I met with DR 6 years ago in a coffee shop in Diego Martin. It was August 2008 and I had just come back to T&T on holiday after being made redundant from my job in FL. Times were tough and I was floundering in the States, sending out my CV’s and getting nowhere fast. I really just wanted to take a break before starting a new job, my intentions were never to move back to T&T! I don’t remember how Dennis and I got in touch but it was the beginning of a journey and partnership that I could never have anticipated. He offered me the job right there on the spot and I started +pepper as a junior graphic artist, not knowing a thing about the advertising world having come from a publishing background.
Day 1 at +pepper was September 1st, 2008 and I didn’t even have a desk when I arrived to work that morning (talk about scruntin!). It’s funny to look back now and see how far we’ve come. Back then we only had 11 members of staff and were operating out of #9 Warner Street (just the top floor at the time). We have had a tremendous growth spurt over the last 6 years since I joined the +pepper team (not tooting my own horn here or anything… hahaha) both as a company and especially for myself on a personal level. I am now the Team Lead for the Creative department and DR has invested in me and my advancement in the company. Under his tutelage I have been given training on a senior management level, attended a Creative Directors conference in NYC and am a recipient of a gold ADDY (with plans to add a few more accolades at this year’s awards).
There have been many high’s and low’s across the board but +pepper has defined my career and I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor in Dennis. The man is brilliant and mad at the same time. I couldn’t be more grateful for everything that he has taught me in addition to my very talented colleagues and peers. I remember seeing my work in print for the first time, it was such an incredible feeling. As a designer, that is what we live for – to create visually compelling, mind blowing, talked about pieces of artwork that inspires others (and is on strategy of course!). I love my job. I would never have stayed in T&T as long as I have had it not been for DR and my Pepper Peeps – here’s to another yet another year of success! Own One Thing. *pops the bubbly* ~Bjorn
