One doesn’t have to go very far in downtown Cañon City to find the handiwork of DARE Print & Sign Co. owner and graphic designer, Erica Haferkamp.
DARE Print & Sign Co. is a relatively new business in Cañon City, having opened its doors in late January, 2020. Erica and her husband, Kenny, had previously moved theirexisting company Sagentic Web Design (named after one of their daughters, Autumn Sage) to 407A Main Street from Texas in 2019. When 407B next door suddenly became available, they jumped on the opportunity to open a new, complementary business, DARE Print & Sign Co., named after their other daughter, Jeorjia Dare. Erica said that the name “DARE” also seemed to be saying, “I DARE you to do something good with your business!” (AND THEY HAVE)!
The Haferkamps, both Texas natives and veterans of the United States Marine Corps, have owned land outside of Cañon City for over 20 years and the Fremont County area was their go-to family vacation spot. Their end goal was always to move their business to Cañon City, so after both of their daughters left home to join the military, Erica and Kenny decided to leave Texas and head to Colorado, with a 9-month layover in southern California where both girls had been stationed.
Starting up a new business during a global pandemic seems like a hugely daunting task, but Erica stated, “The pandemic was kind of good for me because I was trying to run two businesses at the same time, and it gave me time to figure all of that out.” The business has since grown, expanded, and flourished and DARE Print & Sign Co. is busier now than Erica ever anticipated it would be.
Erica’s specialty with Sagentic was always graphic design, so running a print and sign shop was right up her alley. DARE Print & Sign Co. features high-quality products – pretty much anything a business would need to market themselves in full color. “We’re not a quick printing shop. No next day service, no copy machines. Think of us more like a small creative advertising/marketing agency focused on making small businesses look bigger with great branding,” Haferkamp asserted.
DARE Print & Sign Co. offers all of the usual products that businesses need to fulfill their marketing goals: logo design, business cards,
brochures, fliers, signs, feather flags, stickers & decals, sidewalk signs, banners, car magnets and more. They also offer some products that you might not expect, such as full-color mounted canvas prints, sublimation printing on aluminum, large scale photo prints, acrylic signs, heat transfers for clothing, window clings of any size, and even large scale billboard signs.
The Cañon City business community has warmly embraced DARE Print & Sign Co., and their location in historic downtown Cañon Cityhasproven to be invaluable for bringing in work from local businesses. Erica loves it that Cañon City businesses are so welcoming by supporting other local businesses.
Whatever it is that your business needs to put its best face forward, DARE Print & Sign Co. has the solution. As Erica put it, “Let’s plan your branding and do it right!”