Impressions - August 2016 - 47

RED THREADS AT A GlAncE
C ompan y name: Red Threads
address: 127 McDonald St., Midland, MI 48640
Foun ded: 2012
n o. oF employees: 1
deC oratin g m ethods oFFered: Screen printing, heat printing,
heat-applied vinyl, dye sublimation
C ompan y Website: redthreads.com

discharge, water-based and specialty inks,"
Blackmore says.
Learning bookkeeping was an important
part of Blackmore's training and he still uses
the same Excel spreadsheet system today
that he created in the beginning. He spent
two years in the incubator program learning
how to handle quotes, invoices, budgeting,
social media, Adobe Illustrator and other
things a business owner must know.
Red Threads operates two singlestation, four-color presses and a homemade
flip-table exposure unit with a 39" x 47"
exposure area. The shop also includes a
homemade washout booth with backlights; homemade screen-drying racks; a
variable-speed dryer; heat and hat presses;
a Roland cutter; a sublimation printer and
more.
A Different Mindset

together."I chose the name because Jesus
is the Red Thread," he says.
While incuba8LABS showed Blackmore
the importance of being business-minded,
he learned screen printing from scratch,
using YouTube videos, trial and error,
Ryonet educational videos and industry
forums as training tools.
While scouring one forum, Blackmore became familiar with veteran screen
printer Richard Greaves, whom he called
for advice. Greaves now is Blackmore's
screen-printing mentor, helping him to
hone his craft and get connected with
people who can take his business to the
next level.
"God keeps sending huge miracles
my way," he says. "Last Christmas, I received a heat press, hat press, mug press,
sublimation printers, vinyl cutters and
loads of shirt-printing stock - for free

- from a stranger who used to run a
printing business, but left and donated
his equipment."
The Day-to-Day
Red Threads is a one-man operation
offering custom apparel printing. Blackmore relies on a team of advisors and
volunteers who donate their time on a
weekly basis, including a press operator
and Blackmore's girlfriend, who does
bookeeping for about two hours a week.
Clients are comprised mostly of churches,
schools, businesses or individuals who
need custom T-shirts.
"We specialize in plastisol screen
printing for our local community and
their T-shirt printing needs, all while
driving toward the vision of becoming
a specialized fashion-printing shop with

Blackmore offers the following advice to
new decorators:"Other people are your
most important asset," he says."Place relationships at the top of your list of values.
Focus on creating a great product, and
then immediately turn into a salesman.
Your sales skills are what will grow your
business financially."
Future plans for RedThreads include an
immediate equipment upgrade, including
a Vastex EC1 54-inch dryer and a Lawson six-color/four-station Beta manual
screen-printing press.
"I'm also building a one-armed bandit
[manual screen-printing machine] to print
my allover prints," he says. 
Jennifer Morrell is an award-winning writer who
has written for a number of national consumer
and trade publications. For more information
or to comment on this article, email Jennifer at
jennmorrell@hotmail.com.

AUGUST 2016

P.47
http://www.redthreads.com
Impressions - August 2016

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