Customer Service Representative / Designer
Years at Laurel Print: 26
Years in the print industry: 30
Crista joined Keith Jones at Laurel Print & Graphics in 1997 after working at GNC Marketing for several years. In the late 1990’s, Laurel was still a small print shop in Turtle Creek and Crista was involved in all areas of pre-press, from design to darkroom and metal plate preparation for several different size Heidelberg presses. As Laurel grew and moved to digital technologies, Crista ran their first wide-format H652 machine. Small in comparison to their current H5 machines, it was the beginning of a new era for Laurel. Crista also focused on typesetting and design for many local businesses, school districts and hospitals.
As Laurel becomes a Heeter Company, Crista will slide over to become a Customer Service Representative, working directly with both Laurel and Heeter clients.
Favorite project: Welcome Elton John!
Crista enjoys working on a great majority of her projects, but she particularly loves the ‘welcome’ setups for well-known singers who perform at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The venue honors these stars with custom wall and floor graphics welcoming the artists. Some of which stretch from the loading dock to the dressing room.
Crista’s favorite Arena ‘welcome’ design project was for Elton John, a singer whose music she grew up with. The singer loved the wall graphics for his first visit and Crista was delighted to design the welcome campaign for his second time around just over a year later. Crista has also produced large-scale designs for Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Kiss and Machine Gun Kelly.
Away from work,
- Crista and her husband BJ love to bike on the Great Allegheny Passage starting in either Sutervsille or West Newton. In July, they devote time to watch the Tour de France bike race of the world’s best cyclists.
- She grows orchids, keeps fancy goldfish and collects mid-century modern items.
- Crista and BJ dote over their 3 cats: Higgins, Neko and Camo.
- A highlight for the fall is attending the Asian Lantern Festival at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
