Nastasia “Nas Landy” Lewis, the owner of Vinyl Boss Lady Printing (VBLP), is a creative at heart who uses her skill to customise vehicles and has been making a tremendous impact on the automotive industry. “I had a nine to five, but I wasn’t making enough money, and the company only offered picture printing, so when I started my business, I focused on vinyl printing.”
Lewis, who has been doing vinyls for a year and six months, shares that since she started her company, it has been great. “I used to live hand to mouth with a nine to five, but I no longer live like that, and as a female, I am now known for doing vehicle graphics and not just printing.”
She continued, “I was a graphic designer at my previous job, but being in an environment where I had no more promotion or higher pay to get, I had to branch off because I realised that the job was not for me.”
However, Lewis shared that while starting her business, she felt a bit discouraged when things weren’t going according to plan initially, but gradually things began to improve. “Overall, the process was great from the first sticker I pasted on my car, and my business was paying me twice the amount that my nine to five was paying.”
She recalls having an aggressive guerrilla sticker on her car with green eyes and mouth that would capture viewers’ attention. “People would always ask me where I got it done, and though I’m shy, I told them I did it and that they could check out my page.”
Lewis also mentioned that her experience as an entrepreneur has been wonderful but that she still has more bridges to cross. “I know I have a long way to go and I’m now an owner of a large-format printer, the one that does billboard banners and full car wraps. Also, for someone that has been in the business for a short time, I work hard, and I don’t see myself stopping because I have a vision.”
Lewis, whose motto is ‘the only way is up’, shares that she is taking her journey one step at a time and manifesting her dreams. “I’m still in the wow stage because owning a large-format printer was never in my dream, and a close friend of mine told me he can’t wait to drive and see my billboard on the road, and at the time I didn’t think too much of it, but now it’s unfolding.”
She continued, “I always tell people I don’t know what I’m doing and though I’ve done a lot of research, I’m still learning because doing vinyl is a never-ending process.”
Lewis mentioned that the temperature may affect whether the vinyl is pasted properly on to a customer’s vehicle. “So if the time is cold or too sunny you’ll have a little issue with the vinyl, and it will take you a while to come off, but the more I do my research, I realise that if I’m having a little trouble, I should not put on the vinyl. Also, an air dryer can help install the sticker if the environment is very cool.”
Additionally, she shares that while stickers may not sell for motor vehicles regularly, she is a versatile business woman and, therefore, finds other means to make a living. “I am very versatile, so while stickers don’t sell every day, I am very smart with my job. I print on T-shirts, cups, I have budget books, licence plate holders, and I wrap car bonnets.”
“I always tell my friends and customers as well that vinyls can be placed on everything, so rather than having the machine and sticking to one thing, I find other ways to use it.”
Lewis highlights that she has never been looked down on as a female working in the vinyl industry but that sometimes, customers assume that her business is owned by a male. “I never had a male customer say that they don’t want a female working on their vehicle. The only odd thing I experience is that they will see the name VBLP, but when they call, they’re like ‘Yow! Mek mi talk to the bredda nuh’, and I have to tell them I’m the owner.”
“I also had another male customer who came in from Montego Bay, and he asked me, ‘Do you know where the guy is that’s going to put the sticker on my vehicle?’ And I said to him, ‘I am the female that is going to put on the sticker’.”