Mira's Story
While we’ve worn a few different hats, Mira has been in business since 1971 – woman-owned and family-owned from day one.
Doing justice to five decades of Mira would require the genius of Ken Burns. Until he returns our call, enjoy some of the highlights of our story.
1970s
Printing Incorporated of Louisville, KY was co-founded by Bill and Sally Minogue as a printing and fulfillment company in the back bedroom of their three-bedroom home. Their five young children were their first employees. Shortly after, Printing Inc. outgrew the back bedroom. Bill sold during the day and ran the press at night, while Sally ran the front and back office.
Let’s set the scene: This was a time before copiers, fax machines, and overnight shipping; 10-12 weeks was standard turn time to get anything produced. Knowing this, the Printing Inc.'s value was meeting print needs quickly.
Bill and Sally with Mira's first employees
1980s
The word of this decade: Technology.
Printing Inc. expanded their capabilities into desktop publishing and project management. Kelly Abney and Ken Minogue, the next generation of leadership, joined the company full-time. Kelly pushed to purchase their very first computer. This singular purchase yielded some critical results:
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The first supplier to utilize email with our Fortune 100 client
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Began utilizing variable print, well before any company our size did
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1990s
The internet was exploding, but that wasn’t the only shake-up at Printing Inc. - Kelly Abney became President.
Due to the uncertainty of Y2K and the impact to our clients, we began exploring app development. As the company’s capabilities continued to expand, we re-rebranded and PI Louisville was born. During this time, PI Louisville built their very first online branded storefront.
Kelly and, co-founder, Sally
2000s
Over the years, a mix of regional, national and international clients in industries such as healthcare, in-home services, and consumer goods joined the portfolio. This was really when we dove deep into holistic, comprehensive brand resource management:
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Offering promotional items and apparel, in addition to print
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Upgrading storefront software into 21st century
Due to yet another expansion in capabilities, our company needed to shape-shift again: Pretty Incredible!. Then, 2008 hit.
We moved into our current home in 2005.
2010s
The first half of this era, recovery was the name of the game. This recession totally changed the landscape of our industry(offset to digital) and 25% of printers went out of business. Pretty Incredible! recognizes its survival belongs to Bill, Sally, Ken, and Kelly always being on the leading edge of technology.
While this recession hurt in more ways than we can count, we were already in the process of pivoting from the traditional offset printer model and into brand resource management, which was the way the industry was heading. During this time, we continued to upgrade our software and internal automation.
2020s
A global pandemic and recession started off this era. Just like the decade before it, recovery is the name of the game. However, recovery for Pretty Incredible! does not mean riding the wave and crossing our fingers. It means learning from the tough times and emerging stronger, better, faster. How did we do that? Bittersweet 2020 looked like:
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A final re-brand to match our new shape – Mira
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Expanded technology offerings
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Third generation of family-owned leadership is on deck
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Our 50th anniversary
