SHIRT SHOW

After fifty frickin years in business, Connor McDonnell joins us to share how his family business shifted from sporting goods to shirts, and how he's focused on keeping Shirt. Co on the cutting edge of today's print industry. Topics of discussion include: Shirt. Co's social media strategy, pivoting away from sporting goods, working with family, SEO, walk-in customers, union printing, sales automat...

After 10 years of printing and running e-commerce out of his garage, Jacob Bennett of Agenda Printworks is finally getting out of the house and into a retail location. We talk through the growing pains and evolution of Agenda, and how he aims to take things to the next level without losing his DIY spirit. Topics of discussion include: Surviving the service industry, going from printing for others...

Whether you’re printing analog or digitally, the difference between a great shirt and an okay shirt is probably hiding somewhere in your art seps. Mike Hoey is here to help. Topics of discussion include: joining the dark side of the industry, finessing DTF, living in a print shop, the harsh chemicals of yesteryear, artists vs. production artists, optimizing your prints at the RIP level, specialty...

While AI slop is bleeding into every facet of the industry, shops like Cast Iron Print Works are proof that screen printing with integrity isn’t going anywhere, and it’s on its way to coming at a premium. Josh & Wes join us to talk about what it takes to protect the craft without getting left behind. Topics of discussion include: Timbo’s art direction pivot, slop probs, where we draw our lines...

THE KING HAS RETURNED. A lot has changed in the last six years since Scott recorded a proper pod with us, and let’s just say his processes and approach to his business and life have aged like a fine wine. You’ll find this conversation opens up into a beautiful bouquet. Topics of discussion include: optimizing the shop, SOPs, taking lean manufacturing too far, bringing DTF in-house, output capacity...

Jed's journey with Stakes Manufacturing has been a wild ride, and he's busier than ever. Now 4 episodes into his new podcast Raising The Stakes and fresh off the release of his book INKclusivity , it’s safe to say he isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Topics of discussion include: travel, podcasting, building and selling a print-on-demand business in the music industry, brokering licensing deals, ge...

Daniel is basically a print scientist. He’s got a lab, he’s constantly testing decoration methods on Stanley/Stella apparel, and he gets to make cool shit along the way. But more importantly, he’s an advocate for printers, helping bridge the gap between the people making the garments and the decorators actually putting ink on them. Let’s frickin get into this one already! Topics of discussion incl...

Kayla McGarry is the Group Show Director for Impressions Expo, and she’s here to tell us how she found her way into the trade show world, what goes into putting on an event of this size, and why you don’t want to miss the inaugural Manifest professional conference with MADE Lab at Impressions Expo Dallas. Spoiler alert - WE’LL BE THERE! Topics of discussion include: working in the trade show indus...

Cassie and Christina from BELLA+CANVAS join us to talk about where the brand has been, where it’s going, and why things feel new and exciting again. Cassie shares how she found her way into the industry and takes us through her 18-year journey with B+C, while Christina gives us the perspective of someone coming up on two years with the company during a pretty major new chapter. Topics of discussio...

After 30+ years of Maxis Screen Printing, John Mack is calling it a career, but he’s clearly not done printing just yet. We talk about what 50 years of printing experience has taught him, what’s worth passing down, and how to know when it’s finally time to walk away from the shop. Also, wtf does walking away even look like? Topics of discussion include: evolving your processes over time, teaching...

The Stampinator is one of those pieces of equipment that seems to get either high praise or absolute slander, with very little room in the middle. We’ve been asked about it enough times that we figured it was time to go straight to the source. Jeff from Slant joins us to explain how the Stampinator came to be, what it was actually designed to do, and how shops should be using it. Lon Winters is al...

Shawn Sckoropad of Printeez is back on the pod! Because running a successful print shop wasn’t complicated enough, he’s recently moved his family from Canada to Florida as the first step toward expanding Printeez internationally and building a global production operation. Shawn has never been one to shy away from a challenge, and this one has come with plenty already. Topics of discussion include:...

Dennis and the crew at Axelrad are artists printing for artists, but don’t mistake the DIY punk-kid ethos for a fear of spreadsheets. Between tracking production data, experimenting with new decoration methods, and testing unconventional schedules, they’ve figured out how to move faster without turning the shop into a soulless factory. Dennis is pushing Axelrad into the future while protecting the...

Michael Fader loved printing enough to pack up his life, move across the country, and see just how far he could take it. After reading a few signs the universe threw his way, he’s now crushing it as the General Manager at Pacific Sportswear. Topics of discussion include: four-day workweeks, gatekeeping, justifying expansion, running a digital squeegee, doing way more than your job description, sho...

Michelle has always been on the forefront of this industry. From the frontiers of special effects and digital printing, to the fringes of AI. Well nearly two years have passed since she discussed this new and emerging technology with us, and now she’s here to teach us how to wield it ethically and efficiently. Topics of discussion include: print architects, how Michelle integrated AI into her heal...

The band dude to merch dude pipeline is alive and well! Nate Skinner is the longtime Operations Manager at Relentless Merch, and after years of dealing with the chaos of artist merchandise firsthand, Merchcast was born. A platform that helps artists and shops forecast sales, manage inventory, and avoid a whole lot of unnecessary headaches. Topics of discussion include: tornados, college degrees, t...

The differences in capabilities and offerings between a print shop and promo product shop are getting blurrier by the minute. This week we brought in Stein Shi from xTool and Bev Pennington of Soul & Grace Designs to talk about the growing crossover between laser engraving and garment decoration, and where this kind of equipment actually fits in a modern shop. Topics of discussion include: how...

The band dude to print dude pipeline is real, and the path is usually pretty predictable… but Luke took a little detour in between. Before landing at Real Thread, he built a career at Publix that gave him an outside the box perspective on this industry. Not only has it helped him thrive in his role as Director of Operations, but it also made for a great conversation. Topics of discussion include:...

Building a business is a lot like going to the gym. You get stronger with every rep, and if you’re doing something wrong… you’re in for a world of hurt. Cody Klimper got into this industry through the fitness world, and his journey has been full of HARD lessons, long hours, and plenty of reps. Topics of discussion include: vlogging, international shipping, growing local business, building a fitnes...

Josh NSFW Wheeler is back on the pod to catch us up on what he’s been up to for the last 5 years, how his shop has evolved, and how he’s ensuring SURVIVAL in this business. Topics of discussion include: Keeping it simple, automation, prioritizing quality, maintaining relationships, the Jerry Maguire approach, maintaining your humanity in business, Righteous Gemstones, and tRuStInG tHe UnIVeRsE.

Dave's back, and he's here to stop fulfillment from keeping us up at night. We walk through a bunch of real-world scenarios, from shops looking to scale, to shops just trying to keep their heads above water, and how Fulfill Engine can help us take back control of our business. Topics of discussion include: FESPA, social media glory days, experiential marketing, print media marketing, getting creat...

Raise your hand if you've ever spent an unreasonable amount of time hunting down product images, making mockups, or trying to convince an online store to look the way it does in your head... same here. Seddi was originally built to create 3D models of fabrics and garments for the fashion industry, but somewhere along the way they realized their tools could help printers and decorators work smarter...

TeeJay is a certified shirt head. Print Engineer at Pine Printshop by day, and your friendly neighborhood garage printer after hours. His enthusiasm for this craft is infectious, and while his story has only just begun, it's pretty damn good so far. Topics of discussion include: Graphic design education, 4 day work weeks, Dads, his journey to becoming lead printer at Pine Print Shop, finding out m...

Jared has had a long career in screen printing, which was always the plan from the start. From growing the family business at GSG, to eventually selling the company, and now diving back into the print world with ROQ, Jared has seen this industry from a lot of different angles. So naturally… we unpacked a bunch of them. Topics of discussion include: shop scooters, business finances, growing and ope...

SUPERBASE 2026 TICKETS: https://shirtshowofficial.com/pages/superbase-2026 You’ve probably seen Dan’s work a million times without even realizing it. Lincoln Design Co. has been a favorite of ours for a long time, and it was really cool hearing how Dan came up through SoCal surf and skate culture before going on to build a studio that’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands. Running a cre...