By Andy Furman
The Point/Arc
Jan Gilliam cares for her staff at The Point/Arc Apparel – Embroidery and Screen Print Company as if she were their nanny.
Maybe that’s because Gilliam – a Ft. Wright native – served as a nanny most of her adult life.
“I started as a nanny for a family in Ft. Mitchell, while I was attending Notre Dame Academy,” says the now General Manager of The Point/Arc’s Apparel-Embroidery and Screen Print Company. “I did it for five years.”
In fact, she took her nanny skills abroad – to New Zealand.
“A friend was doing graduate school work in New Zealand, so I decided to follow her – and took a job as a nanny there.”
The non-profit world entered Gilliam’s life – and it was a perfect marriage.
“I did scheduling for Mercy Neighborhood Ministries in Walnut Hills for a short-time,” said the 38-year-old Gilliam. “And for some four-and-a-half years I worked in the Development Office at Notre Dame Academy.”
And as luck would have it, the Northern Kentucky University (AA) grad heard about a sales-rep position at The Point /Arc’s Apparel Shop.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Jan Gilliam serves as General Manager of The Point/Arc Apparel—Embroidery and Screen Print Company at 216 West 26th Street in Latonia.
“We’re dedicated to supplying a quality product at a competitive price to businesses and organizations while at the same time, as is our mission, providing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) opportunities to reach their highest potential,” she said.
Gilliam oversees a working staff of three (I/DD) clients – mostly part-time – that operates Monday through Friday, 9-5 p.m.
The shop – and staff – cleans screens (for printing), does folding, checks products and pulls them from machines once printed to place on heaters, according to their GM/Nanny, Gilliam.
Gilliam proudly lists some of The Point/Arc’s Apparel – Embroidery and Screen Print Company’s clients – Jeff Ruby Culinary, Sam Adams, River Metal Recycling, BRM and numerous schools for their spirit wear.
“We carry various brands including Nike, Eddie Bauer, Carhartt, OGIO and Sport-Tek,” she said.
The Sam Adams brewery in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has their employee jackets, vests, coolers, T-shirts and hoodies produced at our shop, Gilliam notes.
“And,” she adds, “they’re shipped to their employees all over the country.”
So how did a one-time nanny learn the embroidery business?
“Honestly,” she says, “I just picked up the process over time. I got my love of art from working as a wedding photographer years ago at Kamera Art in Florence.”
The Point/Arc – Apparel – Embroidery and Screen Print Company is one of four vocational enterprises that provides training and employment to adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD).
The other enterprises at ThePoint/Arc are: The Point/Arc Commercial Laundry Company, The Commercial Cleaning Company and The Point-Perk Coffee Shop.
Jan Gilliam was born with a big heart.
“It’s all about helping others,” she proudly says.
She did it as a nanny for years – and now she’s taken her nanny skills to The Point/Arc’s Apparel– Embroidery and Screen Print Company.
The Point/Arc