Designer branches out
When Timaru graphic designer Eamon Haggart lost his job two weeks into lockdown he was initially shocked, angry and heartbroken.
The father-of-three children, aged two, four and six, then decided to turn his loss into opportunity, launching Origin Design & Web from his home.
‘‘When I found out Plato was closing I was pretty gutted and pretty scared with three little mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay and probably a little angry like most people would be.
‘‘I thought to myself I’m not going to find a new job easily during lockdown in a reasonably small region like South Canterbury.’’
‘‘But some pretty good people reached out to me and quickly I tried to turn it into a positive opportunity.
‘‘When things get difficult you’ve just got to dig in really, there’s no point in feeling sorry for yourself.’’
Having been employed by Plato Creative since December 2017, and plying his trade as a graphic designer for 19 years, Haggart decided to take the plunge after flirting with the idea of his own business for some time.
‘‘I thought why not I’ve got nothing to lose at the moment, everything’s pretty crazy in the world, so I might as well have a go.
‘‘It is scary and exciting at the same time.
‘‘To be honest it is something I’ve always thought about doing because I’ve worked in Timaru as a graphic designer since 2001, and it’s something I’ve definitely thought about and touched on in the past.’’
Origin Design & Web provides graphic and web design services including logos, branding, e-commerce, all marketing material, company stationary and advertisement design, Haggart said.
‘‘My strength is just being up front and honest with people but also providing good quality work at a fair price, especially at a difficult time for businesses.
‘‘There’s also some pretty good people in Timaru who are wonderful companies to work with. I have faith that I will be able to make this work.’’
Having just started, the immediate plan is to provide quality web design to a local customer base and build up from there, he said.
‘‘Plans are minimal moment.
‘‘To be quite honest it’s a bit of wait and see at the moment to see how things go but I would love to have my own office somewhere and not work out of my home.
Haggart said he has already had contact from other businesses who face uncertainty and are looking at setting up online retail websites.
‘‘My main focus is communicating with those businesses to see what they want to do.
‘‘Obviously they’re also unsure as well with everything that has been going on.
‘‘I can help them get things moving just to get their businesses going nicely.’’
‘‘When things get difficult you’ve just got to dig in really, there’s no point in feeling sorry for yourself.’’ Eamon Haggart
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