Customs Creative Manager

About Crisp

Founded in 2017 in Columbia, SC, Crisp is a trusted partner in crafting unforgettable events through premium services and high-quality rentals. Specializing in weddings, we collaborate with event planners and industry partners to elevate celebrations with elegance and precision. Our dedicated team combines industry expertise with a passion for detail, ensuring every delivery, setup, and interaction reflects the professionalism and care our clients rely on. At Crisp, we don't just provide equipment — we deliver peace of mind.

About the Role

Crisp is building out its Customs division — the team that designs and builds the custom pieces that make our events unforgettable: large-format print, graphic design, carpentry, paint, and welding/fabrication. We're looking for a Customs Creative Manager who is relentlessly organized and can lead a group of talented, highly creative makers — keeping print, design, and the trades all pulling in the same direction and staying on or ahead of schedule.

You don't need to be the best welder, carpenter, or designer in the room. You need the confidence and curiosity to learn each craft well enough to plan it, scope it, and lead it — plus the organizational backbone to turn creative energy into delivered, on-time, on-margin custom builds. You'll be the bridge between the client's vision and the team's execution: painting the picture for clients, then translating it into a clear plan your team can build. Because our custom clients come to us through the rental sales team, you'll partner with sales every day.

Lead & Organize the Customs Team

• Lead and coordinate the entire Customs team — large-format print (Print Lead plus two part-time technicians), graphic design, carpentry, paint, and welding/fabrication — keeping every discipline aligned and moving together.
• Bring structure to creative talent: build realistic schedules and hold highly creative, hard-to-pin-down makers to deadlines without stifling the craft.
• Own the production calendar across all trades; sequence work so design, print, build, paint, and finishing hand off cleanly.
• Set clear expectations and accountability; coach and grow the team, including developing the two part-time print technicians as they learn.
• Learn each craft well enough to plan, scope, and lead it — you manage the people and the process, not the tools.

Client Vision & Communication

• Speak with clients with confidence and paint the picture — help them see what a custom build can become.
• Translate that vision into a clear, buildable plan for the team, with specs, deadlines, and quality standards.
• Manage client expectations on scope, timeline, and feasibility from concept through delivery.

Partner with Rental Sales

• Work hand-in-hand with the rental sales team, who own the client relationship and bring custom opportunities in.
• Turn sales' client conversations into scoped, schedulable custom projects.
• Keep sales informed on status, timelines, and any change that affects the client.

Estimating, Budgets & Margins

• Quote and estimate custom builds — labor, materials, print, and any outsourced work — accurately and quickly.
• Own project margins: scope builds to protect profitability and flag early when cost or timeline won't fit the budget.
• Track materials, labor hours, and job costs, and use that data to estimate better over time.

Process, Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Own quality control across the division — every custom piece meets Crisp's standard and matches what was sold.
• Build the systems: intake-to-delivery workflow, SOPs, project templates, and file/spec checklists so the shop scales without chaos.
• Find bottlenecks and continuously improve how custom work moves from idea to delivered.

Service-Industry Reality

• Events don't run on bankers' hours — expect occasional nights, weekend installs, and off-hours pushes during peak event season.
• Busiest months are April, May, October, and the four-week stretch from the week after Thanksgiving through Christmas. Slower months (July, August, January, February) are for maintenance, training, R&D, and process improvement.

The First Year — Onboarding Path

First three months

Learn the team, each craft, our event-season rhythm, and our standing client base. Sit with sales, print, design, and the trades to understand how custom work flows today and where it snags. Learn our estimating and job-costing. Document gaps and quick wins.

Months 3 to 9

Take ownership of the production calendar and of estimating for custom builds. Put scheduling, intake, and QC systems in place. Begin coaching the team to your standards and tightening margins.

Months 9 onward

Fully running the Customs division — schedule, quality, margins, and team development. Working with leadership on capacity, equipment, and how custom scales into future markets. Build the bench so the division never depends on one person.

Why This Role Matters

Custom is where Crisp wins the events other companies can't touch. The print, design, and trade talent is already here — what it needs is someone to point it in the same direction and keep it on schedule and on budget. That's this role. If you're the person who brings calm and order to creative chaos, who can talk vision with a client and then hand your team a plan they can build, this is your chance to own and grow a division that sets Crisp apart.