HiLo Design Co. grew from hobby to full-time screen printing, embroidery and design business – Greeley Tribune

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Blake Tomasino, the proprietor and operator of HiLo Design Co., spoke with the Greeley Tribune this week in regards to the inventive freedom he’s discovered beginning his personal display printing, embroidery and design enterprise and working the complete enterprise himself.

How did HiLo Design Co. get its begin?

I began making clothes and I assume you name it adorning clothes three years in the past. And I didn’t do it full-time till a few 12 months and a half now. I received into it as a result of I initially was working at 477 Distilling right here on the town with Matt (Estrin, proprietor of 477 Distilling), and he’s actually superior. He gave me the chance as a result of he knew it was one thing I did on the aspect, sort of for enjoyable, and he let me begin making a few of the merchandise for 477.

So I began with that: I used to be a supervisor on the bar, after which I additionally made the clothes on the aspect. After which as that occurred, I gained increasingly more shoppers and extra companies, primarily beginning with the alcohol business. A few of the breweries on the town and stuff began to contact me, too. And as my clientele grew, I reached out to extra individuals and colleges and whoever would possibly want merchandise and clothes and located myself having the ability to be at full-time.

What does HiLo Design Co. do, and what units your small business other than the remainder?

I’m a display printer, embroidery and design enterprise. So I can do all three of these issues — and emphasis on the design portion — I like graphic design; I can incorporate that into each the display printing and embroidery world the place generally it’s important to go totally different routes to try this.

I actually take pleasure in it, and I really feel like I’m a bit of extra experimental and artistic, particularly being the only person who makes the clothes. I’m at all times right down to strive one thing new, print on an fascinating spot or strive issues that actually haven’t been carried out earlier than. In order that’s what makes it thrilling for me, and I like to make distinctive clothes as a lot as I can. And I’m nonetheless simply barely, barely getting began. And every little thing that I search to provide is getting a bit of tougher and sophisticated every time, which makes it a number of enjoyable.

What was a big second or occasion for HiLo Design Co.?

Doing an order of about 1,000 shirts was the massive breakthrough the place I used to be like, ‘These sorts of orders can actually make an affect on me and my store and permit me to afford a few of the gear I’ve at all times wished,’ and sort of made me consider that my enterprise was legit and in a position to do one thing a really massive store can do with simply me as the only printer and working the enterprise on the similar time.

What drives your success?

I like seeing individuals carrying a few of the clothes that I’ve produced or had my arms on as a result of it’s fairly cool that I get to do each step of the enterprise, being a sole LLC. I do every little thing from creating the order type and ordering the clothes, after which I do each step of the method till it’s again in whoever’s arms, no matter consumer ordered it.

So I prefer to see these individuals obtain the imaginative and prescient that they’ve wished to have and their concepts of what their clothes goes to seem like. And more often than not, persons are fairly stoked to see their concept come to life. I like to see that after which see individuals out and about carrying the issues that I created.

What are your objectives for the long run?

Proper now, I’m in Makers Mercantile & Studio. They’re actually cool … they permit individuals and creators to place stuff of their retailer. In order that’s the primary time I’ve had a brick-and-mortar place, at the very least only a small pattern of that. I make my very own branded clothes as properly — that could be one thing that’s a bit of extra distinctive than most locations — so I’m making an attempt to develop that as properly, as I’ve HiLo as a model that I attempt to produce and have been rising. So Makers Mercantile permits me to promote that stuff there in addition to the issues that I’ve on my web site.

HiLo Design Co.

For extra details about HiLo Design Co., go to the web site at hiloclothingco.com or e mail [email protected].