Have you ever wondered where your Concord spirit wear comes from? Many people may have a Concord shirt or hat but don’t know where it comes from. Believe it or not two people can create all of this amazing work by themselves. Brian Couling and Jennifer Couling, two teachers, and business owners of Couling Creations have managed to balance all of this along with finding time for themselves.
In 1999 Mr.Couling started his business, he created his first shirt in the school for a drama camp and continued to create his work with screen printing. In May 2005, he started his business and continued to screen print in his classroom until 2012. He started to work in his garage and has continued to evolve over the years, opening a showroom along the way to present his incredible work. On the other hand, Mrs.Couling has also contributed to this business by taking control of housework and helping out in the business as much as she can, providing Mr. Couling with more opportunities to succeed.
When Mr.Couling started his business, he was motivated to start it for his students. Mrs. Couling states, “Mr.Couling wanted people to be able to do lots of art projects and his budget was very small. Instead of doing all these different fundraisers, he decided to screen print.”
When he started to raise funds for his art class, cookie dough was very popular and everyone was selling it, but he decided that he would make something that people could use. He started creating shirts and sweatshirts so people could support his art class and get something they could keep in return, leaving people feeling happy with themselves and being able to show their support to the school. When the business started to get more popular, students noticed there were more opportunities to express themselves with art and Mr.Couling’s business started to grow.
Mr. Couling says, ”I’ve had people come out and look at the press and be excited about screen printing or students who wanted to start their own business.” Even owning your own business can be a struggle, especially with another job. Mr.Couling states, “It’s a drive, you have to keep pushing through even when you’re tired.”
Mr.Couling has worked incredibly hard to accomplish what he has done and continues to work late at night and even on weekends so he can continue to create work to fund his class and students.
Teresa Couling, Secretary of Administration says, “He’s just busy all the time but he never says no to anybody, so you will always get what you wanted or wanted to create.” He is constantly thinking of others over himself, working hard and late for his students and customers to be satisfied. He has contributed to this school in so many ways, varying from sports to events to clubs.
Even students have noticed these changes and are thankful for his contribution. Aryonna Kehle, a sophomore says, “He’s definitely helped with programs that need more money.”
Ahvi’Ana states, “When we gave Mr.Couling my t-shirt design for publications, he brought it to life, and it took no time at all. He worked fast so that our shirts would be done in time for events going on in our community. The shirts are perfect, and our publications team couldn’t be more thankful.”
Mr.Couling has been an amazing role model at this school, and he continues to inspire others every day.
