I lived in the southern California community of Rancho Cucamonga when I first started developing the business plan for this company. The name Cucamonga derives from the Kucamongan Native Americans, the local indiginous settlement of the Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American culture, believed to be one of the largest concentrations of indigenous peoples on the North American continent. The name Kukamonga is popularly believed to mean “sandy place” in the Tongva language. As a student of graphic design, I became increasingly fascinated with the topic of typography, or the study of type and letters, thus the company name Cucamonga Type. When it came time to select a name for my company, Cucamonga Type reflected the feeling of the quirky, off-beat designs that I have come to love and value so much…!
Biographical Sketch of John…
I got my start in graphic design during the summer of 2000. While between teaching jobs, I passed the time designing notebooks, record books and business cards for the fun of it. As I did so, I came to realize that if designing books and documents was an activity that I would spend many hours at for sheer enjoyment, then that was the vocation that I should be pursuing professionally. From 2001 to 2003, I held a position creating banner ads for an online directory. During this same time, I studied Graphic Design at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Then, in 2004, I established Grape Leaf Press, a home-based business dedicated to creating and selling art prints and handmade books. (Check out www.grapeleafpress.com.) In 2006, I was hired for the Impress Department of the Broadview, Illinois, OfficeMax and continued in that position until May of 2010.
