As the Community Relations Manager for AlphaGraphics Kansas City, Molly Angle not only works with her own group of clients, but also handles social media and other management tasks for the AlphaGraphics KC team. And if you want to get on her good side? Bring her office supplies. “I’m obsessed with planners and pens,” Molly says. “Papermate Ink Joy gel pens are my favorite.” She loves pens so much that, after coming to work and discovering boxes of different pens on her desk, she declared it “the best day.” (Thanks for calling in that favor,
Matt!)
As the Community Relations Manager for AlphaGraphics Kansas City, Molly Angle not only works with her own group of clients, but also handles social media and other management tasks for the AlphaGraphics KC team. And if you want to get on her good side? Bring her office supplies. “I’m obsessed with planners and pens,” Molly says. “Papermate Ink Joy gel pens are my favorite.” She loves pens so much that, after coming to work and discovering boxes of different pens on her desk, she declared it “the best day.” (Thanks for calling in that favor,
Matt!)
Now in her fourth year at AlphaGraphics Kansas City, Molly has embraced what proved to be an unexpected career path. A Kansas City-area native (she grew up in Kearney, Mo.), Molly went to Park University and studied art history, photography and English. She then transitioned to a telecommunications company before deciding to pursue education and a career in healthcare. Yet while working at a hospital, preparing to study physical therapy and fast approaching burnout, a friend mentioned a local company that was hiring. The rest, as they say, was history.
As she started working with
AlphaGraphics Kansas City customers, Molly had a surprising revelation about the printing industry.
“I didn’t realize how linked printing is to creativity,” she says. “I’ve always been creative-minded—I’ve done photography and have always been really crafty. Coming into the printing industry, I realized it’s not just walking in and making a few copies. We actually make things for people.”
And that’s where Molly can let her creativity and people skills shine. She helps customers plan and execute their printing projects, often providing input and assistance if they’re not quite sure what they want. One memorable example involved creating invitations for a small dinner planned for a group of high-ranking executives. After a couple of brainstorming meetings, Molly and the AGKC team helped the customer create a custom die-cut
invitation in the shape of an iPad, complete with a “swipe” function that revealed an insert with event details.
“Sometimes there’s not a vision and we need to know what questions to ask to bring their project to life,” she says. “It’s cool to see those types of projects become reality, especially when they start from scratch.”
When she’s not channeling her inner creativity or hoarding office supplies, you can likely find Molly with her family in Lathrop, Mo., including her husband, Trevor, and two kids: Colby, 5; and Charlee, 3. They own 25 acres and are preparing to build a house, where Molly can draw on another one of her skills: house-flipping. She and Trevor have flipped three homes so far, including the home they currently live in.
Molly is no stranger to juggling an almost overwhelming number of projects, which is why she starts each day by updating her planner and to-do list. For someone who loves to plan, you might think she has her future at AGKC mapped out, but says the company is growing so quickly it’s difficult to make specific goals.
“I’m in a leadership role now, so I would want to grow into another leadership position,” she says. “I really like working with my customers and I also love conferences—I can see myself getting more into conference work and helping organizations produce their event materials.”
No matter her role, one of Molly’s ongoing goals is immersing herself in the printing industry so she can draw upon that expertise for various projects. One side effect of that passion is a new appreciation for—well, let’s just say, certain scents! “I used to make fun of Matt because he smelled everything—you can tell how something’s printed by the way it smells,” she says. “Now I’m one of those people!”
Who knows—maybe Molly will one day invent a fragrance called Eau de AlphaGraphics! Think of how amazing the bottle labels would be…