oday we’d like to introduce you to Anne Marie Covert.
Hi Anne Marie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A few years ago, my boyfriend and I bought a Cricut vinyl cutting machine to make shirts for his business. After using the machine, I started utilizing it for gift-giving – holidays, birthdays, etc. People loved it! In March 2022, my grandpa turned 80, and we celebrated big. The whole family would be in town, and my mom suggested I make shirts for everyone. It was only 12 shirts, but it felt like a huge project. I enjoyed seeing everyone wearing the shirts; I was proud of my accomplishments. A week later, I made a few shirts for my dad’s company for fun. He would wear them every day to work. That’s when it clicked. I could be making money doing this. I already had the clientele; lots of people around me have their businesses. Entrepreneurs surrounded me, and I have a service to offer them. I knew the Cricut couldn’t keep up with the volume I wanted to push out. I needed to explore other options.
I was having second thoughts about my career path. I started working full-time as an orthodontic assistant, hoping to pursue Dental Hygiene. I felt very trapped working a 9-5. I worked numbers in my head, trying to figure out what my bosses were making. I started looking at everything as a business. I will never forget driving down Manchester Road, seeing a porta-potty, and thinking, “Dang, I bet that company is just raking in money while that just sits there.” Most would see a porta-potty and be glad they didn’t have to use it. My mentality was changing, and that’s just when I realized it.
I discovered the screen printing method in May of 2022. I dove head first, bought an iPad for design, and shopped in my parent’s garage. The whole Screen Printing process is an art, and it is sensitive. It takes temperature, humidity, and light control to get everything right. It was tough to do during the summer in the garage & I needed more time and the funds to keep messing up. I needed something else to get started, and I needed to quit my job.
I had heard about the Sublimation method before but thought it was expensive to get into. After doing deeper research, I could take a regular desktop printer and swap the ink cartridges with sublimation ink. It’s quite simple. You print your transfer from the computer, lay it on your garment, and press your design onto it using a heat press. I was hooked immediately. The coolest thing about sublimation is you don’t feel it. The ink embeds into the poly-substrate you press it on. It is seamless and extremely permanent, unlike screen printing or vinyl, which will peel or crack with time. The only difficult thing is finding the right garment. Sublimation ink only bonds to polyester fibers, and the said polyester must be of a lighter color than the ink itself. There are workarounds, but they can be a pain. My mom, my dad, and my boyfriend were my first customers. I started an Instagram page, printed some business cards, and the business has just taken off from there. Surprisingly, I’ve gotten most of my business from word of mouth. But the posting helps! It’s crazy how many people you can reach by uploading your work and using simple hashtags. Now I am producing large quantities of apparel for businesses all around! I’m still a small operation with no employees, but I plan to expand and grow. Each day I am learning something new and getting a little better.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
At first, I struggled with knowing my worth. Quoting customers were uncomfortable and still is in certain ways, especially when you want the job. Putting a price on my time and knowledge and staying firm has been challenging. Also, being your boss comes with lots of responsibilities. You have no one to turn to with questions; you figure it out yourself. But with trial and error, you learn what’s best.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create custom apparel and gifts using the Sublimation method. I specialize in Sublimation Printing and do a little graphic design. Most of my customers are business owners, but I also do custom gifts for people. I am most proud of being a business that helps promote other businesses. It’s a cool thing to be able to provide that for people. Seeing how proud these business owners are of their work and getting to use mine to put it on a shirt is awesome to me.
Before we go, can you talk to us about how people can work, collaborate, or support you?
Collaboration is a crucial part of the process. Most of my time on a job/project is spent sending proofs back and forth with customers and tweaking each design/layout until it’s perfect for them. When customers provide a file to me, the rest is very simple. We then work together to find the right garment. When customers know what they want but need a file, bringing their vision to life takes longer. But I am okay with it; designing and producing the item is rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annesprintshop/
