An integral part of the dream team here at Suitcase Records, Lee started with us unofficially toward the end of 2022 before coming on full time this year. After spending 30 years cheffing, Lee was looking for something new, so he had begun building his own record press at home. Kathy and Neil found him on instagram and after seeing all of the cool stuff he was creating, decided to bring him in and... well, the rest is history!
Aside from working with Neil as machine operator on the Alegra press and ensuring every record sounds amazing, Lee has also brought his special talents with building to the Suitcase factory. One shining example is his vinyl record hole-puncher, allowing us to punch the labels out of unused/waste records and feed the excess PVC back through the granulator for reuse, (the labels make for pretty great coasters too!). There's also his photography light box, a box made of reused plastics made specifically to take photos of all our colour records with as little glare and interference as possible. Lee is a mad scientist master when it comes to building niche tools & machines, and mostly does so out of second-hand and scrap materials, ensuring as little waste as possible.
Lee’s most prized possessions from his personal record collection are two Descendents 7"s - Ride The Wild and Fat - and the run he’s most proud of that we’ve pressed here at Suitcase is the 2000 unit run of Savage Garden’s double LP, clocking up a cool 4000 discs!
