We traveled back in time to connect with Max Hellmann of Family Industries, and the conversation we had was worth jeopardizing our timeline. Max shared his story of how he got into printing, and eventually became a superpower in the live printing game. He threw around a few terms that went right over our heads, so we held hands and gently walked through topics of discussion such as: Activations, kitting, shipping nightmares, 4 day work weeks, canceled events, 5G, turf wars with dispensaries, onb...
Aug 02, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 60
We consider ourselves lucky having as great of an audience as we do, and in our constant efforts of trying to connect with you all, we thought we should reach out to one of our most engaged listeners/viewers out there, Jose Moreno of 2ELEVEN STREETAPPAREL. Jose has been printing for the better half of this past year, and is as enthusiastic and eager to learn his craft as they come. He's very close to going all in on printing and taking the leap, and our conversation with him serves a nice remind...
Jul 26, 2021•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 59
Putting Alan Hodson's story into an easily digestible little paragraph just won't do it any justice. Here we are laughing it up shootin' the shit with the owner of Proper Printshop in El Paso, TX(the town that doesn't rain), and you'd have no idea that this guy has faced adversities as harsh as homelessness and addiction. But when you have the help and support of your family and community, you can go through hell and come out the other side wearing a big smile and a badass tee. Get ready to comm...
Jul 19, 2021•2 hr 27 min•Ep. 58
We sat down with Michael Stello of ML Screen Printing in Punxsutawney, PA. A touring musician who caught the printing bug while making his own band merch, he's been rapidly growing his business ever since. Having just had some shop consulting from our buddy Ryan Kasparian of Covered In Ink, the growing pains have been alleviated, and Michael's focus is back onto crushing the print game. Topics of discussion include: Solar power, bird rescue, the importance of consulting, toxic shop culture, tour...
Jul 12, 2021•2 hr 42 min•Ep. 57
With so many of our conversations having touched on the stresses and struggles that shops experience with artwork, it made perfect sense to have Lucas Nielson & Nick Wood on the show. These road warriors have been in our industry a long time, and are now working together at GraphXsource to help shops in need. Topics of discussion include: GraphXsource onboarding, artists getting hit by busses, punk rock shows, world travel, having redundancies, to discount or not to discount, Steve Harvey, S...
Jul 05, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 56
In the middle of a busy Wednesday morning, we thought it'd be a great idea to step away from our duties and record a podcast with our buddy Steven Farag of Campus Ink. This guy loves appetizers and applications, teaching the youth, and running his business like a crime lord. Topics discussed with this newly married millennial include: Doggy Daycare, college marketing and networking, the construct of time, life planning, exit strategies, interns, hands on learning, and the cost of peace of mind....
Jun 28, 2021•2 hr 35 min•Ep. 55
Ken Brock of Rodtees has been in the print world for a long time, and this guy has some stories that you need to hear. Originally from Indiana, Ken spent decades printing in San Diego, and now has about another decade under his belt printing on the east coast in Charlotte. It's also worth mentioning that he ran his own video rental store, and a deli along the way. Keep up people, topics discussed include: Bird Shit, Joe Rogan, facebook marketing, seasonal employees, child labor, DTG & DTF fu...
Jun 21, 2021•2 hr 45 min•Ep. 54
Nate Hansen of Hansen Screen Printing has been gracing our youtube videos and DMs with top tier dad jokes, and we were stoked to have him on to meet the man behind the punchlines. This brick mason turned screen printer family man Brett Favre lookalike digs into only the finest topics of conversation with us, such as: Chiropractors- real or fake?, separations and design turnarounds, Andy's mountain of job applicants, screen printing certifications, underground wrestling, live printing, and why pe...
Jun 14, 2021•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 53
One year of Shirt Show. 52 weeks. 52 episodes. We're drinking champagne and answering 20 listener questions, and we're calling our friends for help along the way, followed up by a special Top 10. Topics discussed include: Cloning, how we met, Tom Cruise, digitizers, waterbeds, DTF printing, retirement, and how this podcast has changed our lives. Thank you for listening, and cheers to another year!
Jun 07, 2021•3 hr 5 min•Ep. 52
Matt Chevalier was in the throws of moving Mikey Designs into their new location when Shannon (girlfriend and key ingredient to the Mikey Designs team) was diagnosed with liver disease. So we had Matt on the show to fill us in on how Shannon is doing, to help shed light on her gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/f/y4px8m-help-shannon , and to see how he and the business are doing in the midst of such a hard struggle. As always we do our best to get the story and background of our guest and their b...
May 31, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 51
We caught up with Andrew Guy of Gnar City, who has just moved his shop into a bigger and better space in Davenport, Iowa. Andrew has waded through floods, survived bloody motorcycle accidents, and worked just about every job known to man. Get ready for a gnarly discussion on: Moving, gambling, deliveries, workplace perks, long distance equipment hauls, oversized printing, custom lollipops, and sleeping under the stairs.
May 24, 2021•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 50
Andy introduces his bestie Dylan to his OTHER bestie John Gibbs of Logo Daddy Graphics. John has faced extreme adversity as a father and business owner, and he was kind enough to share his gut-wrenching and inspiring story with us. Jump into the middle of this love triangle as they discuss topics such as: Dropping dryers into oil change pits, I-image probs, solar power, modifying Segways, Johnny's Army, 2nd shifts, pirates, ninjas, and retirement plans.
May 10, 2021•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 48
We caught up with Josh & Deanna of N The Zone Ink in Bend, Oregon. Currently standing on the other side of a full screen room renovation, a reg system swap, and DTS implementation, we find out just how exactly Josh & Deanna have come so far from their humble beginnings of pursuing an interest in an easy side hustle on an auctioned off press setup. True entrepreneurs at heart, these two are cranking out prints & embroidery, chasing down new markets, aaaand manufacturing airplane parts...
May 03, 2021•3 hr 10 min•Ep. 47
Fresh off a bro trip to Chicago, Andy & Dylan hopped online to not only express how they were missing each other already, but to also talk with the burger king himself, John Agosto of Taino Ink. Not only does John have an inspiring story of how he got into the print world, but his excitement and passion for learning and bettering himself and his business is going to leave you feeling pumped up. Go ahead and sink your teeth into this one. Topics discussed include: Burgers, deep dish, the purs...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 46
Having just teamed up with a marketing team, Justin Weems of Fine Southern Gentlemen has experienced a massive increase in his online retail sales and fulfillment, but luckily he still managed to get away and talk shirt with us. We got the full story of FSG Prints, and covered important topics such as: Burning the candle at both ends and the middle, 80's-90's country, paypal loans, the Texas Winter Storm of 2021, business partners, and hosting live music at the shop.
Apr 19, 2021•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 45
We hopped across the pond and chatted with Danny Donald of Flippin Sweet in Yorkshire, England. Spoken in a perfectly articulated proper Queen's English accent, Danny shares his story of how he got into the industry as a bootlegger, and went through one hell of a journey to get to where he is today as an honest tradesman. Topics discussed include: quote turnarounds, color matching, employee incentives, website builds, the cost increase of print supplies, business goals, rodents, Celine Dion, and...
Apr 12, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 44
We caught up with Corey Donohue of Panther Printing. Corey runs his shop on the third floor of an old haunted coat factory in Paterson, New Jersey, where he and his small but growing team are cranking out embroidery and manual printing for their niche clientele of tattoo shops and brands. Topics discussed include: print transfers, picking and order fulfillment, outside sales, taxidermy, dumpster diving, ghosts, bitcoin, and the infamous Brooklyn Spaghetti from Denny's.
Apr 05, 2021•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 43
Andy & Dylan meetup with Phillip & Lynsey Workman, the power couple behind Home Print Shop in southern Illinois. Through their experiences printing out of retail space, and working at other shops, they have focused their efforts back home into a thriving garage based operation. Unseemingly eager to leave their current setup, Phillip & Lynsey share their story of how they reached their sweet spot, and where they see themselves going in the future. Topics discussed include: Press deliv...
Mar 29, 2021•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 42
Andy & Dylan successfully got together on time and connected with Quint Noble of Inkfinity Printing & STZLIFE. Find out how starting two things at once isn't such a bad idea after all, and how Quint has woven together his passion for both printing and the outdoors. Topics discussed include: Press upgrades, malls, partnerships, live printing, ink containers, Bass Pro Shops, a $1 bet, business card etiquette, avocado toast, imperfect shirt loads, and going postal.
Mar 22, 2021•3 hr 12 min•Ep. 41
We had the pleasure of speaking with the family behind Independent Trading Co., The Rambos. Brad Rambo - father and founder, shares how Independent started, and how he and his two sons Taylor and Brandon are carrying it forward. Topics discussed include: Hurdles and logistics of international trade, custom garment manufacturing, shortages, flat fold vs individual fold, family dynamics in business, surfing, and meaningful growth.
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 40
Andy & Dylan sit down with SoFine69 - the wildboy himself - Justin Lawrence of Oklahoma Shirt Company while on his last day of vacay in Mexico. We covered a lot in this episode, and also shared in a traumatic experience while recording, which brought us even closer together in the end. Topics of discussion include: Traveling during the pandemic, letting people go, growing your business and finding stability, hierarchy of staff, shirt subscriptions, worker's comp, losing fingers, what the fuc...
Mar 08, 2021•2 hr 49 min•Ep. 39
Freshly unemployed, Jeff McGuire is diving headfirst into his business Evergood Merch, and is currently in the midst of building out his shop space. He's been printing and producing pins in his chosen niche market for years, and though he isn't new to this industry, he has a fresh clean slate in front of him and is determined to do things right. Andy & Dylan get Jeff's full story and discuss topics such as: Barriers in working with overseas manufacturers, embarrassing yourself in front of cu...
Mar 01, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 38
Here's a short and sweet discussion on the nuances of low cure and standard cure inks. Aaron Blank of Monarch Color stopped by and helped Andy & Dylan fully understand the different factors and considerations one should take into account when deciding which ink to use in your shop, and how.
Feb 26, 2021•18 min
In the middle of a polar vortex, we decided to heat things up with some hot imported Tim Hortons coffee, and some good old fashioned conversation with our buddy Kellan Conrad of Black & Whyte Screen Printing. Kellan has been through a lot in his 11 years of printing, and we covered it all. Topics discussed include: Canadian supply issues, freezing emulsion, discovering the spot gun, unventilated print spaces, shop fires, insurance, fraud, new vs used equipment, growing pains, and how cookies...
Feb 22, 2021•2 hr 26 min•Ep. 37
We got together with Rikzilla himself, Rik Espinosa. Having recently just acquired an automatic press from Anatol, Rik shares how switching to the auto has changed his shop, and gives us the story of how he and his partner went from printing for their university, to going out on their own and providing offset and screen printing services as Kinetic Print Co. Though they've stayed busy during the pandemic, he is hesitant to hire on some help, and picks Andy & Dylan's brains on what they'd do ...
Feb 15, 2021•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 36
Tiny Fish. BIG episode. We got together with Tony Esteves of Tiny FIsh Printing, and at some point during the interview, he starts running this show, and asking US the questions. He wouldn't accept anything less than a 3 hour episode, and boy did we deliver. Lucky for you, this episode is 100% high quality content, full of thoughtful discussion on topics such as: Hot market printing, pre production samples, Tony's Warped Tour adventures, cease and desist orders, free speech, focusing your offere...
Feb 08, 2021•3 hr 13 min•Ep. 35
Get ready to take some notes, Aaron Blank of Monarch Color hopped on the podcast and dropped a lot of knowledge on us. Find out how Aaron and Monarch got into the plastisol game in the first place, and what systems they have in place to continue to produce their top notch shirt paints. Nerd out with us, we're talking: How Monarch mixes their inks down to the particle level, opacity, consistency, PMS matching, regular vs low cure inks, dye migration, why your shop could use a toaster oven, and wh...
Feb 01, 2021•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 34
In this episode we connect with Joe Sudrovic, a.k.a. Gorilla Joe, of Gorilla Joe Printing Co. in Youngstown, OH. Like many of us, Joe got into this industry by printing merch at home for his bands growing up, and he shares the ups and downs he's experienced that led him to where he is today. As a loyal fan of Shirt Show, Joe had plenty of questions of his own for us, which led to thoughtful discussion on being business owners, where we draw the line when it comes to the kind of work we accept, a...
Jan 25, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 33
Our episode with Gabe Schmand of MAYB TMRW feels like it starts in the middle of a conversation, but it doesn't... it's about 10 minutes into it actually. Gabe has gone through a lot in the last year, moving his business from Brooklyn, NY to Hudson, NY in particular. During a time where corporate sponsors and live events have vanished, he has found himself navigating new waters, finding his new core customer base, in a new place, in unprecedented times. We've talked with many shops about how the...
Jan 18, 2021•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 32
We thought we'd start the year off successfully, so for our first interview of 2021 we welcome back Jonathan Ornelas of Success Print Shop! We catch up with him discussing rebranding and the importance of your business' name, hiring and managing staff, training, the importance of squeegee angle and durometer, deliveries, bills, and Texas BBQ.
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 31
