From DIY Shirts to In-House Printing

When we first started the clothing line, it was about as grassroots as it gets. In the early days, I was making custom pieces just for our small group - no equipment, no shortcuts, just figuring it out as I went. I'd design something simple, print it in black ink, and tape it to freezer paper. With good lighting and an X-Acto knife, I'd carefully cut out the design by hand. After that, I'd iron the stencil onto a shirt or sweatshirt and use fabric paint with a sponge brush to bring it to life. It worked, but it was easily the most time-consuming method we've ever used.

As people started asking about shirts and hats, we realized we needed to level up. We found a company, Intermountain T-Shirt Co., to order from and started with a basic lineup; black shirts with our logo on the back and "Whiskey Throttle School District" on the front, along with a black 7-panel flat brim Richardson hat featuring a leather patch with our logo. To this day, that hat is still a staple. It's on of those designs people always come back to. It just works.

Not long after, we invested in a Silhouette Cameo and a heat press from Amazon. That's when things really started to open up creatively. We experimented with more designs, still mostly keeping it within our circle, but demand kept growing. Eventually, we started looking into screen printing companies because we liked the look and durability it offered. For a while, we split production, doing some heat press work in-house while outsourcing most of our screen printing.

A few years ago, we hit a turning point. We were able to bring everything in-house by purchasing our own screen printing setup. That shift changed everything. Now, we handle all of our printing ourselves. We still outsource certain elements, like laser-cut patches and embroidered or woven patches, but we attach everything in-house so we can keep control over the final product.

Learning screen printing hasn't been easy. There's a lot that goes into it, burning screens, dialing in ink consistency, mixing colors so they come out exactly right. We've had our fair share of trial and error, but with each run, we get better. It's given us a whole new appreciation for the craft and the process behind every piece we put out.

Lately, we've also been experimenting with plastisol transfers for some upcoming designs. It's been a great addition, especially being able to run the heat press alongside the screen printer to keep things moving efficiently. We're excited about where it's heading.

At the end of the day, we're still learning, still evolving, and still doing things our way, and that's what makes it ours.

-Jadan Bybee