About Us

Thanks for checking out our site!  Here is a little history on Callie Graphics.

Callie Soden
Owner/Operator

For those of you that don't know our story, Callie Graphics came to be in the Fall of 2002 in the back of Hobbies 'N Stuff, a local hobby shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My parents opened Hobbies 'N Stuff when I was 5 years old.  I grew up in the back of the store and developed a love for all types of airplanes, helicopters, cars and motorcycles.  When I was 13, I started working for my folks after school, helping with inventory and computer work.  When I was about 17, I learned how to fly airplanes and helicopters and slowly transitioned my job into a sales clerk on the R/C airplanes counter.  In 2002, my Dad, Stan Johnson, had the opportunity to purchase a used vinyl cutter from a customer. After much discussion, he and I decided that it would be a worth while investment for the business and a great service to our customers. The original plan was to offer simple things, AMA #'s, lettering and basic designs (stars, stripes, etc.). Once I started using the machine, I realized I could do much more!

An employee asked me if I might be able to do something for his R/C helicopter. I figured, why not? I purchased some fluorescent orange and carbon fiber vinyl and out came the very first Callie Graphics heli design, the Rippin' Raptor. The employee loved it and showed his flying buddies. A handful of designs soon followed. Considering how well they were received at the local flying field I figured I might as well put the designs on the hobby shops web site. With that and an ad online, Callie Graphics started selling across the country, and then across the world!

The Raptor helicopter craze has long since passed.  To further expand our inventory, I started doing designs for airplanes as well.  After about a year of doing simple designs, I decided to purchase a vinyl printer/plotter to allow me to do multicolored designs, like nose art and intricate insignia. Things really picked up with this addition!

After a few years of juggling being a hobby store clerk, web master and running the side line graphics business, I decided that the graphics business could support itself, so I bid my parents farewell and moved the graphics business into my home.  The timing couldn't have been better, since I knew my parents were getting ready to retire and they had made the hard decision to close Hobbies 'N Stuff after 25 years of business.

Over the years the graphics business continued to grow.  I got married in 2008 and in 2011, my husband Matt decided to quite his job as a machinist and go to work for Callie Graphics!  This allowed us to pursue our dream of living in the country and getting away from city life.  We purchased land in a very remote part of New Mexico, and spent the next three years, every weekend, building our own home and new office on our land.  The new office is powered via satellite internet, and is a little slice of heaven for us!  We never could have achieved this dream without all of our wonderful customers!  We feel truly blessed to enjoy what we do for a living, live in a very peaceful, quite place surrounded by nature and our animals.  We look forward to continue making graphics for a long time to come!


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We'd like to give a huge shout out to Motion R/C who has been a huge supporter of Callie Graphics and helped us take our business to the next level!

Motion RC - a veteran owned, Global distributor of radio-control (RC) airplanes, helicopters, and hobby accessories. Motion RC distributes over 12,000 products from the RC industry's premier manufacturers including Freewing, FlightLine, Admiral, Roban, TechOne, Spektrum, E-Flite, FMS, Futaba, and Hitec. Known for its commitment to excellence in customer service, Motion RC holds a five star customer satisfaction rating by both Google and BizRate and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

 

And here is a link to their online forum:

Hobby Squawk - Hobby Squawk is a free online forum dedicated to the discussion of all topics related to radio control (RC) airplanes, helicopters, and all associated electronics and accessories. If you are new to RC or a seasoned flyer, this is an excellent place to ask questions and interact with thousands of RC experts 24 hours per day.