We recently connected with Michael Feldkamp and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
The biggest risk I’ve taken in my life was starting a business with two of my best friends: my mom Jeanne, and my best friend Jack.
I think it’s pretty common to hear the saying “don’t go into business with your friends” and the same for your family, but I am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity to do both.
After many weeks, meetings, and much planning, the day had come to finally sign a contract to buy out another business, and take over their screen printing shop. It was a stressful day, and we were all nervous. As the hours closed in, there was tension in the room. Thoughts raced through our heads as we wondered, “what if this isn’t what we think it is?”, “Is this going to work?” and “Do we really want to do this?”. Well, those thoughts came to a halt as we were informed the deal was not going to go through. A sigh of disappointment fell across the room, as it felt like all our business planning, research, and excitement had gone to waste.
It felt like we had failed. Like this future we had planned was stripped away from us. After much deliberation, we landed on one important question- do we still want to do this? The answer was a resounding yes.
Jeanne, Jack, and I are all creatives. With Jeanne’s education in Advertising, and Jack and I’s education in art and marketing, we decided to take the biggest risk of our lives and start from scratch. This meant buying all new screen printing equipment, finding a place to put it all, and starting with a total of 0 customers.
Almost three years later, we have printed thousands of t-shirts, worked with massive organizations like Old Spice and Turner Construction, moved from Anderson to Newport, and helped create amazing memories through the the seemingly simple task of putting a design on a shirt.
At Vision Print Group, our goal to make a shirt that will be worn more than once. A lot of the t-shirt world is making shirts that are applicable to one event, like a fundraiser or birthday party. However, through our dedication to quality, we create shirts that can serve as a talisman to that special day, and are comfortable enough to be appreciated long past the first day it was worn.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Michael Feldkamp, and I started a custom apparel business called Vision Print Group with my mom Jeanne and my best friend Jack. I have also created a brand named Doctored, centered around upcycling.
I got into screen printing by working at a shop before I started my own. I have always loved creating art, and screen printing was another medium I had yet to explore. As I worked at a shop for almost 7 months, I learned everything that I thought there was to learn about the process of screen printing. Once I thought I had it figured out, opportunities arose to try and do it myself. Upon starting my own shop, that is where I was met with the harsh reality that I did not in fact know everything there was to learn. Through years of trial and error, lots of calls, research, forums, and youtube videos, I am comfortable calling myself a professional screen printer.
At Vision Print Group (VPG) we provide services to customize apparel. Our main avenues of this service are screen printing and heat transfer vinyl, but we also provide sewing services, and embroidery. At VPG, our goal is to get your (or our own) design onto a garment so that it can worn with pride and start conversations.
What sets us apart from others is our attention to detail and customer service. Being a smaller shop, we hold ourselves to high standards in what we are willing to put out as our work. If something is crooked, uncentered, or not as perfect as it can be, we are quick to replace it. If there are ever any issues with someone’s order, we are responsive and motivated to make it right any way we can. At VPG, we want people to feel heard. We pride ourselves on our flexibility and willingness to hear out any idea that might get turned away from a larger shop.
There is not a shortage of custom apparel businesses. In a world where anyone can go online, make a design, and order a custom shirt in 5 minutes, we separate ourselves by asking questions and giving advice on what can elevate a person’s design or shirt quality.
I’d say what I’m most proud of with our business at VPG is our willingness to explore the boundaries of what is possible in the custom apparel world. We love to help people bring their ideas to life. One of my favorite moments about being in this business is when a customer sends a photo of 50+ people all wearing their shirts with the caption “Shirts were a hit! Thanks so much!”. It is so rewarding to see the smiles that a shirt can bring to someone’s face and I will forever cherish the ability to make that happen.
On top of Vision Print Group, I have created a brand called Doctored. Doctored is a brand centered around upcycling, however I also print new garments and explore other mediums of art. It is essentially a way to express my own artistic ability and designs, utilizing the equipment I have access to through VPG.
Two years ago I learned how to operate a sewing machine and started making hoodies out thrifted blankets, pants out of curtains, and anything else I could think of. Upon starting VPG, it completely unlocked the medium of screen printing for me. It has allowed me to customize apparel in a whole new way, and make my upcycled creations really stand out.
I love upcycling because it is sustainable, and allows for the creation of 1 of 1 garments that will never be replicated. If I go out and thrift 10 different shirts, print the same design on all of them, and you buy one, you will be the only person on earth to have that exact shirt with that exact design. Upycling allows me to breathe new life into garments that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
While Doctored is a small brand, I absolutely love having a process to sell my own art. It does get tough sometimes running VPG full time and working on Doctored in my free time, but the dream is to one day live solely off my art.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
One of my riskiest sales for VPG was over a job I had never done before. It was filled with what if’s, but in the end, I bet on myself and it paid off.
It was Saturday morning when I received a text reading
Her: “I have a screen printing need that every other shop has turned down.”
Me: “When do you need it?”
Her: “Monday.”
At this point, I had just started my weekend, and I was really considering telling her I couldn’t do it. But the artist and business owner in me had me captivated by what this sale could be if every other shop has turned it down.
Me: “What are you looking for?”
Her: “I have 7 race ready F1 tracksuits that I need to get the Old Spice logo on. It’s for a commercial production. It has a large zipper in the middle. Is there any possibility of helping me figure this out?”
At this point I was nervous. I had never printed track suits, it was a rush job, and its over the zipper which makes printing an even, clean design much more difficult.
Me: “Going to be completely honest: I have never printed track suits, and printing over a zipper will make it hard to get a clean print. But, I am willing to try my best to help you. I can’t guarantee perfection, but I can give it my best shot!”
She was so grateful I was willing to give it a try and mentioned once again how every other shop turned her down due to the complexity and short timeline. We met at the studio and she showed me the tracksuits. They were big, heavy, fire retardant, and $300 each. When people provide their own garments, it adds a level of anxiety because we can’t easily replace them. These were REAL tracksuits. They were expensive, I had never printed one before, and the print was over a raised zipper with a flap, which made it much harder to feel confident in my ability to deliver what they were looking for, while also not messing any of them up.
She left, and I sat in the studio nervous and scared of failure. Thoughts raced through my head like “What if i can’t do it?” “What if i mess them up?” “What if I ruin the commercial cause I can’t get these done?”.
I took a deep breath and got to work. I made the screen, did a test print on a tee shirt, and loaded the first suit onto the press. I pulled the ink, pressed it through the screen, and checked my work. Not bad, but not perfect. The ink in the screen had not properly passed through and laid nicely on the suit. So, I did something I’d never done and grabbed a smaller squeegee. This allowed me to press between the grooves and raised edges of the flapped zipper, which created a much nicer print. I let out a sigh of relief as a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I did it. It wasn’t as perfect as I’d wanted to be, but I sent her a photo and she said it was perfect.
I printed the other 6 suits and dropped them off to her house. When I walked in, it was her and some other people from the production team. They were ecstatic with how they turned out and were so grateful that I took the risk and gave it my best shot. They said they didn’t know what they would’ve done had I not pulled through for them.
The coolest part about this risk occurred months later, when I saw the suits I printed in Old Spice commercials on Youtube. It was so cool to see my work in such a large production. It was also so awesome to have friends reach out and be like “Yo I saw those tracksuits you printed on Youtube!”. In the end, this sale taught me to bet on myself, and always try and be the guy who didn’t turn them down. I have a great relationship with that customer now and have done a couple other garments that have ended up in commercials. Also, I learned how to print on tracksuits!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
For Doctored, the most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been creating a personal experience for the consumer. I have ordered stuff from brands that comes in a clear poly bag, with a barcode sticker from China on it, and nothing else but the item. This tells me the item was pulled from a warehouse and shipped directly to me, with no connection to the brand other than I gave them money.
When people order from Doctored, I write a hand written thank you and include as many different stickers as I have. I want the unboxing of my art to be more than just what they ordered. Granted, most of my orders have been from friends, I will always try and find a way to make someone’s order as memorable and personable as possible. When Doctored eventually grows and I have more orders to fulfill and less time to write notes, I will find a way to continue to make the unboxing process memorable. By giving someone more than what they paid for, I am elevating my brand above the one is that just a shirt in a bag. I want the interaction to feel human. I want buying my art to feel like it came from me, and not from a fulfillment center.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://doctoredbymf.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visionprintgroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Vision-Print-Group-100092504653697/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/doctored.by.mf/
