Photo by Deb Gau Nick Schwarz holds up a letter from a lighted sign in the process of being made at AP Design in Marshall. This month, Nick and his wife Jill became the new owners of AP Design, which designs a wide variety of awards, signs, apparel and more.

MARSHALL — It’s a business that has stayed local for more than 30 years. Nick and Jill Schwarz, the new owners of AP Design in Marshall, say they want to keep that legacy going.

“We’re committed to success,” Nick Schwarz said.

The Schwarzes, Marshall residents, bought AP Design from Brian and Nancy Kor this month. Over the 25 years the Kors owned AP Design, it grew from an award and trophy shop to a business that also designs a wide variety of promotional items, apparel and signs.

Nick and Jill Schwarz are both from southwest Minnesota, and have lived in Marshall since 1998. Nick worked for Schwan’s Food Service, and Jill teaches preschool at Marshall Public Schools. However, they said they had been thinking about starting on a new venture.

“We were looking for an opportunity to be more invested in the Marshall community,” Nick Schwarz said. When the Schwarzes heard that AP Design might possibly be available for sale, “We ended up reaching out to Brian and Nancy.”

Nick and Jill were a good fit to buy the business, especially because they wanted to keep it local, the Kors said.

“This is exactly what we were looking for,” Nancy Kor said.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate to have been involved in this business until we were ready to retire,” Brian Kor said. It was just what he and Nancy had planned back when they bought AP Design, he said.

The Schwarzes said getting started as the new owners has been a lot of work, but the response has been positive.

“People have been very kind to us, and very supportive,” Jill Schwarz said.

AP Design’s roots go back to 1989, when Beth Marcotte opened a trophy business in downtown Marshall. The Kors bought the business in 1998, and gradually expanded it to include new services.

“For us, it was trial by fire,” Brian Kor said.

In 2005, AP Design bought Signature Logo Solutions, an apparel decoration company. And in 2010, they also bought Paxton Signs.

The Kors built AP Design’s current location on South Minnesota Highway 23 in 2006. It was a good thing that the new building had room to grow, the Kors said. AP Design now has shop spaces for sign-making, embroidery, screen printing, engraving and more.

Learning about all those parts of AP Design has been a big job, Nick Schwarz said. But he’s looking forward to using his marketing background in the business. Schwarz enjoys working with customers to help them build their brand or business’s image.

“That’s really fun for me,” he said.

“We really enjoy meeting people, and we love southwest Minnesota,” Schwarz said. “It’s really fun and rewarding to help another business get started.”

The Kors said for now, they’re staying at AP Design to help Nick and Jill with the transition of ownership.

“It’s just an absolute blessing,” Nick Schwarz said.

The Kors’ knowledge and experience help a lot. AP Design also has five employees, each with their own specialty areas. With the amount of custom work AP Design does, Schwarz said it’s been important to have the employees’ knowledge and skills, too.

“We’re fortunate to have great employees,” he said.

Brian Kor said he will miss working with customers and employees when he’s retired.

“That’s the bittersweet part,” he said. But at the same time, he thought the business would be in good hands. “The AP Design legacy is still going to be here.”