29 Jul 2025
We ask a different figure from the local community to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of 50. This week: Carl Willis, owner of Print Shop St Albans and DJ with Dirty Stereo.
Where do you go to listen to music?
The outbuilding that I run Print Shop St Albans from also doubles up as the studio for putting sets together for my Dirty Stereo events. The other outbuilding also houses the Studio for Dirty Radio which streams weekly on Wednesday on the Mixcloud platform.
What’s the first thing you do after you’ve woken up in the morning?
Check my emails for work and social media for play.
What items do you always carry with you?
Phone, keys, wallet: card, cash and business cards.
CD, vinyl, download or streaming?
Downloading tunes to put sets together and streaming the sets from the events I put on and parties I play at.
What object would you save first if your house was on fire?
My iMac, work comes before play. Although… along with clients’ work my music is also on the Mac.
How often do you check your phone?
Soooo much. Work, friends, children and putting on events my phone just doesn’t stop. My average daily usage hovers around 8 hours a day. I was in Malta last year and left my phone in someone’s car. My goodness that was a fraught three hours. I tracked them down to the port 30 minutes away just about to get on the ferry to go to another island for a few days. Eek!
If you could travel back in time and offer your younger self some advice, what would it be?
Take that job offer to work in the City at 21 for a broker in the IT department. I’d be rolling it in now as a friend of mine took the role and he’s done very well! But… would I be as happy as I am now? Would I have had the kids and found my love of dance music and of course run a successful business doing what I love doing? So after typing all that. I’ll change my answer… say yes to everything. It’ll balance out in your favour!
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Shoes one pair brown, trainers 20 pairs of Adidas. Shoes are only for weddings!
What was your first job?
YTS at the London Stock Exchange. That helped massively with my CV back then. I didn’t really know what i wanted to do so had a few jobs until I was 21 and was asked to typeset for a graphic design agency due to being a fast typer. I was then taught how to use the design packages and it turned out I was rather creative. So from then I spent 15 years in London working for a handful of design agencies and then set up on my own when I had my lovely twin daughters. This meant I could be a stay at home dad and also work when time would allow. I touted myself as a local graphic designer which quickly morphed into offering print services. When money would allow I bought some equipment and then more and more, and turned in to a print business too offering anything from lost cat leaflets up to printing for multi-nationals.
How long would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
As long as it lasted. I own a shotgun and dare I say am a very good shot. I have a Costco card so supplies will be fine and I have a decent sized garden to grow some vegetables. I guess I should get some chickens just in case.
