Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Bridget Quick – Design Center

Introducing Bridget Quick, with the H&H Design Center! Bridget is an integral part of the design team. The design center assists customers with everything from album and card design to school and sports flyers, ID cards and composites. Their expertise makes your product look its best. Bridget’s sense of humor, design expertise and great customer service make her an important member of our Design Center team!

How long have you been with H&H?

I have been here a little over four years now.

How long have you been in the Design Center?

I spent the first two years in customer service and then moved to the Design Center.

What do you like about the Design Center?

Working in the design center allows me to use my creative skills, which I enjoy. I also got to keep a lot of my customer relationships. Since I have a background in photography and design, it really is the best of both worlds.

What did you do prior to working for H&H?

I worked for a photography studio for about a year that specialized in school and senior photography. Following that position, I worked at a photography studio that specializes in weddings. I photographed weddings, plus ran their contact system, designed wedding albums, edited images, created marketing pieces, etc. I have worn many hats, just like many of our customers. So I have been in their shoes. It helps me with my customers now, because I did what they did on a smaller scale and understand where they are coming from.

How big is the Design Center team?

We have a staff of four people.

Do you each have a certain specialty in the types of projects you work on?

Most of us can do any order that comes in, but we all focus on different items. At certain times of the year our focus will shift; for example, we may all work on composites at the same time. My specialties are flyers, ID cards, banners and cards. I do composites as needed. Sometimes I work on albums, as well. We are all cross-trained for the most part.

What are the job responsibilities for your group?

We do custom designs for cards, albums, flyers, ID cards, senior cards, save the date cards, sports banners, marketing pieces for customers—pretty much anything you can print at the lab, we can design it for you.

How do the lean principles at H&H impact your department?

We keep a one-piece workflow. We work on one thing at a time. We follow lean principles day-to-day.

What is it that you love about your job? Or how do you measure a job “well done” in a given day?

I think the best part of my job is getting to be creative on a daily basis. The jobs I enjoy the most are the deeply custom ones. Being able to get the jobs and orders out to the customers in a timely manner and give them something completely custom, to me, is a job well done. Being able to be more task oriented is good for me as well. Being able to physically look at the work that we are doing and seeing it delivered to the customer is really gratifying. I love seeing my work in print and in use. That feels good!

What do you like to do in your spare time, hobbies, interests etc.

My primary hobby is photography. I photograph for myself, babies, families and engagements—things like that. I also work for a venue in downtown Kansas City. They do elopement style events. I photograph mini-weddings at this venue. So I still get to do wedding photography, but without a lot of the additional non-photography work. I do a lot of editing on the nights and weekends, as well. The couples are really nice and low-key, which I like!

Tell me a little bit about your personal life, family etc.

My husband and I have two Australian Shepherds that need a lot of love and attention. We just bought a house last summer. We are getting settled in with the pups at home. I spend a lot of my time away from H&H doing photography and editing! But I also enjoy spending time with my extended family and my friends.

What is your favorite meal to eat out?

We actually do family dinners twice a week—once with my family and once with my husband’s family. My mom cooks for my family and then we go out for Mexican food, at Taqueria Mexico, with his family. We have been going there for several years now. Family dinners are the best. They are being impacted by the pandemic going on. I have a two-month old niece that I am not getting to see right now.

Do you like to travel? What are some of your favorite trips?

I do like to travel. One of my recent favorite trips was to the Dominican Republic and St. Lucia. I love the ocean. We are also big lake people. My parents have a boat, so we usually spend a lot of time at the lake during the summer. The mountains are always great, too. I went to Colorado twice this last year.

What kind of music do you like?

I like a lot of different genres of music. My favorite musician of all-time is Ben Folds. I have seen him live in concert about ten times. I like pretty much anything.

Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Victor Harsch – Customer Service

Meet Victor Harsch, a well-loved, long-time member of our Customer Service Team at H&H! Customer service is our most “customer-facing” department in the company and is integral to the success of H&H. Many customer service reps have experience in the photography industry, so they really are expert help when it comes to your questions. Victor has been with H&H for over two decades. His dedicated, patient, fun-loving, yet professional attitude make him a joy to work with. Enjoy getting to know him through this article!

What is it about your job that you love?

It is a privilege to work for a company with such great integrity, from the top down to the individuals I work with. Sometimes mistakes are made, but not with ill intent. I also love being able to help people. Once I had a customer send me a note on the weekend about trying to import data and it wasn’t working. His computer failed. I reached out to him within two or three minutes of his request and let him know what steps he needed to take. This allowed my customer to continue working. He had just finished a photo shoot and was working on setting up the project back at his office. He was getting ready to go on vacation and was trying to get the project squared away before he left, so it felt good to be able to help him.

What was your position when you first came to H&H?

I first came to H&H in 1998. I was doing overlays in the basement of the building. We printed on clear cellophane and taped it to the negative, and then put it back in the order so that it could be printed in production. I happened to work with Kristen Brown, one of the daughters of the owners. She was the one that trained me in my first position!

What other positions have you held here at H&H?

After overlays, I went to routing, so I got to know where everything was in the lab. After routing, I went to work with Pro Shots. From there, I went to customer service and have been with customer service ever since. I couldn’t tell you how long that has been – I don’t remember!

How have things changed in the industry since you first started at H&H?

Gazzow! Well, when I first started here, digital had maybe only four computers. It was also the beginning of our push towards “lean manufacturing”. When I was working in South Korea, Wayne Haub had sent me the book “Lean Manufacturing”. When I arrived at the lab, they were still printing on optical machines and on large rolls of paper. We had large shelves with rolls of printed materials that had to then be cut down. In those days, when it was “busy season,” you could walk around the lab and see how busy it was. Now, when you walk around the lab during busy season, you don’t always really “see it”, since most work is done on the computer and we are a ton more efficient. We applied a lot, if not all the principles from lean manufacturing, so everything is very lean and the processes are so much better.

I know your spouse works for H&H, as well. How is it having your spouse working at the same company?

I have heard people say that working with your spouse is very challenging. There was a time when I was working in production, something we called Pro Shots. You would develop the film, splice the film together, punch holes in it, and then run it through a printer that would recognize the holes and know where to print. My wife worked with me during that time and she was fabulous. I never found it to be difficult. Now we work in two different departments. Sometimes she has to get on me to do something I was supposed to do. It’s her job. I wouldn’t expect her to treat me any differently than another employee. We don’t really talk about work at home. My wife doesn’t like doing that. I think it helps to keep it separate. At the end of the work day, I can easily turn off something and turn it back on. So it is easy for me to “decompress” and switch gears quickly to our home life. I credit that to my faith. Having been a Christian since I was seventeen, the things that I have learned help me relax and help me put things in perspective.

Tell me a little bit about your family.

We have a seventeen year old daughter. It was wonderful in the beginning, when our daughter was born, we split shifts. My wife worked nights and I worked days so that we could be with her the first several years. I was forty-five when she was born and at that time I didn’t especially care about kids. The greatest shock of my life when she was born, was my tremendous outpouring of love for her. It was the weirdest thing ever – she ate, slept, pooped and yet was so entertaining and lovable!

It makes it hard now. She is seventeen. She is very independent and likes her alone time. We have to struggle to give her the space she needs sometimes. Her independence started at eleven and now that she wants more independence, we want as much family time with her as possible!

I have learned, that one of the best things you can do with a teenager, is to take them to a foreign country where they have no connection with anyone. Then they can’t wait to be around you. I enjoy when we travel together because we enjoy family time together.

Tell me more about your travels and hobbies.

At this point in life, I can travel and really love it. But I don’t need to travel because I have traveled a lot over the years. I have traveled over a decent portion of Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand. I traveled for the first time my senior year of college. I took my first trip to Israel, Denmark, Athens, Jordan, and Egypt. Then I joined the Army and was stationed in Germany, so I got to travel quite a bit then as well. When I think back to all my travels, one of the more interesting things that I have gotten to do, was to climb the pyramids in Egypt!

After the Army, I was in seminary for two years. I got a Masters of Arts in Exegetical Theology. Exegetical is the Greek word to take words and break them apart to find out what they mean. I wanted to read the Bible for myself and understand it. I found out it was a whole lot more work than just learning some Greek and Hebrew. That was my motivation for going to seminary – not to be a missionary or a pastor. I just wanted to know more. I had that goal from high school. Following seminary, I taught English as a second language in South Korea.

What are some of your favorite trips that you have taken as a family?

We went to Turks and Caicos twice. We went once with just our family which was really fun and did a lot of cool stuff. Then the larger, extended family went as well—which was a lot of fun too! We also have traveled to Korea as a family five or six times.

Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Technology has changed over the years, but one thing that has not changed is the foundation of our business – great color! The passion for excellence in color has been instilled and led by founder, Wayne Haub. H&H’s industry reputation for excellence in color has stood for nearly 50 years.

We are happy to introduce you to Joan Drake! Joan’s knowledge and expertise in color call has been an important constant for us for nearly 36 years!

Joan Drake – Color Call Department

What was your position when you first came to H&H?

I was a color caller. I started in 1984. I am right at 36 years in January 2020, so 36 seasons!

How have things changed in the industry since you first started at H&H?

It was all film for many years. I am so glad that we don’t do film anymore. With the digital process, you can correct so many things to make a photograph look good. Before, with film, you could only change a few things. It’s just a lot easier.

It was much slower back then. One order could be in the lab for a month. I learned how to color call the “old” way. I learned with a filter pack. You had to add and take away filters to make a photo look right. But you really got the basic understanding about the process! I can remember when paper came on big rolls. You had to roll off the amount you wanted for each print, and then cut it down to size. Now it comes cut. Everything works so much better.

Where did you work before coming to H&H?

I worked at Associated Photographers before coming to the H&H Color Lab. There used to be several people at H&H that came from Associated. I worked in color call there, as well.

What is it about your job that you love?

I do love my job. I am always trying to do the best I can, to make sure our customers are happy. I know people can get photographs from other companies that don’t look great. My job is to make sure that the photos from H&H look their very best.

How many people are in the color calling department?

We have about nine people, including the night shift.

How have the lean processes affected your department?

Overall, it has helped a lot. It took out a lot of steps. It has eliminated processes, as well as actual physical walking steps to get an order done. So we became much more efficient. I think it has been helpful overall.

Tell me a little about your hobbies and family.

I like to read a lot. I also enjoy action and horror movies. I like “The Walking Dead”…that’s my favorite! I like the John Wick movies and I love the Marvel super hero movies.

I have two daughters, four grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. I enjoy spending time with them. There are a lot of boys in the family, so we have a lot of fun and stay busy.

We currently have two dogs, both Labrador mixes. I also love English bull dogs and have had eight of those. I have had a basset hound too.

Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Meghan Morse – N-Vu

N-Vu provides photographers a full sales workflow including in-person sales, proofing galleries and mobile apps. They simplify and save photographers time by allowing one-click fulfillment directly from the invoice. The N-Vu production team supports these and other custom workflow features. They handle everything around the order workflow process. This includes managing the ordering software (ROES and Design-Vu), album design and custom workflow.

Meet Meghan Morse, our featured employee, a member of our N-Vu team! H&H and N-Vu are partner companies, supporting one another in many ways. One of Meghan’s big tasks is serving as a bridge between N-Vu and the physical fulfillment of the products through H&H Color Lab.

How long have you been at N-Vu?

I have been with N-Vu since October 2011—so just about eight years.

What is your position at N-Vu?

My title is “Production Associate,” though my job here is much more varied than that. I primarily handle order processing and quality control through N-Vu for all products, as well as oversee our design and image editing services. I also play a role in the development and maintenance of our ordering interfaces, especially ROES and DesignVu. I wear many hats, but I love the variety, and it gives me a really good understanding of what is going on across the company.

What do you really enjoy about your job?

I love seeing all the beautiful photography! I especially enjoy the design side of my job, where I get to work with the imagery – I am an artist myself, and it’s inspiring to work in such a creative industry and with creative people.

What did you do before working at N-Vu?

I managed a coffee bar. I actually started there as a barista when I was sixteen years old, and I love coffee so much that I stuck with it for about thirteen years. I was responsible for just about everything operational, including a small team of employees. I enjoyed being in charge, though I never cared much for the retail aspect of it… I think I was mostly there for the coffee! So I have to ask, what is your favorite coffee? A giant mug of strong French Roast with a bit of cream. No sugar, no flavors. It has to be french pressed, and heavy enough to chew!

What skills carried over from your previous position, into what you do now?

I’ve been very grateful to have worked in industries that I care about – I think this goes a long way when it comes to dedication to the job. From the get-go, I’ve taken pride in my work, was required to be a self-starter, take charge of the task at hand, and make sure the job gets done with quality and accuracy. Whether I’m making cappuccinos or getting albums into production on time, I do it with the same grit.

How do you work with your team, since so many of you work remotely?

Skype is big, and has really stuck. We also owe a big thanks to Google. We meet regularly as a team, and I am in touch with our customer service and development teams daily. It is so important to keep in close contact and always be available for each other. Communication is key in keeping up with what is going on across our company.

How long have you worked from home?

Since 2014 – so about five years. We have a very dedicated group of people who had been with the company for a long time, and when the east coast office was moved to Kansas City, many of us began working remotely. It was scary at first, but after five years, I think we’ve found our groove! Modern technology combined with being a web-based company has been a huge benefit in making it all work!

So tell me a little bit about your personal life.

I have been married 12 years, and we have three wonderful boys (10, 8, and 5) and six cats. They all keep me pretty busy, whether it be with homework, soccer practice, or good old family fun. Aside from that, I am an artist – I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration. Primarily I draw and paint, though I enjoy all things creative and am a sucker for anything DYI.

Do you have any favorite trips that you have taken?

Every summer we take a trip to visit family and spend some time at the beach. Though we just love a staycation where we can spend quality time together at home and recover from the craziness of our lives!

What kind of food is your favorite to eat out?

I enjoy a good filet mignon, but a tasty seafood dish hits the spot too. Honestly though, I usually enjoy the appetizers most.

Tell me more about the artwork that you do.

When I was in college, I took a long time to sort out what I wanted to do – I tried out a variety of things and took many specialized courses – from basic drawing and painting, to printmaking, photography, sculpture and 3D arts…the list goes on, and I loved them all! I grew up in a generation that wasn’t computer trained (keyboarding was only an elective), so graphic design was tough to get into at first, but I knew times were changing and I had to get on board. In the end, I majored in illustration because it focused on storytelling through fine art, but also taught me to finish the project for digital output – this is where I learned Photoshop – the most valuable tool I know. I love doing ink and watercolor, but am not limited to that. I am constantly creating things for my home, whether it be with a paintbrush or power tools.

What are a few of your favorite movies?

We all like a good movie, but my vote on movie night is often outnumbered. I really enjoy a comedy, especially a romantic comedy, but my husband and boys are more the action/thriller type. We watch a lot of super hero movies! Lucky for them, I’ve never been much of a movie buff anyway, so I usually let them have the remote.

Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Christina Abel – Albums

Did you know that all of our albums are handcrafted one at a time, to your specifications, here at H&H Color Lab in Kansas City, Missouri? The members of this department are responsible for making each one of our beautiful albums, along with our folio and accordion wallet covers, covered CD cases, and more! It is here that you will find our sewing machine humming, our scissors cutting, our presses working, and all our tools and equipment organized ready for work. The thought, care and dedication of the team members in our Album Department is evident in this interview and a big reason why H&H stands out for our quality products! We are honored to introduce you to Christina Abel!

What is your job title/position?

Album assembler.

What do you do as an assembler?

I put together the photographic pano books and the gallery lay-flat albums. I also help make leather covers and leather wraps. I really enjoy doing the leather wraps, because I like sewing.

How long have you worked for H&H?

I have been here since last June, so a little over a year.

How many people are in your department?

There are about five of us. Since our department is more specialized, it takes more training, so our staff is consistent and doesn’t have seasonal employees. It’s kind of like a family down there.

What are some of the ways lean principles are applied in your department?

We are currently tracking our photographic paper waste in all three of the areas right now. We just did a Kaizen* for the leather cell area. We actually did some rearranging of the area, adding more jigs to make the process more efficient. That way the processes are all located in one area.

*Definition of a Kaizen – Japanese word for continuous improvement. A management philosophy emphasizing employee participation, in which every process is continuously evaluated and re-evaluated for the elimination of waste. H&H regularly conducts Kaizens in each department, to stay in keeping with lean principles in all parts of our business.

What did you do prior to working for H&H? How do those skills help you with what you do now?

I worked at Chick Fillet for a short time because I just moved from Texas. I have been interested in graphic design. I also worked at a historical house museum. The biggest skill that I have used at H&H is sewing, which I did for 4H for about ten years. We also utilized lean principles at the restaurant, so I was familiar with the terms and principles behind it.

What different roles have you had here?

I am trained in four different areas. I started in photographic pano books, and then I trained in the leather wrap, gallery lay flat and SSE areas.

Do you hop between departments?

Yes, daily.

What are challenges with that?

Sometimes shifting between the photographic pano books and gallery lay-flat albums can be challenging because the processes are so different.

What is it that you love about your job? Or how do you measure a job “well done” in a given day?

I really enjoy seeing the different images, especially the location pictures. They are really very beautiful. I have been to Disney World, so I enjoy seeing the Disney wedding images, especially.

What do you like to do in your spare time, hobbies, interests etc.

I really like graphic design. I like creative writing. I play a lot of board games with my friends. For board games, I enjoy Monopoly. I like a lot of the specialty ones, too. I have 23 different versions of the Monopoly game at home.

Tell me a little bit about your personal life, family etc.

I am from Texas. I moved up to Kansas City about three years ago. I have a lot of friends in the area, so it just made sense to move up here. I love it here!

Tell me about a favorite trip you have taken.

I travel a lot. I really enjoy cruises. My parents have a Disney excursion timeshare, so we go somewhere Disney related once or twice a year. Next week I am going to Disney World.

What is your favorite ride or experience at Disney World?

My top three rides are Rocking Roller Coaster with Aerosmith, Hollywood Tower of Terror (based on Twilight Zone) and Mount Everest. I am looking forward to going to the opening day of Galaxy’s Edge based on Star Wars Land!

What are some of your favorite movies?

Inception, Treasure Planet, The Dark Knight Rises and Avengers End Game.

What is your favorite meal, to eat out?

Fettuccini Alfredo

What kind of music do you like?

I like a lot of different kinds of music. I go through phases. I don’t have a particular favorite at any given time.

Each month we highlight one of our employees and the department they work in! You will get a look behind-the-scenes here at the lab, and get to know one of our own a little bit better.

Kenisha Norton – Digital Press

Our Digital Press department handles a significant portion of our orders at H&H Color Lab. The department is responsible for all press products, such as notepads, brochures, posters plus album and book components that utilize the digital presses. We are honored to introduce you to long-time employee, Kenisha Norton!

What is your job title/position?

Digital Press Assembler.

What do you do as an assembler?

Our printers print the images. We then assemble them into a digital press portrait book, cards, invitations, posters, etc. We deal mainly with HP digital presses. We print the images on different substrates like canvas or paper and make books or yearbooks. That sounds like a lot of equipment to learn. Yes, it is! We learn how to use our booklet maker to create soft cover yearbooks. We also learn how to use press and packaging equipment. It takes a week to learn how the all the equipment works. We also do school, sports and events products like trader cards, PVC ID cards and school ID cards. Next level is foil press, Thermotype (which cuts cards into different shapes). We have to change the dies if we have different requests for different types of foils and shaped cards. Do you have lean process meetings? Once a year or so. Each one has a different group, with fresh eyes, to come in and see if there is a better way to do things, a shorter way to complete it. Around graduation and Christmas, we have a lot of different shaped cards and foil cards and it can get pretty intense. When we do foil, the machine has to be hot. When you do regular cards, it has to be cool. So, the machine has to be cooled down for about thirty minutes to allow for the next type of cards. I also do all the training for this department.

How long have you worked for H&H?

In September, I will have worked at the lab for 11 years.

How many people are in your department?

There are about 5-6 of us. It changes during the seasonal times. At the end of August, we have a larger staff through the holidays. A lot of our training comes during that time.

What are some of the ways lean principles are applied in your department?

We have a lot of things basically labeled, such as what kind of die type. You know exactly where they are and where they go. When it comes to equipment like box cutters, etc., everything has its place and is visible. Every assembly station is the same as far as where things are located, placed and how it is set up. Each area has a cubby with the materials you need to create that product. As far as printed orders, there is a shelf where everything goes. There is a shelf with a label showing the due date, so you use that as a guide on what to work on first.

What did you do prior to working for H&H? How do those skills help you with what you do now?

I worked at a mail order type pharmacy. I think that the multi-tasking carries over. Having different creative ideas utilized on how to improve the process is similar to my past job. We work close with one another since our department is so small. You work by yourself a majority of the time, but there is always someone there to help out if you need it and to ask if you have questions. Your manager is right there too, in case you have questions—so they work closely with us.

What different roles have you had here?

I started off in SSE assembly, where we did school picture packets, magnets and items like that. Currently, we do go over there to help sometimes when they are busy. That gives us a refresher on how to do things in that department.

How has the company changed in the years since you first started working here?

I believe the assembly process has gotten a lot easier since I first started working here. We used to have to hand feed the items into our laminator, but now the process is automated. It feeds the pages into the laminator. This keeps us “hands free” to do other tasks that are needed. This really helps us during the busy season.

What is it that you love about your job? Or how do you measure a job “well done” in a given day?

I love looking at all of the different images. I love assisting, making sure the customer’s order is complete and correct. When we get compliments from the customers, telling us that they received everything that they needed and they are happy with the results, that makes us feel good.

What do you like to do in your spare time, hobbies, interests etc.

My hobbies include shopping. I like fashion design. I like to spend time with my son. He is into sports. He plays basketball and does track. He does high jump for track. He starts physical therapy soon. He is ready to get back into his sports. His favorite sport is basketball.

Tell me a little bit about your personal life, family etc.

I have a sixteen-year-old son. He goes to Truman High School. We have a dog named Jordan, a long-haired Chihuahua/Yorkie mix. I am in a long-term relationship. I have one sister, one brother and one nephew. They are all in the area. I am the oldest.

Tell me about a favorite trip you have taken!

My favorite is Atlanta. We go every year—they have lots of great fashion there.

What are some of your favorite movies?

One of my favorites is “Poetic Justice.”

What is your favorite meal, to eat out?

I would say Italian and Mexican—my two favorites.

What kind of music do you like?

R&B and hip hop!