February 13, 2017

Meet Ellen Daigle of Ellens Silkscreening in South Pasadena

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Daigle.

Ellen, as a recently divorced mother of 3 and a registered nurse at the time, decided to take some courses to learn how to become a sign painter in order to work at home and be closer to her children. Silk screening was one of the courses she enrolled in and that class eventually led her to opening her own business. In 1978, Ellen opened shop and began printing in her garage. Ellen’s three young daughters assisted her.

Ellen worked out of her garage for the first 6 years before she made the move to her first location at 816 Mound Ave. in South Pasadena. As her business grew steadily Ellens big break came during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. That contract, along with the boom in the t-shirt industry, helped propel the company forward. Through a project with KRLA Radio, Ellen worked with Joe Daigle, the Art Director at the time, which eventually lead to Joe leaving KRLA to work with Ellen full-time. Ellen and Joe were married in 1984.

In 1998, as the company was growing out of its small office at 816 Mound St., the need for more office and production space forced Ellen to expand. She occupied the adjacent space at 1506 mission Street for a few years before relocating to the new space at 1500. Ellen credits her success from hard work and the commitment and dedication of her entire staff. Ellens mission is to keep her customers satisfied with the best customer service and quality products. This mission is what led her to be honored by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in its “Millennium Hall of Fame”. In addition, she was named one of the top 100 women-owned businesses in Los Angeles County by the L.A. Business Journal many times over the years. The company has been honored with the “Industry Service Award in Excellence” several times. Most recently, Ellen was awarded the Women in Business award.

Ellen has not forgotten the importance of her staff as the company has expanded throughout the years. Ellen said, “Our staff is like a family and we take pride in the work we do. No matter how much the company grows we never want to leave our customers unsatisfied.”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any business that is successful, the road is filled with challenges. We keep addressing the newest issues and re-inventing ourselves.

Ellens Silkscreening – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our company is family owned and been in business for 40 years. We do silk screening, embroidery and promotion products. We have become the marketing arm of many businesses, small and large. We are known for quality work, exceptional service, being honest and reliable and have long-time employees.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on? What are you most proud of?
I believe it is an amazing achievement to have stayed in business for over 40 years.

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