For the Business of Apparel Decorating
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/865605
Josh Ellsworth is an industry expert on apparel customization and General Man- ager of Stahls' CAD-CUT Direct. His portfo- lio includes a YouTube site (youtube.com/ joshellsworth) with more than 50 educa- tional videos, a blog (joshellsworth.com) that is updated regularly and consulting PRESSING MATTERS B Y J O S H A N D Z A C H E L L S W O R T H visits that have been made to some of the largest apparel-customization businesses in the U.S. You can reach Josh by email at josh@cadcutdirect.com and you can find him here, on the hot spot, talking about customization beyond the basics in every issue. Tune in for mar- keting strategies and sales tips in the heat-applied graphics discipline. Zach Ellsworth has been helping heat printers for the last 15 years. From hopeful startups to seasoned professionals, Zach's advice and insight has helped them all increase productivity and profitability. Zach is currently serving as the general manager of Imprintables Ware- house and is focused on his favorite thing: helping decorators succeed. Spirited Wear Hot spirit wear decorations Take the heathered T below, for example. You'll want to heat print this item with something that fits the fashion. In our case, we chose to use glitter heat transfer vinyl in the school colors. By using heat transfer vinyl, we were also able to add a touch of personalization to this item by adding in the specific football player's F all is in the air. The leaves are turning colors, everything is pumpkin flavored, and fantasy football season is officially in full swing. This all means it must be time to talk about decorating spirit wear. Outside of heat printing for players on the field, there's nothing more rewarding than decorating for those fans in the stands. Fans come in all shapes and sizes, but we know that all fans share a couple of key goals: 1) All fans have a team to represent, and that team has defining colors and words 2) All fans want to feel like their representation counts for some- thing and that they're part of a larger community Knowing this almost makes our jobs as decorators easy. Almost. Because one thing we also know is that fans have willy varying style and fit preferences. Fortunately, spirit wear has evolved over the years into something more fashionable than the standard T-shirt. More than ever, fashion is playing a key role in the resurgence of profitable fanwear as it helps each individual stand out while also supporting their favorite team. Let's look at some of this season's spirit wear- friendly trends and how to heat print them. SLOUNGEWEAR What in the world is "sloungewear?" Sloungewear is a combination of the terms sportswear and loungewear. What makes sloungewear attractive is the fashion- forward look and soft feel of the garments. Right: Slounge- wear is in- creasingly popular across the industry and is a great fit for fan wear, especial- ly when customized with a player's number and sports logo. (All im- ages courtesy STAHLS') Far right: Use bold typography to create trendy and fun pop cul- ture references in spirit wear finishes. What in the world is "sloungewear?" Sloungewear is a combination of the terms sportswear and loungewear. What makes sloungewear attractive is the fashion- forward look and soft feel of the garments. - the industry and is a great fit for fan wear, especial- ly when customized with a player's number and sports logo. (All im- ages courtesy STAHLS') Use bold typography to create trendy and fun pop cul- ture references in spirit 34 || P R I N T W E A R S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7