Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Holly Acampora. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Holly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

My husband, Tim, and I met in 2009 working in a digital printing production facility. He comes from a background in pre-press and graphic design, and I was just starting out and trying to decide where life would take me. I’d grown up in a home very supportive of the creative arts, my mom was a painter, potter, crafter, teacher and handy-woman so I knew I’d want to end up in a position where I could express myself creatively while being hands on with clients.

When our company closed several years later, we were neck deep in life as a married couple, we’d recently bought a house and were navigating life as new parents. I was now working in account management at a print management firm, churning out cookie-cutter promotional postcards and annual reports, while Tim was moved into a remote customer service position. We were in a bit of a dead spot creatively when we welcomed our second child in 2015. Her new presence was a welcome distraction from the day to day grind, and got us thinking about where much of a parents money goes: clothes.

It’s was hard at the time to find well designed, inexpensive clothing for our kids that could also be durable. So many kids clothes are churned out with poorly designed prints in thick plastic ink that sticks, flakes and peels. After pulling out all of our favorite tees, (you know, the ones that even after getting holes or stains you just cant seem to throw away), we noticed that all of them were printed in water-based inks. They had that buttery soft vintage feel that made you want to live in them. Why couldn’t our kids enjoy those same things? After watching endless YouTube videos on how to screen print and some hands-on knowledge from high school and college courses, we scrounged up enough money to buy a tiny single arm screen printing press and attached it to our kitchen table. After churning out some prints in our kitchen and spending weekends at our local farmers market selling shirts one at a time, we realized there was a bigger market here. We started being asked if we’d create these same soft shirts to local businesses, mommy groups, shops and restaurants.

That fall with very little start-up funds and no knowledge about the logistics of being self employed or running our own business, we officially opened Creation Lab. We went all in, Tim left his job and we spent late nights looking for used equipment, ink suppliers and the perfect blank garments to offer our new clients. We moved the operation into the basement and started reaching out to businesses while trying to maintain our own line of kids clothing, raising kids and maintaining my day job. Tim leaving his full-time job for a new venture was definitely the biggest risk we’ve taken to date. It was a really rough few years, sometimes we broke even and sometimes we didn’t, there were a lot of times we felt like we’d made a mistake or thought of ways we could have done it differently. Looking back now, I realize we were laying the groundwork for something really cool. We’ve worked with over 100 clients from all over Maine and New England, getting from the time we discuss a client’s dream shirt, to the point when they open the box and see it in real life, is magic every time!

Holly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are a commercial screen printer in Maine, working with businesses all over the country. We are exclusively a water-based print shop and print primarily on cotton and cotton blend garments like tees, sweatshirts, bandanas, tote bags and everything in between. We use traditional screen printing methods which is truly a labor of love, we make screens for each color in a design, mix the ink by hand and pull each squeegee ourselves.

We are a very client-centered business, I am in this business because I love bringing projects to life that business owners and creatives are passionate about. It is so surreal when I meet with a restaurant owner about a cool idea they have for their employees, and then I get to go into their restaurant and see all the workers going about their jobs in comfortable, branded gear that we printed.

This year we grew more into the promotional space and have partnered with other businesses to offer a wider range of productions like drinkware, banners, patches and pins. We prioritize working with and supporting other small businesses and vendors while maintaining excellent quality. Our hope is to continue to grow with our clients and be able to offer a well curated selection of goods that they can feel good about.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I focus so heavily on my relationship with my customers and potential customers because word of mouth and referrals has been virtually all of our growth from 2019 to present. In 2021 we started a client referral program, we let our customers know about this new promotion with a postcards that we included with each of our orders and sample packages. The program is simple and to the point, we didn’t include a lot of stipulations because we wanted people to feel comfortable referring us to their friends and colleagues without worrying if they are a big enough customer. We offer a $50 invoice credit for each referral that places an order of $500 or more. Our first time orders average around this amount which is how we landed on this number. It’s proven to be so effective that we’ve continued the promotion into 2022 and 2023.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Being kind to the environment is important to us and one of our primary goals is to make sure we’re doing what we can to ensure your children and ours grow up in a sustainable world. We chose to be a water-based print shop not just for the superior vintage-like feel of the finished print, but also because it’s PVC and Phthalate free. This allows us to practice safe disposal methods, minimize our waste, and partner with other businesses who share the same values.

Building a better future for the next generation doesn’t stop at environmental impact. We aim to work with and support our local community and make sure that our clients, vendors, and employees feel safe when working with us. We believe that Black Lives Matter, stand in support of the LGBTQ+ community and believe in inclusive policies that benefit all people.

Our hope is that you will not only enjoy wearing our products, but feel good about them too!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creationlabbusiness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationlabscreenprinting/

Image Credits
James Frydrych