Angie Wurtzler, Owner, AVH Ink & Vinyl, Breese

Angie Wurtzler, Owner, AVH Ink & Vinyl, Breese

By KATE GENO
    A professional graphic designer for more than 26 years, Angie Wurtzler started her own company, AVH Ink & Vinyl, to share her creative talent with people and businesses in Illinois.
    AVH Ink & Vinyl (formerly After Hours Vinyl) produces custom vinyl graphics, full-color banners; yard, construction and metal signs; vehicle magnets; personalized gifts; and decorative interior wall art. Due to the personalized installation, the company works within a 50-mile radius of its headquarters in Breese.
    The company also provides creative services that include page layout and design for printed materials such as newsletters, brochures, business cards, books, magazines, and newspapers, including the Illinois Business Journal.
    The newest service to be offered is screen printing for shirts and other apparel. Kyle Heimsath of Highland recently joined the company to head up the screen printing division.
    “2014 is an exciting year for AVH,” says Wurtzler. “We are evolving with a new name, a new screen printing and decorating apparel service, and the grand opening of our store at 290 N. Main St. in Breese.”
    Wurtzler is also forming a group called Small Town Creative Alliance. AVH Ink & Vinyl and Fresh Pear Design are joining forces to offer a one-stop shop for all things creative.
    “I want to exceed the professional quality, design, and customer service that people have come to expect from companies with product offerings such as ours. For example, most similar companies do not staff professional graphic artists,” says Wurtzler. “AVH Ink & Vinyl is unique because we provide a comprehensive service for our clients from start to finish. I enjoy the opportunity to translate my clients’ vision into a tangible design.”
    Wurtzler started designing at age 17. Her first position was a paste-up artist for the Belleville News Democrat and its sister newspapers. She progressed to learning computers and designing advertisements. She transferred to the Breese Journal and Publishing Co. and was in charge of pre-press there for 15 years. In 2006, she started her company, After Hours Vinyl, and worked with clients “after hours.” Her services grew in demand through word of mouth until she was able to commit herself full time to the company in 2012.
    Now that her goal of making the company a full-time operation has been achieved, she is hoping to expand her staff in the future and become the leader of her product niche in the local market.
    Wurtzler believes that when someone has the desire, drive, and commitment to start their own company, they are on their way to success: “You just have to put aside the fear and go for it.” Put that in ink.