Garuda Screenprinting will host an opening reception at their new location, 149B River St, in North Chattanooga. The event will take place Friday, March 1, from 5-8 p.m. Original art prints created by Mike Lester, Garuda's proprietor, will be on display and editions will be available for sale. Refreshments will be provided by The Farmer's Daughter, a North Chattanooga restaurant scheduled to open in the spring. This event is free and open to the public.

Garuda Screenprinting was begun by Ohio native Mike Lester in the summer of 2011 offering custom screen printing services and working out of a small single-room studio in St. Elmo. New to town, Mr. Lester relied on word of mouth to grow his new business, and that method worked. Within a few months he had outgrown the small workspace and relocated to the basement of a Northshore gift shop. While in this space he built up a list of clients that include local restaurants such as Good Dog and Blacksmith's Bistro & Bar, local events such as the Old Time Fiddlers' Convention and Create Here's 10x10, and local entrepreneur Blake Porter of Tag You're It Apparel, recently featured in several local news publications. 

Working alone, Mr. Lester's business continued to grow and on Feb. 1, Garuda Screenprining relocated to 149B River St., doubling the available work space. The new studio space will enable Garuda to offer exhibits, printing demonstrations, and workshops in the future. Another big change for 2013 is the doubling of the staff to include Lester's partner, Mary Beth Sanders. She'll be taking on administrative tasks while Mr. Lester will continue to print custom orders for clients. The artists will also be producing creative merchandise for sale in their retail space. 

Refreshments at the reception will be provided by The Farmer's Daughter, a farm-to-table cafe opening in the spring in North Chattanooga. They believe that food is our culture, and that eating well is about knowing your farmers and enjoying the seasons as they come. Their restaurant menu will feature simple, fresh food inspired by the bounty of surrounding farms. 

Garuda Screenprinting offers custom printing on apparel, posters, business cards, and more. New retail merchandise such as notecards, art prints, posters, T-shirts and accessories are becoming available now. The studio and retail shop is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Garuda can also be reached at info@garudascreenprinting.com. The website is www.garudascreenprinting.com, and they can be found at www.facebook.com/screenprintgaruda.