---
title: "Meet Andy Smith: The man betting on paper"
description: "Paper, taste, tiny details, and why physical things are making a comeback."
url: "https://craftwork.com/newsletter/andy-smith-betting-on-paper"
publication: "Master of the Craft"
sent: "2026-09-11"
updated: "2026-09-21"
readingTime: "2 min read"
source: "Craftwork"
---

# Meet Andy Smith: The man betting on paper

_Paper, taste, tiny details, and why physical things are making a comeback._

![Meet Andy Smith: The man betting on paper](https://utfs.io/f/bQX7l79i2ykW3QQn6kouXnabFrPmDNW7zlxLUyES4e2oYkwK)

## **The Craft**

Andy Smith, a longtime magazine editor and publisher for local and national magazines, is the owner of a creative print studio in Charlotte called, Andy's Print Shop.

He's printing everything from brochures to yearbooks to gallery guides.

"In the most basic terms, I'm a printer."

### **The Spark**

Andy grew up on 50 acres in a tiny town in West Virginia. Born in 1986, he caught the tail end of a childhood built around paper.

Trading cards. Magazines. Newspapers. Comic books.

And despite all that land outside, Andy was very much an indoor kid.

"Every month I'd walk down the hill to our mailbox because I knew my magazines would be waiting for me. That was the biggest thrill."

He didn't realize it then, but almost everything he loved had something in common:

Paper.

### **The Jump**

Eventually, Andy built a career around it.

Starting as a newspaper page designer and arts critic before moving through roles at Hi-Fructose and Charlotte Magazine, from Arts Editor all the way to Publisher.

"Throughout all of those roles, I was constantly working with printers."

The closer he got to print, the more he saw an opportunity.

Digital wasn't going anywhere. But neither was people's desire to make, own, and hold physical things.

### **The Now**

Today, Andy runs Andy's Print Shop, producing everything from wedding invitations and neighborhood newsletters to fine-art prints and publications.

And while the technology behind printing has changed dramatically, people's relationship with print is shifting too.

After years of everything moving to screens, Andy sees people coming back to physical things.

"People want posters again. They want memorabilia. They want art prints. They want things they can hold onto."

![](https://utfs.io/f/bQX7l79i2ykWF5ZgFVYzyfvMBsNaReSUTZ3xDXk6mh9QE02L)

### **The Workshop**

**What’s a big misconception?**

- People think print has disappeared.
- "If you're paying attention, you're touching it all the time."

**What are you still trying to Master?**

- Little skills: home projects, music, writing, design.
- "I'm always chasing the ability to explain things that could be dense in a way that feels conversational."

**What do you attribute your success to?**

- His wife, first.
- Then Ted Williams and his importance of joy in work.
- "If there isn't joy behind it, it's a really hard road."
- And his former boss, Tina Badgett, for his strong creative culture.

**How much of the craft is talent vs. work?**

- 10% natural curiosity
- 90% learned

### **Find Andy**

🌐 [Andy's Website](https://links.news.craftwork.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fandysprintshop.com%2F/1/010001a090982d2d-9d1a5acb-09ed-41c2-bdf5-502e7262d996-000000/1YwY-vGi8eGOfNyOmfd0TfDrJU9L-Tm0U6futL6rwTg=452)

📸 [@AndyPrintStuff](https://links.news.craftwork.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fandyprintsstuff%2F/1/010001a090982d2d-9d1a5acb-09ed-41c2-bdf5-502e7262d996-000000/dEAi6yVI7ti5eHgz1vJNOZkn6IlZAQZBWjjXZ9EEryA=452)