“Go through life doing the best you can and aim to land butter side up.” – James Reffold
By: James Reffold | US & EU Marketing Manager at Digital Ink
📍 Location: Warwickshire, United Kingdom
🎧 Currently Listening to: BBC Five-Live Sport
Meet James Reffold. He has a knack for making sense of the unclear. Hand him a vague brief, half an idea scribbled in a hurry, a few scattered thoughts, and he’ll shape it into something tangible, sharp, and ready to go. He doesn’t wait for perfect instructions; he builds clarity from chaos, asking the right questions, spotting hidden angles, and filling in the blanks with insight and instinct. Where others stall, James starts creating. His work doesn’t just tick boxes, it sparks movement. James leans into positive disruption, challenging the usual to uncover smarter, bolder ways to build product stories and brand awareness that actually land.
I’m James, and I recently joined Digital Ink as Marketing Manager. I focus on helping our clients in the print industry cut through the noise and connect with their audiences in meaningful, strategic ways. It’s a fast-paced role, which suits me perfectly. I like keeping things moving and seeing ideas come to life quickly.
Before joining Digital Ink, I spent several years working with a leading web-to-print provider, leading marketing efforts across everything from content and campaigns to events and strategy. But joining this team felt like a natural next step.
I’ve worked with Chris for over seven years now, and we’ve always had that rare kind of creative rhythm, the kind where you can trust each other to move fast, make decisions, and just get things done. So, when the opportunity came up, it was a no-brainer.
My day-to-day work at Digital Ink will involve a mix of content strategy, campaign planning, social media, email, and blog writing, and collaborating with our designers to bring everything together. I’m passionate about telling stories that matter, especially in an industry like print, where there’s so much innovation happening but not always the clearest way of communicating it.
Outside work, I live a slightly unconventional lifestyle aboard a 58-foot narrowboat in the Midlands, which I renovated. I’m completely off-grid, powered by solar, with my seven-year-old sidekick, Sammy the dog, by my side. We’ll usually walk the towpaths, check out local cafes, or hunt for the next great alcohol-free beer.
“I’m excited to be part of the Digital Ink team and to help build something fresh, flexible, and genuinely valuable for the people we work with. Looking forward to the journey ahead.”
What I enjoy the most about my current role:
What I enjoy most about working at Digital Ink is the pace, the trust, and the way ideas are given room to breathe. Having worked with Christopher Minn for years, there’s already a strong foundation there – we know how to get things done without overthinking every step. There’s a shared energy and understanding that makes the work feel fluid and creative, not forced. It’s the kind of environment where good ideas don’t get stuck in meetings -they get made.
Beyond Work: A Few Fun Facts About Me:
❓Interesting fact: I had a bit of a perspective shift during the pandemic. It made me realise that digital marketing MIGHT not be the most in-demand skill if things ever went sideways.
I didn’t have a trade to fall back on, so I started looking into practical skills like electrics, plumbing, and decorating. Most of them either required a long training period or didn’t offer much of a starting pay without experience, but I’ve always enjoyed driving, so I decided to go for my HGV Class 1 license.
🍽 Favourite Food: My mum’s chilli con carne. She makes it every time I visit, and it never misses. Proper comfort food.
🏆 Biggest Achievement: On a personal level, it would have to be renovating and moving onto my 58-foot narrowboat. It was a big decision to go completely off-grid, but turning it into a fully livable, solar-powered home has been both a challenge and a massive point of pride. It’s given me a completely different outlook on balance, independence, and daily life.
At work, I’m proud of the creative event concepts I’ve developed and delivered, from Hawaiian-inspired beaches and AI-powered face-swaps to Santa in October and, most recently, transforming a booth into a bespoke skate shop-style experience.
Each one pushed the boundaries a little. Seeing those ideas come to life and get the kind of reaction they did was genuinely rewarding.
⚽ Hobbies: Outside of work, I’m happiest when I’m outdoors. I spend much time walking my dog, Sammy, and hopping between local cafes when we’re moored up somewhere new.
I’m always tinkering with something on the boat, whether it’s a fix or an upgrade, and I love taking it out for a cruise when the weather allows.
I’m also really into camping, caravanning, or anything involving motorhomes – basically, if it’s off-grid and a bit outdoorsy, I’m into it.
🧠 What I Can’t Live Without: My Fire Stick
🌍 Dream Destination: I love hostel-hopping, so probably travelling around South America.
📆 What do most weekends look like: Fixing something on my boat!
🏔 Beach or Mountains? The majority of my life is spent outdoors and adventuring, so I’d say the beach with a podcast.
