The Long Beach Impressions Expo (formerly called ISS) is coming up January 20-22. It feels like there is quite a buzz about it and probably a dozen people who I thought were not going decided to go in the past couple days. It feels like everybody’s autos and dryers are worn out and they want…
Let your interests drive your niche and you’ll find customers you love to work with. John “Johnny Bomb” Herrera tells us how he became the go-to merch guy for Texas barbecue shops and how you can find your niche and be excited about your business. He doesn’t have the biggest shop in Texas or the…
Best piece of equipment in the shop in terms of bang for the buck is my folding safety box opener. The opener has a nub to split the tape on the top of the box, so you don’t cut the shirts. (We once did work for a big retailer and they made us put cardboard…
Art feeds the soul and is our connection point and even our purpose. Art heals us. I have made a career out of being artistic. In some aspects, the landscape is changing for commercial art with new Ai technology. Ai generators may forever shift the fine art landscape as well. I spent a month in…
There’s a lot to consider when designing for t-shirts. They fit on human bodies, which are not flat like the computer screens they are usually designed on. The shirts themselves aren’t perfectly straight either, before or after they come off the press. Learn what to do and what to avoid so you don’t end up…
The New York Times reports that some World Cup soccer (football) jerseys are being made my workers with pay of $2.27 per day. You read that right, not by the minute, not by the hour, $2.27 per day. There is no standard of living in the world that supports paying people that low, even Myanmar. …
Sometimes an observation is proven wrong with experience. I’m here to tell you that this one rings true again this year. Vacant stares, silly mistakes and absences seem to be the holiday norm right now at our factory. Needing or wanting to get more critical work done doesn’t matter, Christmas time’s a comin’. Here’s the…
What’s the most basic screen room set up you can get away with? What will the screen room of the future look like? Co-presenters @Stan Banks of T-Shirt Side Hustle and our own Rick Roth talked with Kevin Kauth (aka @EmulsionGuru ) of Chromaline, Keith Perkins of Saati, and Brian Giddens of KIWO about everything you need (or…
It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending all your time working inside your business, but how are you working outside to get new customers and clients? LaTonna Roberson of Lady Print Boss breaks it down in this Shop Talk from the Impressions Expo in Fort Worth. Even if you are a one-person shop…
New Monthly Column by Michelle Moxley! Michelle Moxley works as Director of Innovation for M&R. She graduated from The Art Institute of Washington with studies in graphic design and animation. She has worked in a variety of production settings in R&D, production art and fine art capacities. Michelle is one of the most innovative minds in our industry and…
