A Supportive Partnership Yields Double Success

June 26, 2008

TrimSpa apparel, decorated by Alley Silkscreen and Embroidery, offers sweatshirts such as this one proclaiming "Work In Progress," as well as more fitted apparel.

Amanda Sedlacek lost weight and gained a whole new business. After struggling to lose unwanted pounds for several years, she found success with TrimSpa, a weight-loss company. Encouraged by her success, she embarked on a completely new endeavor by purchasing an up-and-running decorated apparel business.

Alley Silkscreen and Embroidery, Marshalltown, Iowa, was established by its original owners in 1979. Sedlacek purchased the company in February 2006. "It had good clientele to keep it running, but it needed a push," says Sedlacek. "I've always enjoyed artsy stuff, and I love working with [silk screening] now that I've learned the business." One of her employees, Kathy Lupkes, has been in the industry for more than 20 years and was instrumental in teaching Sedlacek the ropes.

After revamping Alley Silkscreen, Sedlacek wanted to give back to TrimSpa for the difference it made in her life. She approached the company with a proposal to create an e-commerce Web site to sell clothing featuring the TrimSpa logo. The company loved the idea. She worked with representatives to come up with a variety of apparel for people of any size. "We have some hooded sweatshirts and unisex T-shirts that anyone can wear," says Sedlacek. The site also offers more fitted garments for people who have lost weight and want to show off their new figures.

TrimSpa was very supportive of Sedlacek and her weight-loss efforts. "[It's] a very different company. I have committed my life to it and represented it at a weight-loss competition in the Bahamas," she says. "In exchange, they've given me the rights to use the TrimSpa name to sell clothing for a year." The company plans to study the effects the gear has on its advertising throughout the year. Afterwards, Sedlacek and TrimSpa will determine the next steps in their decorated apparel partnership.

Sedlacek expects success from the TrimSpa gear Web site, which has been up for a few weeks. "People are proud that they're making a commitment to their lives and changing them," she says. — Liz Aull

Off the Cuff: Selling to Religious Organizations: Part 1 of 2
In our industry we decorate a massive assortment of items by a broad variety of technologies. Then we distribute what we produce to virtually every economic sector in every nook and cranny of society.
September 14, 2009

How to Apply Foil
Editor’s note: In the following pages, the authors take you step-by-step through the process of adding foil to your T-shirt artwork. First, they detail how to incorporate foil into the workflow of an automatic press. The process differs significantly for printers using a manual press, so the authors also detail how to apply foil when printing with a manual screen printing press.
September 04, 2009

Foil Adds Sparkle and Margin 
While getting started printing with foil will be a trial-and-error process, here are some tips to reduce the learning curve. 
When we get an order at our shop, it’s not uncommon to hear an employee exclaim, “Foiled again!” That’s because as many as 15% of our orders involve some kind of foil printing, making the process somewhat of a specialty for our shop — Forward Printing, Oakland, Calif.
September 03, 2009

Diversifying Your Customer Base  
Learn to evaluate and adjust your mix of clientele for optimum profitability and stability.
While the economic lows that many American markets have been experiencing for the past year are certainly painful, they’re also nothing new. Historically, the tide of business success continually ebbs and flows, with one market experiencing a rush of good fortune while another watches its revenue all but dry up. This cyclical nature of business is precisely why decorators must have a diverse customer base that allows them to weather slowdowns — or even meltdowns — in parts of the economy.
September 02, 2009

Tunes Lead Teen/Tween Trends
Music — bands and celebrity performers — is influencing the graphics, styling and colors that teens and pre-teens want to wear.
If you’re ever wondering how to tap in to the teen and tween (pre-teen) market, the evidence is all around you. The apparel worn on TV, in magazines and on the Internet by rock stars, actors, models and other celebrities is going to give you the greatest clues about what teens want in decorated apparel.
July 31, 2009