Crafting Success: James Ervin never turns down a challenge
If there is something James Ervin can’t make, he has not thought of it yet.
On any given day, he is in the back of an office duplex on Highway 45 in Columbus. In the front is Mike’s Fine Wine and Liquors. The back unit is where he combines his passion for tackling new challenges with hands-on craftsmanship to transform ideas into creations for his second business, Fast Dog Print Co.
For Ervin, his satisfaction as a multi-business owner lies in turning his customers’ ideas into products.
“My reward is being able to produce something that somebody wants,” he said. “If somebody gives me an idea, I can turn it into what they expected. That’s my challenge and really what the whole business is.”
Ervin spent his early childhood in southern California, growing up near the Mojave Desert before moving to Mississippi with his parents in 1968. But if anyone asks, he doesn’t hesitate to say he is from Mississippi.
Even as a child, Ervin was compelled by the need to know how things work.
“I took apart a lot of stuff I couldn’t put back together,” he joked.
The childhood habit would be an asset as Ervin grew up. He pursued an aeronautical engineering degree in college before leaving after the first year to enter the workforce. He worked as a manager at Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation in Aberdeen for the next 25 years before taking on his own entrepreneurial aspirations.
The opportunity to buy Mike’s Fine Wine and Liquors presented itself in 2014. The purchase opened the door for Ervin to begin working for himself. He would take his business ventures a step further two years later after his daughter, Kelly, asked if he would be interested in starting a T-shirt printing business.
A selection of custom laser-engraved wood blocks and clocks, as well as a 3D-printed dragon egg and dragon tails sit on a work surface in Ervin’s Columbus workshop.
“I’ve always wanted to work for myself,” he said. “My daughter actually gave me the opportunity. I probably wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for her. We started out just making t-shirts out of our home bedroom, and we just expanded from there.”
Fast Dog Print Co. was born. Motivated by the potential of a good challenge, he quickly mastered t-shirt printing and moved on to other print products.
T-shirts turned into banners and banners turned into laser engraved liquor bottles and handcrafted canvas frames. Soon enough, Fast Dog Print Co. became a one-stop shop for whatever printed products Ervin’s customers could think up.
“Our thing is specialty,” he said. “You give me an idea, (and) we’ll figure out how to do it.”
Ervin said research and testing are two of the primary steps that go into creating a new product.
He was asked once if he could engrave designs on stainless steel tumblers. Ervin began researching, bought the equipment he needed and eventually, after a stack of test cups had accumulated in the corner of the shop, he finally had it figured out.
When American Idol finalist Colin Stough once stopped by the shop, he asked Ervin if he could engrave one of his guitars.
“I (told him) I’ve never done it, but we’ll give it a shot,” Ervin remembers.
He had Stough sign a piece of paper, uploaded a digital copy to the laser printer, masked off the rest of the guitar and went for it. The result was a perfect engraving featuring Stough’s signature and a set of three playing cards. The guitar still hangs in Stough’s home.
“My motto is if somebody made it, I can make it,” Ervin said. “I’m going to teach myself how to do it just because that’s what I like to do.”
In 2018, Ervin faced a challenge he was not prepared for. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the nervous system. He was intubated in the hospital for 21 days, unable to breathe and essentially paralyzed.
Though he recovered, Ervin is still dealing with residual symptoms from the illness. His hands are numb due to nerve damage, making it more difficult to work with smaller parts.
“It hasn’t slowed me down,” he said. “I’m still trying to do everything I can do. … I don’t give up. I tell somebody that I’ll do my best and get it done. … I just love the challenge of making stuff.”
He applies the same philosophy in his work at the liquor store, using his passions for woodworking and printing to create an enjoyable experience for the customers who shop there. He hand-built all of the shelving in the store, crafted the custom stone-coat countertops and printed all of the store’s signage. Sometimes customers bring bottles they bought in the store back to be engraved.
Despite not advertising Fast Dog, Ervin stays busy. He said the endless amount of new projects and products keeps the work interesting.
“That’s what motivates me,” he said. “I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again.”
As for what Ervin will create next, he said there is no limit. It all depends on what ideas his customers bring to him. Whatever that may be, he’s sure he will be able rise to the challenge.
“Somebody wants something done? Let me figure it out.”
STORY BY EMMA MCRAE
PHOTOS BY DEANNA ROBINSON
