We recently connected with Amy Baker and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Finding those key vendors can often be make or break for a brand. Can you talk to us about how you found your key vendors?

One of our Core Values is to be sustainably minded in all possible aspects. This takes some effort because the garment industry is incredibly destructive to the environment. Admittedly we are bringing new products into a very heavily saturated textile landscape. We want to be thoughtful about the products we offer our customers and realistic about buzzwords such as: eco-friendly, sustainble, organic, etc.

It’s difficult to find transparency in the global supply chain. Certifications such as “sweatshop free” are helpful, but we want to know more. Talking directly to our t-shirt vendors about where and how T-shirts get made has been helpful to us in educating our customers. While made in the USA shirts are a great option, they have limited availabiIity. Most blank t-shirts we source are cut and sewn in Central America. Organic cotton is a great option, but it’s not the only factor to consider. Most organic cotton shirts are made in India, so they also travel farther to get to us. Other factors to consider are, how much water is used in the dyeing process? How is waste water handled? What are the garment workers paid? In an effort to unravel some of the mystery, I have traveled to Haiti and Honduras with different T-shirt manufacturers to see first hand the conditions, and learn from people in the factories about the vast world of t-shirt blanks production.

After the t-shirt blank comes the inks we use in our screen printing process. We have chosen from day one to stay committed to 100% water based printing. This is not typical in the United States, as most t-shirts are printed with plastisol inks (a liquid plastic that is easy to print with but more toxic). Printing with water based inks comes with more challenges, but we have chosen to stay committed to them as we have grown.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Thirteen years ago I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom with my two boys, Isaac and Owen. As they started school I found that my restless spirit and desire to be a business owner took me down a few paths until finally falling in love with screen printing. I taught myself to make screens, stretch mesh, coat with emulsion, burn, and finally print at my kitchen table. There were many many struggles to this learning curve. Finally, I learned about YouTube and discovered other printers sharing their knowledge. Slowly, over many years I built a small side hustle in my garage by printing for other small business owners. Then later, moved into a small studio and hired a few employees. For several years we were an all manual commercial screen printing shop trying to master the art of water based screen printing.

Two years ago we expanded again to include an auto printing press. We now have seven employees, handle large scale orders, offer full service embroidery and graphic design. Threadbare continues to be a women-run screen printing shop based in Eugene, Oregon. The business has grown, but the drive to work with a creative passionate team to deliver quality prints to our customers continues to inspire the company.

Threadbare aims to incorporate sustainability where we can. We use water-based inks exclusively and source garments from places with transparent supply chains.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

The Women’s March of 2016 was a historical moment for many across the world. In preparation for the upcoming March, I had the idea to design a Fiercely Feminist t-shirt. The shirt showed a raised fist in the air drawn by my head screen printer at the time, of her girlfriend’s fist. We put the shirts on our website and pledged to donate the proceeds to our local chapter of Planned Parenthood. The online store caught on like wildfire and our local news picked up the story. Soon we began printing the image onto posters for people partaking in the upcoming March and giving them away to anyone who wanted one.

You may remember that the day before the Women’s March was Donald Trump’s Inauguration. Emotions were high that day as many people were still in shock he had won, and many women were worried about the future, including the risk of Roe v. Wade being overturned. On that day, we opened up our shop to the public and put out the word that if you bring us any t-shirt, we will print our Fiercely Feminist graphic on it at no charge. We accepted donations to Planned Parenthood.

I get choked up even now, 7 years later remembering that day before the March and the line down the block of women bringing their shirts, their friends, their moms and their daughters with them to file through our shop and get a shirt printed. That day, our little screen printing shop was a place where many women shared their fears with each other and their focused determination to attend the March the following day. People cried. At that time there was still uncertainty about how safe the March would even be. In the end it was a hugely peaceful demonstration.

The next day for the Women’s March I marched with my best friend. I felt connected to women at all corner’s of the Earth. And I was proud of my shop’s contribution. We raised over $7,000 for our local Planned Parenthood. One of our shirts was photographed by the New York Times. Some of our posters laid outside of the White House. It was a powerful and historic moment I’ll never forget.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Traction book by Gino Wickman has been my go to book for organizing my business. There are lots of valuable business books out there, and I have read quite a few. I think any of several business development books could be useful but years ago I decided to stick with this one. The practical advice given, along with worksheets and specific goals and measurables has helped me focus on realistic growth for the company. The book helps you focus on one year, three year, and ten year goals. It helps you organize your team so that everyone can see the same vision. It helps me feel like I have some sort of control in my small business, a business that can have many ups and downs ultimately needs organization along with passion to succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.threadbareprinthouse.com
• Instagram: threadbareprinthouse