The Ink Kitchen

Just published this video to the Motion Textile site.  Our man Ben Jones of TBJ Productions did it again, this time with a slightly more artistic view of textile screenprinting.  Enjoy…  

How difficult can it be to answer the phone? Apparently for some people, very difficult. I called an old established business today, searching for garments for a large beverage company customer. The person answering the phone made me feel like I was bothering both her and the company. That is a great way to make…

A garment dyed shirt is a wonderful thing, comfortable and they come in beautiful colors. However, there are a few limitations that go along with these shirts and one is that you cannot remove the ink if you make a mistake. Best practices for garment dyed shirts: 1. Use a good emulsion 2. Get a thorough…

It seems appropriate to post this in the days leading up to the USA’s Independence Day. Unionwear located in Newark, NJ is the real deal in terms of union made, USA made hats, bags and other items. Their owner Mitch Cahn is a a strong advocate for worker’s rights (and a pretty fun guy if…

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is stirring debate in the apparel industry much as NAFTA did in the 90’s.  This article from Southern California Public Radio talks about the potential impact on the apparel industry. And if you do not support TPP Zazzle’s got you covered.    

I feel very fortunate to get to spend some time with Andy Anderson at his studio in Nashville recently. Besides being one of the best screenprinters in the world for over thirty years he also is a master at creating motorcycles that are works of art, and then as if that isn’t enough, ranging far…

It’s never fun matching another printer’s work, specifically with full color prints.  You are kind of screwed in these situations because without provided seps and reliable engineering forms or without intimate knowledge of the other printer’s methods you are just making an educated guesses and if you say forget it and simply aim to improve…

Actually, if you make a shirt like this, I would say that you need a history lesson. 1. This flag primarily came into use by racists when the civil right movement in this country finally gained some traction in the 60’s. There was a lot of hooey about states rights and ancestors, but it mainly came…

The Chicago Tribune wrote last week about $180K worth of phony Blackhawks hockey being seized by law enforcement under an effort with the oh so tricky “codename” Operation Team Player. This pales when one considers that the NHL’s big crackdown “Operation Red Zone” in 2013 netted $13.6 million in fake jerseys. Bootlegging is big business and…

There is that day when your contact at a big customer tells you that they are leaving. When I was younger my heart would stop, I would get depressed, etc. No longer. Over the years I have found that if you follow up and you have been doing a good job that the person that…