We have been busy to start off 2023, and I have a few exciting updates to share. Your favorite neighborhood Print Shop has gotten better, and we can't wait for you to come check us out.
To recap, our last post we identified a few problems that we were looking to solve based on our clients feedback. We were tasked with the following:
- Lower quantity buying options for start-up brands and businesses that want to sample different projects
- In-Shop visits so clients can put a name and face to the Constantly Create Shop brand, while being able to check out our available options for print methods, materials, and overall business operations
- Premium brand options on higher end apparel for the brand or business looking to expand into healthier, more consistent returns on their investment and to grow their LTV (Life Time Value) of their customer.
- Helping foster a better neighborhood-to-business relationship for years to come
We're happy to discuss these four main problems we faced. We knew we had a lot of work to do, because our business wasn't set up for walk-in clientele. The only constant in business is change and we love a challenge.
We have started offering sample buying options for Embroidery, whether it be a stitch out on a piece of fabric, or if you have one jacket that you want to customize. Our capacity was originally built on bulk orders, running the same artwork hundreds of times on Embroidery machines that have 6 or 15 heads. As our clients provided feedback on lower-quantity runs, we took our minimum order quantity of 24 and now we can do as little as 1. If you have something that you wanted to sample, reach out to us and we will price it out for you. With this change, we hope that we solve multiple problems for you. First, we want you to be able to test the market before a larger production run. Second, we want to prove that our work is what we say it is. Lastly, we know that once you see the work, you'll come back and continue doing business.
Next would be our In-Shop visits. We have brought in over 100 of our most popular items from T-Shirts to Tote Bags and everything in-between. We constructed a space in our shop where you can come in and sit down and not only look at garments, but discuss the project and get recommendations based on experience we have being in the custom apparel industry since 2016. We have a large display that we use to show different options and to keep up with the changing availability of items we offer. This interactive experience allows you to see what we are capable of helping your brand or business achieve and keeps the communication clear. Our In-Shop visits require a $150 deposit, which can be used as a credit towards anything that you purchase, whenever you purchase. There is no pressure to purchase at the time of the appointment. This was the best way we were able to construct this type of experience. More on this coming soon.
Offering a more premium garment was a no-brainer for us for two reasons. First, we already offer many different print methods, and we can really think outside the box in terms of how custom our production can get. This has to match up well with the best garments the industry has to offer. We reached out to our partners at AS Colour, Los Angeles Apparel, Made Blanks, Lane 7 Apparel, and Comfort Colors to do just that. We wanted to bring in samples of their best selling items & their newest offerings. These are the industry's top of the line items that will help you grow value in the product that you are selling. Match this up with the quality of work that we provide, and you will really set yourself apart from the competition.
On our last update, we spoke about how we moved into our current location in the midst of the pandemic. No one wanted to walk into small businesses. Things have changed since then. Thankfully, shoppers are out-and-about and shopping small business once again. We are working with our community here in New Hyde Park, NY to help small businesses brand more efficiently and keep our dollars here in the community. We are members of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeville Estates Civic Association to help bridge the gap between the future of our community and those that helped build our community. We are excited to continue learning from those who have been operating small businesses in our neighborhoods for 50+ years, and we look forward to passing knowledge down to the next generation of business owners. We are outspoken, honest, and we promise to demand the best from our community leaders. This is what sets us apart from "Print Shop Only" businesses, because we don't stick to just printing t-shirts. We view our business as the future of branding, pushing the limits beyond printing a shirt.
Some things that we are working on going into the Summer Selling Season:
- Coordinating our Community-based In-Shop visits so that groups of people from different brands and businesses can come in and check our shop out in a group setting with no obligation. These will be different from the one-on-one visits we just rolled out, as these visits will be less of a personalized appointment, but another option for those who want to see what we have to offer. These will be done monthly, and we are working on having our first community based visit this summer. Be on the lookout on our Instagram for updates on this!
- Web stores are a hot topic right now! We have started the opening phases of offering web stores to our clients which will allow for drop shipping or bulk ordering websites for small businesses, schools, and organizations of any size to offer customized items. We have 12 test stores currently, and we look forward to rolling this out to all clients before Summer starts. If you are interested in a web store, you can contact us here.
A mentor once told me that "Feedback is a gift" - something that we remind ourselves of whether we receive warm or cool feedback. None of the changes we have made would have been possible without feedback from the people around us. We appreciate the feedback and support, and we look forward to servicing all of your branding needs for years to come.
If you are looking to set up an In-Shop appointment, you can do so by clicking here. If you want to get in touch with the author, email Joe here.