally said, I want to give my time
24:48
to come down there because it is stuff I can
24:51
just drive there. And I want to be a part of
24:54
this to learn, right? To teach the kids, to mentor
24:58
them, and to see how we can take this little
25:01
example and expand it. And so it's happening.
25:07
I just came back from not a show. It was a little
25:13
conference from the Southwest Florida Library
25:17
Association last week. libraries and schools
25:22
came there to learn about makerspaces in their
25:28
facilities. Going through the list, around half
25:32
of them were schools, half of them were libraries.
25:35
But they're all looking for the same thing. They're
25:37
all looking for ways to give their patrons and
25:40
their students an opportunity to create and make
25:43
things that they can use in these spaces. So
25:48
it is, like I said, A year ago, this was kind
25:52
of a dream. Right now, I'm living it. It's brilliant.
25:56
And I'm learning through a fire hose from what
25:57
people are doing. So this is a reality is happening.
26:02
And as someone who was a coach of two different
26:05
sports for over 20 years, and so I met all the
26:10
time with different vendors for gear and for
26:15
sweatshirts and t shirts and hats. backpacks
26:18
and all of that sort of different stuff that
26:20
the you know, you wanted to be able to put together
26:22
an order that the kids could then choose the
26:24
items that they would want to and I always had
26:27
to work with someone. a third party person outside
26:30
of the school. So with what we're discussing
26:33
here, how simple would it be to start creating
26:36
things for your activities in your clubs and
26:40
spirit gear? I'm sure by the time that this airs,
26:44
many high schools across the country will have
26:46
had homecoming week, and all of the different
26:49
things that could go along with that would be
26:51
a pretty easy audience to find initially, right?
26:56
Yeah. you know, if you can, if you can just make
27:00
a third or half of the products in house in school.
27:06
One, you're keeping the money in the school.
27:09
Number two, you're teaching the kids how to make
27:11
money in in a controlled environment. And it's
27:15
all spirit where who doesn't want to wear spirit
27:17
wearing schools. And this is this is exactly
27:20
what one of the one of the aspects of this title
27:22
one school they have they have a football team
27:24
and they have really cool logos. and they have
27:29
the rights to those logos, so they have the right
27:31
to use their own logos in their own facility,
27:33
and there you go, right? So this is a great way
27:39
of creating this sort of smaller in -school shop
27:43
for spirit wear, and they can pivot very quickly
27:48
too. If they have an event on the weekend, they
27:50
can make different gear for that weekend, or
27:53
a different football game. So there's different
27:55
opportunities for them to sort of express themselves
28:00
in the spirit world, for sure. And I think, Peter,
28:03
too, is there something that happens educationally
28:06
for that student when we give them a customer?
28:11
to work for instead of simply just giving them
28:14
an assignment, create these different t -shirts
28:16
and then sell them. If we say, here, I need you
28:19
to go out and you need to work with these customers,
28:22
these coaches of these different clubs or activities,
28:25
does that give them maybe that more authentic
28:28
audience? I think so, Jeremy, right? Because,
28:32
again, now you're talking about social skills,
28:35
right? You're talking about communicating, maybe
28:37
they're communicating with adults within their
28:39
schools, with coaches and things like that. You
28:44
know, back to the spirit word comment, right?
28:46
This can be monetized for the school. And again,
28:51
this is the way that kind of capitalism works,
28:54
right? The children and the students get to see
28:57
kind of the fruits of their labor. Boy, if I
29:00
do all this, and I do it the right way, and I
29:03
make a really cool product that people like and
29:06
are willing to buy, I can make money at this,
29:09
right? So yeah, I think, again, it's so layered.
29:15
That's, again, some of the beauty of this. It's
29:18
not, well, this technology will give you skill
29:21
A and skill B. It really kind of layers on top
29:25
of itself, and I think it's going to ultimately
29:28
build more well -rounded students with a broad
29:31
base of skills, again, that they can probably
29:34
apply in many different professions. Yeah, I
29:37
could just see a student here, you know, trying
29:40
to, you know, maybe the same student here that
29:42
is working with a customer is also working as
29:46
a server at a local restaurant and they have
29:49
to deal with customers who don't always appreciate
29:52
the product that is put before them. And so how
29:55
then do you, I mean, that's a skill, right? That
29:58
is helpful for not just students to learn, but
30:00
people on how to handle that feedback. Exactly.
30:04
And sometimes that feedback is negative, right?
30:07
And how do you deal with negative feedback? How
30:11
do you handle that? Do you embrace it? Do you
30:15
apologize? Do you make a new product for that
30:18
customer, right? These are all fantastic skills
30:21
for students to learn. And as you look at students
30:26
as they're learning in the classroom, obviously,
30:29
there's a bit of a safety net there, right? They
30:31
can try things out. I'm curious what you think
30:35
like, or maybe you have some examples of things
30:37
you've seen, but what would this look like in
30:41
practice in a school district? Like if a teacher
30:44
is creating opportunities where kids can create
30:49
some of the projects that we've been talking
30:51
about a little bit here, how would they go about
30:56
doing that? I guess is the best way to ask it.
31:00
So we're actually in the midst of building curriculums.
31:02
to help teachers sort of navigate through this
31:06
process. And as you can imagine, depending on
31:09
the age groups that we're going into, at Craft
31:13
Express, you'll see a lot of these products on
31:16
our website at craftexpressus .com, right? Where
31:19
you can start with just sublimation markers,
31:25
pens, where kids can draw. You know, like my
31:28
kids artwork I talked about earlier, we can draw
31:30
on a copy paper and then transfer it onto ornaments
31:34
or mugs or tumblers, et cetera, or t -shirts.
31:37
And then as they grow, the curriculum will grow
31:41
with them and they'll teach them how to use Canva.
31:44
Then they'll, as they get older, you know, now
31:47
they're more responsible to use a heat press
31:48
because it's safer. They understand the safety
31:51
aspects of a heat press or different styles of
31:54
heat presses, you know, a mug. press and a tumbler
31:57
press is different from the flat press for t
31:59
-shirts etc. But they grow with the equipment
32:03
so this isn't just a one done, this is an opportunity
32:06
for you to start off with one type of decorating
32:11
technology like a marker, as simple as a marker,
32:14
work your way up to the digital technology. On
32:18
Sawgrass's website at sawgrassink .com you'll
32:21
see tons and tons of different opportunities
32:23
to make different types of products. Even on
32:26
our website, we have project cards that our customers
32:29
and our patrons can download and follow these
32:32
little recipes on how to cook their first mug
32:35
or cook the first tumbler. So that's really what
32:41
we need to do. We need to integrate the curriculums
32:43
into the schools and let the curriculums grow
32:46
with the kids as they grow up. they won't even
32:50
know that they're actually learning this trait,
32:52
but they are. And then learning these skills,
32:55
and that's the beauty of this, right? You're
32:56
learning all these sort of tangible skills without
33:00
the teacher saying, now we're going to learn
33:01
about how to make a profit. You already figured
33:04
that out. We've already integrated that into
33:07
the curriculum. So, go ahead, Peter. No, I was
33:12
just going to say to add what Vic just said there
33:15
too. I mean, the system too is adaptive to how
33:20
technologies are changing in the marketplace,
33:22
right? Vic kind of mentioned AI earlier, right?
33:26
A lot of teachers and educators are concerned,
33:28
okay, is this going to strip away that opportunity
33:32
for creativity with students, right? You're going
33:35
to have AI create an image versus that student
33:39
creating the image. Technology is part of progression
33:43
as well. And we as a society and educators and
33:48
students, we have to adapt as well. And I kind
33:50
of look at the AI component is actually reducing
33:54
friction, right? So if you have some students,
33:57
of course, very, very creative, very, very gifted
34:00
in that regard. Others. Not so much, right? Where
34:04
AI can be used as a tool, something to assist.
34:08
Is it going to do it perfectly the first time?
34:11
No, it's not, right? But that's where that refinements,
34:14
right? That the tweaking, right? Getting it,
34:17
maybe you have to add text, maybe you have to
34:19
add color, and maybe only AI will give you an
34:22
image to start with. It's not necessarily going
34:25
to give you a finished product. But if it creates
34:30
and reduces friction, then even more students
34:34
can utilize the technology, right? Because they're
34:37
not afraid or they don't see Canva is this daunting
34:40
task, AI can kind of help and support in that
34:45
endeavor. So, yeah, and talking about the curriculum
34:50
a little bit, that was mentioned, and this could
34:54
go to either of you, but the... what kind of
34:58
opportunities are built into there for when students
35:00
are working on a project? Like Peter, you had
35:04
mentioned things like the importance of iteration,
35:08
like being able to adapt to things or change
35:11
things or have different options for things and
35:13
be able to assess those and add them to your
35:16
project. How important are those things looking
35:20
at like student choice? The iterate the iteration
35:24
process and just student make decision -making
35:26
in general Vic Yes, so from the curriculum perspective
35:40
It's it there'll be some structure curriculums.
35:44
There'll be more for loss philosophical sort
35:47
of theoretical curriculum based opportunities
35:50
to we want the students to have the the opportunity
35:54
to be themselves This is the power of personalization
35:58
and customization. They have to be able to personalize
36:01
their journey. So we can give them the tools,
36:05
but then we also have to figure out, they have
36:07
to figure out what they want to, what to hone
36:10
in on. And because the curriculums are going
36:13
to be written in such a way, but what we're going
36:15
to be able to, if we use STEM, for example, STEAM
36:18
as an example, we're going to be able to... marry
36:22
the science behind what's happening with the
36:25
ink transfer onto the mug. We're going to be
36:27
able to talk about the engineering of the printer
36:31
and why it works the way it does. The mathematics
36:34
is quite simple, right? It's the profit and loss.
36:36
It's calculations of how to run a business, et
36:40
cetera, right? Which nobody wants to deal with,
36:43
but you have to. That's not the fun part. And
36:48
then the art part is logical, right? It's what's
36:52
going on to that blank canvas. So we've got to
36:55
be able to keep a curriculum not so structured,
36:57
but a little loose enough to allow the students
37:00
to have their own freedoms to be expressed. And
37:04
we want them to come to us and say, this is what
37:07
I want to do, right? And have us or have your
37:10
teachers and your counselors walk them through
37:13
the process. without trying to fit them into
37:16
a certain mold. That's the challenge with AI
37:23
today. The challenge with AI is AI is just changing
37:26
the face of how things are going to be done in
37:29
the future. When I say things, I mean everything
37:33
is being done in the future. But the one thing
37:35
that AI is not going to be able to take away
37:38
is what the humans can do with their hands. That's
37:42
what we're trying to, this is a perfect time
37:45
for us to sort of strike in the education market
37:47
because kids are going to come out of school,
37:49
they're going to come out of college and they're
37:51
going to say, okay, what do I want to do with
37:52
this art degree, right? Or what do I want to
37:56
do with this accounting degree? Because, you
37:58
know, AI is going to be doing accounting soon.
38:01
You're just going to have to send your receipts
38:04
in or connect your Amex account to AI and it's
38:07
going to do your accounting for you. So what
38:10
do I do in this new world That's what I'm going
38:14
to be thrown into in a few years after school
38:17
ends. And this is one way of getting our kids
38:20
to think completely differently, still managing
38:24
using AI, but think differently about what they're
38:27
going to do in the future. Is there a thinking
38:32
about students still, is there anything that
38:34
you've seen through the use of your products
38:38
or necessarily doesn't have to be, but maybe
38:41
something related? where you were really surprised
38:46
by the process of the students that they went
38:49
through as they were creating something. Not
38:52
necessarily just like we talked about, like there's
38:55
the, you know, they start and then there's the
38:57
end product that we see. But have you seen anything
39:00
that's been really interesting that you've come
39:02
across where it showcased the... the things we're
39:06
talking about, the processes that the students
39:08
went through, the things that they gained kind
39:10
of along the way and not necessarily just the
39:13
output at the end. So from the learning's perspective,
39:18
from the process itself, we haven't done this
39:22
long enough to sort of see those changes yet,
39:26
right? But from my older user base, what we have
39:33
seen is this progression of testing, right? So
39:38
for example, we will hand out, whenever we're
39:42
selling equipment or blanks, we're handing out
39:46
instructions on how to make something. And it
39:49
is not uncommon for our users to say, hold on
39:52
a minute, but I found a new technique. And the
39:56
beauty about our industry is people share those
39:59
techniques. And so as we go through the process
40:04
with students, And as we get more and more learning
40:07
from students, I am not going to be shocked to
40:11
see new things. And I've been in this 20 years
40:14
and I see new things every day on new products
40:18
that people are decorating or new techniques
40:20
that people are using to do the same things that
40:23
we've been doing for 20 years and different ways
40:26
to to improve the whole process itself, make
40:29
it more efficient. So I. I'm actually looking
40:32
more forward to seeing these new things come
40:34
out of students because, you know, as adults,
40:36
we're stuck in our ways, right? And, you know,
40:40
it takes a mountain to move us, right? It takes
40:44
a heavy weight to move us. But for kids, they
40:46
don't know. They're going to go with the flow.
40:49
And so this is why I want to get involved in
40:52
these schools as they do this. And I want to
40:54
see and observe what they're doing. So it's a
40:57
good question. To add to that, David, next week
41:02
at Printing United, this is one of the biggest
41:05
digital printing shows in the United States,
41:08
in Las Vegas, we're going to be demonstrating
41:10
something called the FlexPress. So what that
41:13
is going to be doing, as opposed to today, you're
41:17
manually taking the ink technology off the printer,
41:22
and then you're physically putting it on the
41:24
garment, using a heat press manually, and then
41:27
deck removing the transfer after the heat press.
41:31
This is a fully automated solution that has been
41:35
designed and will sit in front of the printer
41:37
and an automatic arm will remove the paper from
41:41
the printer tray. It'll lay the paper down on
41:45
the t -shirt and then automatically do with a
41:49
heated roller, a safety heated roller. It'll
41:51
apply and strip away the transfer. So these are
41:56
these processing changes that we're seeing even
41:59
with our own technology where now you're talking
42:02
about entering robotics and engineering, right?
42:07
And, you know, educationally, that also could
42:11
be layered on top of just a printing system.
42:15
Now it's a truly, you know, automated decorating
42:20
system. So again, this is what technology does.
42:24
This is how we advance. This is how we reduce
42:27
labor and apply efficiencies to the overall manufacturing
42:32
process. So I'm kind of curious here. And you
42:37
talk about some of these technological advances
42:39
and, you know, the equipment itself. What needs
42:42
to be in place at a school before they choose
42:46
to invest in technology like this? I think Jeremy,
42:51
number one, it's awareness, right? Because if
42:53
the schools don't know what technologies are
42:56
out there and what technologies can really, really
43:00
be beneficial, then again, the dots won't be
43:05
connected. So that's, you know, Vic is being
43:08
a bit of an evangelist right now, right? He's
43:11
out there trying to help these school systems.
43:14
connect the dots, right? Where they say, hey,
43:17
look, if you take this technology and use it
43:20
in this way, look at all the great benefits that
43:23
you can come from it. So would you agree, Vic,
43:26
that awareness is probably the top of the list
43:29
there? For sure. But I'd also seriously recommend
43:35
to anyone that's listening and any school district
43:38
or school that's listening, give us a call, right?
43:41
Let's jump on a call. There is no single solution
43:46
for every single school, right? So every school
43:50
has a unique need and let's focus in on that.
43:55
And let's start with a more narrow approach,
43:59
trying to make everything, like going into a
44:02
kid in a candy shop and saying, I want all this
44:04
candy, you'll end up with nothing. And you'll
44:08
end up walking out with nothing at all, right?
44:11
Maybe a cavity. Coming on our phone call with
44:20
us at Craft Express, we'll walk through the process.
44:24
What do you want to do? What goal do you really
44:27
want to achieve with the students? And then we'll
44:30
put that package together for you and to make
44:35
sure that it's successful. Again, we're happy
44:39
to, if we need to, jump on Zoom calls, be mentors,
44:45
be a part of that process. But every single opportunity
44:49
that we've done so far or had is unique. It's
44:54
very, very unique. We've got the school in South
44:57
Carolina that has a dedicated makerspace and
45:00
four teachers to it. We have libraries that have
45:04
makerspaces that are creating it for their patrons
45:06
to come in. and do print transfers. We have universities
45:11
who are setting it up for their students to come
45:14
in to help monetize it. So everyone is a little
45:18
bit different and everyone has a different goal.
45:20
Maybe it's Spiritware, maybe it's not, maybe
45:22
it's Entrepreneurial Center. Let's jump on a
45:24
call. Let's have a chat, right? And then let's
45:27
put something together. I'd love to sell you
45:29
everything, which is great. But then you're just
45:32
going to call me back and say, you sold me all
45:35
of this stuff and we're not using it. We're just
45:38
making t -shirts Right. So let's have that chat
45:43
and let's let's start off on on a positive footing
45:46
and grow it from there I Think it's been a great
45:50
conversation. We've connected a lot of different
45:52
things here from you know a business industry
45:56
perspective and in bringing that mindset into
45:59
the classroom I mean things like makerspaces
46:02
or stem steam labs or the entrepreneurship involved,
46:06
you know, taking students creative designs and
46:09
making some physical product out of it and even
46:13
just giving students those opportunities to learn
46:16
some of those off skills. You know, it's been
46:18
a really great conversation here around those
46:20
different things. But David and I just have a
46:23
few final questions for you here as part of our
46:25
lightning round that we're going to move into.
46:28
And so I've got a couple here and then David
46:31
will we'll pick it up with with a couple more
46:33
after that. Um, but, so this one is just for
46:36
Peter. Okay. Peter, what's one skill every student
46:39
should develop before they leave high school?
46:42
Ooh, Jeremy, since, since, uh, I am, I'm also
46:47
head of global sales. This is a biased opinion,
46:50
but I'm going to say selling. Um, and, and again,
46:54
selling is, is kind of a unique skill. Are you
46:56
selling to an end customer or are you selling
46:58
to a business? But look at, on every level, at
47:02
every point you're, you're You're selling yourself
47:05
if you're trying to find a job, right? You're
47:08
trying to sell an idea to fellow colleagues.
47:13
If you're, you know, in a place of work is part
47:15
of a team. You know, are you selling a company
47:19
because you wear that company logo on your shirt?
47:24
So, you know, I think it's that that that interaction,
47:29
right? Exactly. Exactly. Where You know, you
47:33
are learning, regardless of product or service,
47:37
you're trying to figure out a by selling starts
47:40
with being a good listener, right? Asking the
47:44
client questions, does my product or service
47:47
meet their needs? Right? Is it going to help
47:50
them solve the problem? Is it going to help them
47:52
make money? Is it going to help them reduce costs?
47:55
Right? That's when selling becomes easy, because
47:58
if it does those things, they're much more inclined.
48:01
to certainly buy your product or service. So
48:05
I mean, that's where my head goes. But I'm a
48:08
salesperson by nature. So like I said, full disclosure,
48:11
probably a little biased there. All right, Vic,
48:14
you shared with us the passion of being able
48:17
to start your own business here. But I'm also
48:19
kind of curious here. What do you think is the
48:21
most underrated skill needed to run a business?
48:26
I don't think you need the skill. I think you
48:27
need the will. Right. So it's a mental mindset.
48:32
and the willingness to go the extra mile. And
48:36
I think that is, it is not a skill. It is literally
48:41
a mental mindset to say, nobody's gonna say no
48:44
to me. Nobody can't say you can't do this or
48:47
you can't do that. It's the ability just to block
48:49
that out and just to go forward. If I walked
48:54
up to somebody and said I was gonna start this
48:56
business six years ago, I guarantee you 10. nine
49:00
out of ten people would have said, you're crazy.
49:04
Right? But six years later, we're still here,
49:06
we're still plotting along and, you know, look
49:10
at what we're doing now. We're on with you guys.
49:13
So having the will to do anything is the most
49:18
important, important thing. And you just hit
49:21
my favorite phrase, passion. I have this one
49:25
phrase I've used for 20 years and that's called
49:26
P squared. Have passion and pride for everything
49:30
you do, period. And you will succeed. All right.
49:36
So now we have the hardest question for both
49:37
of you. And this is, you have to tell us what
49:40
your, Jeremy and I are having a conference tomorrow.
49:43
You're both going to keynote for us. What is
49:46
each of your keynote walk -up songs? And we do
49:49
add these to our integrate this playlist that
49:52
we give to people. So all of our guests have
49:54
their song on the playlist. Right Peter's thinking
49:57
I got mine because I listened to it just before
50:00
this. It's a little boo thing by Paul Russell
50:02
David you've kind of stumped me. I must admit
50:06
see I said this is the hardest one. Yeah Yeah,
50:12
I Think it's gonna go be Elvis Costello. What's
50:15
so funny about peace love and understanding Elvis
50:20
Costello Yeah, I two artists. We have not had
50:23
anyone reply And we will be sending you the playlist
50:28
as well so that you can check out the other guest's
50:31
additions. So yeah, so guys, before we let you
50:36
off the hook, you know, we like to give people
50:39
an opportunity to share things that you have
50:40
going on or events that are coming up, you know,
50:44
that would be after mid -October. And then, you
50:47
know, just ways to get ahold of you. And I know
50:49
you mentioned a little bit about that earlier
50:51
and we'll make sure to take all of those things
50:54
and link them into the show description. Just
50:59
from my standpoint, we've got the, as I mentioned,
51:03
we got pretty united, which is next week. Of
51:05
course, that's a little early, but beyond October,
51:09
it's probably going to be the impression show
51:11
at the end of January out in Long Beach. Odds
51:14
are we'll be demonstrating some additional extensions
51:18
of the Versaflex technology, probably going on
51:21
to... a broader range of different textiles,
51:25
most of them being dark colored. And the easiest
51:29
way to explore and kind of look at our technologies
51:33
is via our website. And that is www .sawgrassink
51:38
.com. So www .sawgrassink .com. All right. So
51:49
my shows are all over for the rest of the year.
51:52
But one event I'm really looking forward to is
51:54
the Ed Sheeran concert in Charlotte, North Carolina,
51:57
mid -October. So that's my next major, major
52:00
event. And so, oh, and then we have, if you can't
52:05
tell, I'm not from Alabama, but I am from the
52:07
UK. So I grew up listening to UB40, and we have
52:10
a UB40 concert coming up too. But back to business.
52:17
It kind of slows down for us towards the end
52:19
of the year. It's really going into the holiday
52:21
period where people are just rushing to get their
52:24
holiday swag for customization. So if anyone's
52:28
interested in talking to us and connecting with
52:31
us. You can do that on social at CraftExpressUS
52:34
on Instagram and Facebook. Or you can come visit
52:38
us at CraftExpressUS .com. And my mobile number
52:42
is right on the footer. So that's my cell phone.
52:44
You can text me. You can call me any time of
52:46
night, except you, Peter. But that's it. Well,
52:52
gentlemen, just once again, thank you both. It's
52:55
been really great hearing what you guys have
52:57
to offer. The pleasure's been ours. Thanks so
53:02
much. Appreciate it. Thanks for listening to
53:06
Integrate This. Want to take your learning further?
53:09
Head over to our YouTube channel for quick tutorials,
53:12
deep dives, and more edtech tips you can use
53:15
right away. Don't forget to subscribe and catch
53:18
new podcast episodes every Thursday on Apple,
53:22
Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Until
53:26
next time, keep exploring, keep innovating, and
53:29
keep integrating this.