Shop Talk Speakers
Stan Banks, Owner, T-Shirt Side Hustle
Stan Banks, the owner and serial entrepreneur behind T-Shirt Side Hustle began helping people start their t-shirt business from home in 2017. After starting multiple hustles growing up he found his place in 2011 where he pursued apparel decoration full time. Having never worked a full time job, in 2016 he obtained a security job for $10 an hour with the sole purpose of securing health insurance. This is where he realized that this was not a sustainable income for anyone to provide for themselves or a family. This is where he decided he wanted to provide a valuable option for anyone who felt the same. On January 3, 2017, he set out to teach people what allowed him to survive for the past 6 years and T-Shirt Side Hustle was born.
Emily Bihary, Transfer Express
Emily started at Transfer Express 8 years ago in the graphic design department, gaining years of experience in processing art in preparation for production before taking the reins as the Transfer Express trade show coordinator. She delights in facilitating opportunities for businesses of all sizes to network with each other on the show floor and in education sessions across the country.
Aimee Clay, General Manager, Mirror Image
Aimee is in charge of all aspects of decoration, screenprinting, transfers, embroidery and packaging at Mirror Image Inc.
Jabir Ducasse, Villeside Customs
Jabir Ducasse is the co-owner of Villeside Customs and Somerville Printing specializing in Screen Printing as well as Embroidery. He has 10 years of experience in the decorating industry starting off his journey with a small laptop a heat press and a Roland vinyl plotter. He was outsourcing his Screen Printing and Embroidery and as the business grew he knew he had to grow as well so he acquired a second warehouse location that he had been outsourcing to. His three C’s in life Is stay Cool Calm and Collective.
Kyle Eslinger, SanMar
Kyle got an early start in the world of apparel. He was 23 when he purchased Timberlane Graphics, his sister’s Chicago-area screen printing business, where he oversaw all aspects of print production for four years. In 2012 he sold that business and moved to Seattle, continuing his journey in custom apparel as a SanMar Account Executive on the Inside Sales Team. About a year later that journey took him to Pittsburgh, where he spent the next six years becoming a trusted advisor for customers in Western Pennsylvania as Territory Manager. He now covers the Northeast Region on SanMar’s Decorator & Digital Solutions Team, consulting with contract decorator shops and e-commerce apparel companies. In his free time, Kyle can be found hiking with his wife and son and is a self-admitted map addict with a love of sci-fi and classic fiction novels.
Marckendy Jean, Villeside Customs
Marckendy Jean, a former streetwear brand owner who transitioned into owning a screen-printing shop, now serves as the Co-Owner of Villeside Customs, which encompasses Somerville Printing. His true passion lies in team management and ensuring exceptional customer service alongside his partner, Jabir. With over a decade of experience running the screen print shop, Marck has seamlessly maneuvered through every department, making the operation feel like second nature. Hailing from Mattapan, MA, Marck embodies the resilience necessary to overcome challenges joyfully at Villeside Customs, tackling rigorous workloads with determination. As the pursuit of greatness continues, Marckendy is dedicated to inviting anyone eager to join along for the journey.
Michelle Moxley Hruby, Ink Kitchen
Creative artist and printer, always on the cutting edge in the garment decoration world of technology, ink, and art with stops at Gildan, Virus, and some top production companies.
Pam Ikegami, Mirror Image
Pam is currently the Ecommerce and Marketing at Mirror Image Inc., Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Director of Operations at Doing Good Merch, operating online retail stores– from design of decorated apparel to order fulfillment, in partnership with non-profits and political organizations working for positive change both to promote progressive messaging and to earn income for these organizations. She is a partner at Ink Kitchen, providing screen printers and garment decorators with real-world garment decorating knowledge packaged into posts, interviews, and videos by and about hands-on industry experts. www.inkkitchen.com. She is a 2017 MBA graduate at Paul College of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire. She is a producer of the Pawtucket Film Festival in Pawtucket, RI. For many years she was a senior lecturer in Japanese at the University of New Hampshire, responsible for planning and teaching all levels of Japanese language taught at the university. She has over 25 years of professional Japanese to English translation, interpreting and consulting experience.
Vlad Kalman, Printing on Main Street
Vlad Kalman started Printing on Main Street in Wood-Ridge, NJ almost five years ago from scratch and it has grown to be a full decoration and promotional products company. Vlad’s specialties are hard work, sales, hard work, and a practical mindset.
Gary Kantor, Hirsch Solutions
After a successful career as a Chiropractor, Gary switched careers and has been representing Hirsch Solutions for over 20 years in the New York City area with particular expertise in embroidery, Tajima machines in particular.
Andy MacDougall, Squeegeeville
Andy MacDougall helped establish Wachiay Studio on Vancouver Island in 2015. He retired from day to day duties in 2021 but continues to work on special projects & educational initiatives, including screentheworld.org. In 2007 he was inducted to the Academy of Screenprinting Technology for ongoing contributions to the industry including producing the books ‘Screenprinting Today – the Basics’, and a ‘History of Screen Printing’, numerous magazine articles & live screenprinting demonstrations from Montreal to Milwaukee to Long Beach. He currently hosts the podcast & column ‘Art, Ad, or Alchemy’ for Screenprinting Magazine in the USA.
Dave Makin, Technical Sales Representative, Saati
Dave Makin brings to the Screen Printing industry over 31 years experience in Conventional & UV four color process printing, specializing in Pre Press and advanced screen making including Direct to screen technologies. Dave has been at Saati for 16 years and enjoys meeting and working with so many great people throughout the industry.
Jody Mazade, Director of Sales and Marketing, Howard Custom Transfers
Jody Mazade is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Howard Custom Transfers, an industry leading custom transfer manufacturer. In her current role, she lends a focus to customer acquisition and retention, customer experience and loyalty, company branding, market trends, product knowledge, and content creation. With over 15 years of industry experience, Jody’s motivation is to drive the success of local print shops, high-end apparel brands, and all those in-between by providing innovative transfer solutions and service options in a fast-paced, ever-changing industry landscape.
Tonie Mignogna, 613 Originals
Tonie is the VP of Technical Sales at 613 Originals, a leading source for custom heat applied graphics. For over 20 years, Tonie has helped and mentored countless customers, businesses, and colleagues in the heat transfer industry. She has worked within nearly every department, from reception and customer service to production planning and R&D to sales and beyond. Never one to sit idle when there’s something to be learned or improved, Tonie found her true passion at the intersection of solving unique decoration challenges for her customers and the technical aspects of print production. Tonie leads a team of highly trained and customer-focused staff that provide the incredible customer service 613 is known for. Her ultimate mission is to keep raising the bar on what’s possible in the apparel decoration industry.
Steve Palevich, Hirsch Solutions
Besides a stint in the Marines including 8 years assigned to protect the President of the United States, steve is a master digitizer. He currently serves as the Northeast technical and sales rep for Hirsch Solutions, with a focus on Pulse Software, Brother DTG machinery, Tajima Embroidery Equipment and Seit Laser Bridges.
Jared Peeler, Midsouth Digitizing
Jared Peeler is a seasoned CEO and Business Consultant specializing in the decorated apparel industry. With over 13 years of experience in accounting and operations across various business scales, from small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies, Jared brings a wealth of expertise to his role. As the CEO of Midsouth Digitizing, he advises industry professionals on implementing efficient workflow management and decorating techniques to boost both decoration quality and profitability.
Sergio Ramirez, Supacolor
Sergio Ramirez is a creative strategist and senior marketer at Supacolor. With several years of experience in the decorated apparel industry and marketing world, Sergio specializes in disruptive digital content for both DTC and B2B. Under his helm, he helped grow Supacolor’s user base internationally and social media equity.
In addition to his professional experience, Sergio is also a streetwear designer and artist in his free time to keep his creative eye refreshed. He is widely recognized as an industry expert on taking your social media and marketing to the next level. He studied with The Art Institute, Universita Bocconi, London Business School, UC Irvine, and UC Davis to cultivate a knowledge base for growing brands in the decorated apparel industry.
Peter Rinning, QRSTs
QRST’s is a ten person screen printing T-shirt company in Somerville, Massachusetts. Clients include Wayfair, BSpoke, Wicked Dog Apparel, Oxbow,The Engine, Converse, Reddit, TripAdvisor, Island Creek Oysters, FuelAmerica, Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Boston Children’s Hospital, United Planet, Highland Capital, Constant Contact, Hubspot, Labster, Black Lamb, Boston Calling, GNS Healthcare, BoyntonYards, Willies Superbrew, Rendever, Cambridge Fire Dept, Somerville FireDept, Taza Chocolate plus many others.
Rick Roth, President, Mirror Image
Rick Roth is the primary interviewer for “Shop Talks” which are free garment and decoration information sessions at Impressions shows featuring the industy’s best and brightest. Rick has been screenprinting t-shirts since dinosaurs ruled the earth. Actually he started by printing “Save Old Bio” shirts and the classic building on his college campus slated for demolition still stands. He went on to print thousands of shirts in his basement with only a primitive set-up. He formed his unionized company MIrror Image in 1989 and has won every award imaginable and is known for innovation, crazy special effects printing, fine art reproduction, and supporting progressive causes. He and Pam Ikegami run the Ink KItchen a website and youtube channel (and soon a podcast) dedicated to sharing solid information at all levels of the decorating industry and for coordinating projects that benefit the entire community. Besides screenprinting he has two music radio shows on WMBR in Boston (wmbr.org) and is very active in the human rights organization Amnesty International and he is the US representative to the One Caucaus borderland project in the country of Georgia. He founded and still produces a film festival in the City of Pawtucket, RI where he also was just honored by being selected to the City’s Hall of Fame.
Andrea Routzah, Alphabroder
Andrea is a career textile & apparel merchandiser, product developer and global supply chain expert. She began her career in global sourcing & product development upon completion of a business degree with an emphasis on the textile & apparel industries. Andrea managed successful product strategies for wholesale and retail apparel companies across multiple categories of men’s, women’s and children’s products.
Andrea leads alphabroder’s ESG initiatives, best practices and educational tools. The first of several ESG enhancements is an industry-leading product finder tool for styles on alphabroder.com and alphabroder.ca with sustainable materials, sustainable manufacturing practices and a responsible “give back” mindset.
Andrea’s leadership style is one of inclusion and empowerment. Commitment to people, purpose and product are front and center in her day-to-day. As the industry continues undergoing tremendous growth and change, her focus remains on profitable & sustainable products that appeal to the widest audience possible.
Jenna Sackett, STAHLS’
Jenna Sackett is an Educator and Content Creator for Stahls’. Whether you are crafting from home, or running a brick and mortar business, she knows the tips and tricks that make an apparel decorator successful in this ever-growing marketplace.
Bill Smith, Saati
Bill Smith is the National Sales Manager at Saati Americas with over 46 years’ experience in the screen printing industry. Bill worked part time decorating uniforms for a local sporting goods retailer while attending Penn State University to earn a degree in Business Administration. He started up a screen printing operation for that retailer out of college, and it grew to a large supplier of team wear, ad specialty, and retail POP displays in the Philadelphia tri-state area. Since 1996, Bill has relied on his real-world experience to help other screen printing shops become successful while working at Saati. He resides in the Philadelphia suburbs and enjoys his wife of 42 years, and his 3 children and 2 grandchildren.
Gavin StGeorges, Seps.io
With over 15 years of leadership and managerial experience in both corporate and entrepreneurial settings, Gavin’s professional zone of genius lies in managing and building teams using proven and simple business systems and processes. He owned and grew a successful screen printing business for even years before launching seps.io, a remote art department for screen printing shops. Gavin holds a degree in Management Information Systems.
Sarah Unruh, STAHLS’
Sarah is a seasoned professional with a background in education who transitioned into the promotional product industry in 2008. Currently serving as the National Sales Manager at STAHLS’, she previously held key roles including Chief Revenue Officer at Sock101 and Vice President of Business Development at OrderMyGear. A recognized industry thought leader, Sarah is actively involved in associations such as the PPAS Board, the PPAI Women’s Leadership workgroup, and the Bold Leaders Collective. Balancing her professional expertise with her personal life, Sarah, a Married Mom of 5, enjoys travel, fitness, and quality tequila.