CREATIVE HEROES #9 Mrs Susan Legg

Coming from a small country to the United States was a eye opener when you think about it. What I mean by that, is that I remember as a child I always want to play with paper did not know that would be in that field or job I would get in.
Growing up back in Belize we used to make stencil so we could print on our shirts we did not know it by its professional name screen printing. If we did not want to do it our self we would take it to the government printers and they would do it. Fast foreword to the the year 1983.
1983 I came back to New york, and I start working with my father he was working at this envelope company in Brooklyn. This is the first time that I am working with inks and these big machine that can put a hurt on you.
Everything that used to come over my work station I used to read, for some reason I am always looking for mistakes or how good it was done.
There was a family that used to work there, there name is the Legg. Bob he was in charge of the printing, Jimmy was a printer and his wife Susan was in charge of the dark room. Remember this is 1983 technology was nowhere its at now.
I met Susan Legg a month or two after I was hired because, I wanted to see who do what and to learn the job from the bottom to the top and to meet my fellow co-worker. Susan had her own corner on the work floor to do her thing, nobody disturb her once she is in there. She had her own phone if you need to speak to her.
The thing that got me interested into her job was the logo for Readers Digest Magazine. The logo is of a horse with wings Pegasus. If you look at the logo for Readers Digest Magazine its at time is the size of a dime and this was before the world ever know about photo shop. When you walk past her work place you could see her with the magnifying glass looking like a character from the X-Man comic book.
Once you finish using the rubber plate or mold in printing its no good so you got to make another one. In this envelope company she was in charge of all the rubber plates for three shifts, she got to be on her game because every job got a deadline that we got to meet. This woman never said I am tired or I am not coming in, if she was not coming in she try to finish the logos for all the jobs before she leaves. When she goes on vacation her husband had to do it and there is a lot of waste with him so everybody glad when she is there. Even her husband who was her boss enjoy it when she is around because his job get easier.
When you watch somebody do a job on a logo using blades and exact-o knife you cannot knock her skills. I am glad to have met her, because I became more interested in logos and designs.
I enjoy looking at logos on envelopes and the prints to see if there are mistakes or if the ink splatter and all because of her. One thing about logos it got to be able to stand out and not over shadow whatever its prints on. 'Logo is your identity always remember that' is what she used to say when you ask her question why she is taking her time.
I will never forget her and her family and her advice to me she is my CREATIVE HERO.