08/06/2022
On June 30, 2022, TR Design will close its doors.
What a great ride it has been. I've been blessed to have Paul Tepperman as my business partner for four decades. We started as Tepperman/Ray Associates, operating a moonlight operation for many years before striking out on our own. We worked full-time jobs at high tech companies, then worked every night until 2:00 or 3:00 am to build our little business. We worked side by side. Brainstorming, creating, talking and laughing. As our business grew, we moved on to larger spaces, eventually purchasing our own 4,000 sf. building in Andover, MA. Our staff grew to 16 and we were ranking as one of the largest agencies in the Boston region.
There were great times, and there were extremely difficult challenges. Y2K, the Dot Com bust, September 11, and 2008. Technology completely changed the industry, providing new opportunities, and even greater challenges to the profession that we had mastered. And we pressed on. As we reduced the size of the company, we gradually evolved into a remote operation, which served us well when Covid-19 arrived. Now, it's time to scale back. We're closing the business but both Paul and I intend to continue working individually with a limited number clients and a lighter workload.
I would like to thank all of those individuals who placed their confidence in me over the years and to those employees who gave so much to TR Design, with special thanks to Debbie Blanchette.
I would especially like to remember Jerry Lyons, my high school art teacher who pointed me in this direction. Tom Corey, my college design instructor who inspired me to be great. And Fred Van Veen, the late Vice President of Teradyne who placed his trust in a young, green designer and became a friend and travel companion for so many years. They have all passed on now and I think of them often.
The rewards for all of the hard work were best summed up by a thank you I received many years ago. At the conclusion of one project, my client's handwritten note simply said, "Many thanks to you for making me look like the hero."
Carroll Ray
