PopShadow Decals (Odessa, FL) is led by husband-and-wife Steve and Tea Palella. The couple entered the business world together in 2010 to fill a niche in the motorcycle racing community.
At the time, only one provider in the country was producing high-quality motorcycle racing number plates that lasted. Without any experience in printing, Steve and Tea invested in a digital printer and started producing and selling number plates, which they printed on Avery Dennison MPI 1105 EZRS digital wrapping film.
At the time, the printing business was only a side gig for the couple. Steve was working as a carpenter and Tea was a software engineer. A year later, when Steve had to retire from both carpentry and racing due to a serious brain-and-spinal injury in an on-track accident, they pivoted to printing and wrapping full time. Today, PopShadow Decals and Wraps switched from Chicago to Florida during the pandemic.
“We have jobs where we’ll print a wrap in Florida, ship it to, say, Chicago, then fly in to do the installation,” Tea says. “Even if it’s going to be much colder in Chicago than in Florida, we know we can rely on that wrap to perform the way we expect it to.”
Tea Palella applies wraps.
The Palellas have prioritized personalized training. They retook a commercial wrap class to sharpen their skills and over time have invested in Avery Dennison color change wrapping films.
The couple have experienced a lot since they decided to expand beyond their niche and create graphic decals and vehicle wrapping as a full-time business. “Put your money into good materials that will shorten your installation time and make your life — and your nerves — healthier,” Tea advises.
Tea believes PopShadow has helped more than 100 families over the years.
“We just ask the family to email us a design, which can be as simple as a high-resolution image downloaded for free on the Internet,” Tea says. “They’re all very, very happy and very grateful for that.”
For more information, visit popshadow.com.