We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Meissenburg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
The lack of a business degree from Harvard, shouldn’t stop anyone from trying to start a business. My shelves are lined with business books, dozens and dozens. When I needed education/advice/help, I bought a book. There was always some nugget of information in all of them that helped. Learning every aspect of one’s business is crucial. I learned sales and accounting, I can design. I know how to run a shipping terminal and I can do an estimate. Once I grasped the essence of the position I could hire an expert.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a design and fabrication business, taking ideas and turning them into reality. We design, manufacture and ship all from one location. For instance, we’ve designed Star Wars merchandise for Disneyland, and point-of-purchase displays for Anheuser Busch and St Michelle Winery. Our bread-and-butter has always been “vintage”, making things look old. Our library contains hundreds of pieces of ephemera (mostly from the 1940s) from which we get our inspiration. Nobody does exactly what we do. We have 4 full-time designers so we are able to design something quickly. We sell to seasonal stores, (beach, lake and mountain locations) and provide them with vintage images and maps suitable to their retail customer. One of the lessons from this type of business is that we make it look easy. We’ve been copied throughout the years, but our copycats are always missing a component and in the end, are not successful.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Glacier Park. If I had more time we’d travel up to Banff. We’d hike during the day and luxuriate in the evenings. There is a way to combine the scenic outdoors and wonderful wines and good food.

The Banff Springs Hotel in Banff is wonderful for high tea and has a beautiful view from the bar for an easy bite (and a beautiful glass of wine) in the evenings.

In Lake Louise, the best food on the planet comes from the Post Hotel. It’s quaint. The dishes are beautifully prepared and presented.

Around Glacier Park, the best place to eat is Stone Hill in Bigfork. Masterful menus that change with the seasons…

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I couldn’t have done it without my life partner, my husband. He likes challenges. When faced with an impossible request, he finds a way. It really does take two people.

Website: www.oldwoodsigns.com www.swingshiftpromotions.com

Instagram: oldwoodsigns

Linkedin: Meissenburg Designs

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.