How Heat Transfers Turned a One-Off Project into a Long-Term Relationship

Clockwork Screen Print & Embroidery is a boutique, community-centric garment decorating business in El Segundo, California. Family-owned and operated by Dakota and Kimarie, they pride themselves on offering clients a customized experience that includes garment sourcing and various decorating techniques.

However, in their early days, they were turning down customers with complex jobs, including low minimums, hard-to-decorate locations, and high color counts.

Kimarie remembers one example. “A local little league needed custom jerseys for 300 players,” she said. “They wanted three designs, each in a different placement, for 15 teams – which meant only 20 impressions of each design.”

What initially sounded like a larger profitable job ended up being too complex for them to screen print. Priding themselves on serving their community, Dakota and Kimarie got to work looking for a solution for the little league. After some research, they decided heat transfers were the most viable solution because it would give them the flexibility to do the customization required at lower volumes. They explored manufacturers and eventually partnered with Supacolor.

Instead of turning the project down, they exceeded their customers’ expectations. Three years later, that little league is a seasonally returning client for Clockwork. And they’re not the only ones. That first project was the catalyst for them to grow their business using heat transfers. Today, Clockwork’s facility features a dedicated heat pressing department, which has paid dividends.

“Supacolor transfers are top-of-the-line quality, and their customer service is incredible. When they say they are here to help us grow, we really feel it. Whether it comes to providing technical resources or educational assistance, Supacolor truly functions as our business partner,” said Dakota, co-owner of Clockwork. “Our business has grown 15 - 20% annually thanks to Supacolor.”

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