I've been in and around sailing for many years. Racing was a passion for a long time - it was respite from a long-houred work life in Silicon Valley. (I like power boats too!)
My background is in marketing, and my first job in high tech marketing was doing a product roll out roadshow for one of the -at the then time- top 3 computer companies. I had a ball, made many life long friends and wound up in New York with another top 3 firm - this time in sales. Back then the corporate ladder climb meant doing stints in headquarters and overseas. I wound up moving to California, with assignments in Paris and Madrid.
Eventually I lit out on my own and ran a boutique consultancy providing strategic marketing and product planning - and one of my clients was Adobe! By 2000 the boom in the valley was at full tilt and I joined up as VP Marketing and one of the original exec team members of a network management software firm. The bubble burst not long after, and nearly 3000 software firms disappeared in a matter of 4 years. My focus shifted to working with VC firms to do rescue work for portfolio companies.
But it was time for a move. I missed living near the water and headed north to the East Bay. I'm inspired daily by the amazing views of the Bay and decided to leave the world of corporate marketing and indulge my passion - sailing and media. While digital media and regatta coverage is a mainstay, doing graphics for boats is the most fun. The canvas is huge, the graphics span a very large swathe of styles, and the nature of boat graphics is now bursting out into truly creative work - just where I want to be!
I have the privilege of working with a great team of film suppliers, cutters and printers, and installers, and of working on some fabulous boat projects.
- Joan Garrett -