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Spoonflower was a pioneer in the field of on-demand textile printing and production. As the rest of the industry races to catch up, new CEO Michael Jones is aiming to take Spoonflower to the next level. Cary Sherburne talks with Jones and senior vice president of research and development Kerry King about their vision for the future.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
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More than a dozen years after Gart Davis, serial entrepreneur and visionary, founded Spoonflower, he moved from the CEO role to COO and brought in a new CEO to help take the company to the next level. Michael Jones, an e-commerce veteran, has enthusiastically embraced his new role and delighted in sharing his story—and his vision of the future. Kerry King, Spoonflower’s senior vice president of research and development, also joined the conversation.
Michael Jones: I met Gart and Allison about a year ago, and I started to learn about the business. Having spent the last 15 years in e-commerce, I quickly understood the concept of the marketplace of designers and consumers being able to buy designs, resulting in commissions being paid to artists. I got very interested in the whole print-on-demand concept that I hadn’t really seen in the e-commerce world. There are a lot of very interesting companies that exist because of the internet and new technology that helps bring the world closer, and Spoonflower was one of them, a great diamond-in-the-rough company that had a lot of good offerings. Also, I have been traveling a lot over my last four roles. I’ve lived in Raleigh for the last 25 years, and I wanted to be part of a great company here and help move it – and the city – forward.
