Impressions - June/July 2013 - (Page 4)

first impressions Making a Difference o ur beloved T-shirt has long been considered the ideal message medium, regardless of the market niche you serve. Sure, we see message shirts bombard us at retail as preprinted lines make a statement about anything in life. And the explosion of online T-shirt design websites has resulted in a vast array of new lines popping up at the drop of a hat. Personalization is the name of the game and any consumer can order custom shirts in small runs for their own events or needs. This avenue has been a great way for savvy decorators servicing the online marketplace to add business. At the wholesale level, it is the message you deliver through your artwork and embellishing processes that really make a difference in your clients’ lives. Everyone has something to say, and you’ve got the perfect canvas to help relay that message. Listen to your clients’ wish lists and get creative. How can you make the artwork pop, or what additional embellishments you can add to their messages to make them more effective? There also are revenue streams for simple one-color message shirts that really make a difference. Whether for a 10K race, philanthropic effort or response to a national event, simplicity sells and allows people to wear and share their views. These shirts often are intended to do good, with proceeds usually going to assist organizations in need. A recent example is the plethora of shirts that were designed after the horrific Boston bombings this past April. Shirts designed by consumers and decorators alike showcasing support for the tragedy popped up all over the Internet and on news reports. And we’re so proud of the many decorators who shared part or all of the proceeds with different organizations at the ready to help the victims of the tragedy. Notable are our friends at Ink to the People in Milwaukee. Their “Boston Strong” T-shirts, designed by two Emerson College students, took off almost immediately after the design was uploaded to the company’s website, quickly surpassing the 110-shirt intended goal. As of press time, the project produced more than 55,000 shirts and donated more than $500,000 to The One Fund Boston (see p. 8). At the end of the day, you have the opportunity to take the many different blank canvases available in this industry and use them to make a difference, too. You can achieve this in a big way or by simply producing great work that keeps clients coming back. So think about messages and what you can do to make them as effective as possible — because we’ll never stop wearing our thoughts. THE DEcoraTED apparEl group Editorial Office 1145 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 355 Alpharetta, GA 30009 (770) 569-1540, (800) 241-9034; Fax: (770) 569-5105 EDiTorial Editor in ChiEf MArciA DerryBerry | (770) 291-5574 mderryberry@impressionsmag.com SEnior Editor jAMAr LASter | (770) 291-5578 jlaster@impressionsmag.com Managing Editor MicHeLLe M. HAVicH | (770) 291-5412 mhavich@impressionsmag.com aSSoCiatE Editor LAUreN MitcHeLL | (770) 291-5487 lmitchell@impressionsmag.com Contributing writErS DArreN AMAto, Lee cAroSeLLi-BArNeS, joSH eLLSwortH, DeBorAH joNeS, GreG KitSoN, MicHAeL j. PALLeriNo, teSSA SAiNz, tHoMAS triMiNGHAM ViCE prESidEnt/ContEnt DoUG HoPe SEnior ViCE prESidEnt joe rANDALL arT art dirECtor weNDi VAN eLDiK | (770) 291-5520 wendi.vaneldik@nielsen.com Contributing dESignEr MAriA KozLoVA www.mkgrafix.com aDvErTising aSSoCiatE publiShEr LAUrie GoNz | (813) 366-2877 laurie.gonz@nielsen.com SEnior aCCount ExECutiVE jeANiNe MorGAN | (813) 366-2876 jeanine.morgan@nielsen.com SEnior aCCount ExECutiVE — ClaSSifiEdS DiANe KeNNeDy | (770) 291-5519 diane.kennedy@nielsen.com proDucTion produCtion dirECtor NAN McDoweLL | (770) 291-5480 nan.mcdowell@nielsen.com produCtion ManagEr terri HiLL | (770) 291-5481 terri.HiLL@nielsen.com CuStoMEr SErViCE baCk iSSuES | (800) 697-8859 SubSCriptionS | (800) 697-8859 nimp@omeda.com rEprintS rAy tryNoVicH, tHe yGS GroUP | (800) 290-5460 x148 impressions@theygsgroup.com liSt rEntal coNtAct yoUr territory MANAGer or: wAyNe NAGrowSKi | (845) 201-5318 wayne.nagrowski@reachmarketing.com SCan thE CodE bElow to SubSCribE! Marcia Derryberry Editor in ChiEf To comment on this editorial or to express your views on other matters, address your e-mail to mderryberry@impressionsmag.com. 4 Impressions | June/July 2013 A Division of Nielsen impressionsmag.com http://www.mkgrafix.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - June/July 2013

Impressions - June/July 2013
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
Outfitting Tots & Teens
Is the Price Right?
Heat Printing for Friday Nights
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Online Directory
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Technique
Tech Tips
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - June/July 2013