Shop Talk Speakers
Nathan Anderson, FM Expressions
VP of Strategic Marketing at FM Expressions developing web-to-print, low minimum order quantity, fast-turn heat transfer service. Second-generation, 18-year apparel decoration industry veteran.
Ali Banholzer, Wear Your Spirit Warehouse
Ali has been owner of Wear Your Spirit Warehouse is a Huntingtown, Maryland for 20 years, a shop specializing in school, B2B, military, first responder, and governmental agency apparel and promotional marketing materials. Banholzer has a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification and was one of the 2020 Women in Screen Printing award winners from Screen Printing Magazine.
Stan Banks, 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.
Kevin Baumgart, Set Sales
Kevin has 20+ years of sales leadership experience in entrepreneurial companies. He’s helped over 100 screen printing companies of all sizes to improve sales and drive more revenue to their business. He holds an advisor role at multiple growth companies and has managed sales teams of over 70 while scaling revenues to $30M+.
Nikki Bowen, Cotton Street Apparel
Nikki Bowen, co-owner of Cotton Street Apparel, played a pivotal role in the company’s evolution since transitioning to a full-time role in 2014, when she assumed responsibility for the day-to-day operations and client relations. She infused her extensive retail management experience of over a decade and a profound understanding of decorated apparel into her work. Her approach to client relations is marked by a unique perspective, prioritizing the individual needs of each client.
In 2023, she received recognition through the Women in Screen Printing Awards from Screen Printing Magazine, a testament to her outstanding contributions. Known for her prompt responses to inquiries, she not only addresses questions but also takes pleasure in connecting individuals with the right resources, guiding them toward a path of success.
Dov Charney, Los Angeles Apparel
Founder of the iconic American Apparel brand which brought fashionable garments and ethical production into the mainstream.
Tom Codute, SPSI
Tom Codute is the CEO at SPSI Inc where he has been for almost 40 years. SPSI Inc. sells decorating equipment and supplies from a variety of warehouses across the USA with headquarters in Minnesota. He is a University of Minnesota grad.
Jacob Edward, Jakprints
Jacob Edwards co-founded Jakprints originally to supply his band and a few buddies with merch. It has grown to enormous proportions providing all kinds of printing from paper to hoodies and an on-line selling platform called Indiemerch. This one time professional skateboarder made a customer friendly business that now has literally had thousands of customers.
Josh Ellsworth, STAHLS’
As Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GroupeSTAHL North America, Josh is responsible for leading and supporting a nationwide team of experienced team members with a focus on growing the company’s enterprise and dealer sales and marketing efforts. His in-depth understanding of the technical side of garment decorating, combined with a sincere interest in seeing businesses succeed, make him a sought-after and trusted resource for information industry-wide.
Rick Fuqua, Real Performance Machinery
Rick Fuqua has 19 years of Graphic Arts Experience and 14 years of experience working for new screen printing machine manufacturing companies and 10 years owning Real Performance Machinery. Rick has a Teaching degree in Graphic Communications and A Masters Degree in Technology Education.
Rick holds 13 screen printing machinery patents ranging from complete machine designs of both oval and round presses to flash cure units, pin register systems, and All Over Print Platens to name a few.
Dave Gardner, Gildan
Dave Gardner is widely considered to be one of founding fathers of “simulated process” He developed his artistic foundation at the University of Buffalo from 1979-1982 as an Oil Painting Major. In 1983 he relocated to Ft.Worth Texas, were he joined 3-D Emblem as tshirt artist and separator. Working with the Harley-Davison brand gave Dave the platform needed to push boundaries of printing on black t-shirts. In a short 2 year period he created revolutionary concepts such as the “under base”, “ wet on wet”, and photo-realistic prints on dark garments, which would later come to be know as “simulated process”.
In 1989 Dave founded Gardner Graphics and teamed up with New Buffalo as his printing partner. The duo quickly reached the pinnacle, setting a new standard with their prints in Sports Licensing and Concert tees. New Buffalo and Gardner Graphics merged in 2001 . In 2013 Gildan acquired New Buffalo to service their Global Lifestyle Brand customers who were searching for a vertical solution for printed garments. Dave currently serves as Director of Creative Embellishment at Gildan.
Milissa Gibson, Lane Seven Apparel
Milissa Gibson is a accomplished sales professional with over 15 years of experience in the apparel industry. Currently serving as the Sales Director at Lane Seven Apparel.
Megan Griffith, P&M Apparel
Megan Griffith has been surrounded by ink, squeegees, and T-shirts for as long as she can remember. Griffith studied graphic design and graphic journalism at Grand View University and has worked as a designer for going on 18 years. Twelve years ago, Griffith joined the family business and is now co-owner and art director of P&M Apparel, where she encourages everyone at the shop to think outside of the box and experiment with specialty inks and processes. Her love of specialty printing is rivaled only by her passion for community building; Griffith was named 2017 Businessperson of the Year by the Polk City Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her efforts to promote local business and community.
Deric Hoch, 613 Originals
Deric is the CEO of 613 Originals, a leading source for custom heat applied graphics. With nearly 30 years of experience in the screen printing and apparel decoration industry, Deric is committed to finding and creating solutions that best fit the needs of decorators from enterprise to local shops.
Pam Ikegami, Mirror Image Inc.
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.
Howard Levine, Alliance Graphics
Howard Levine is the president of Alliance Graphics. He is a co-founder of the Middle East Children’s Alliance. A recovering journalist, Howard was an editor at the San Francisco Bay Guardian and a staff writer at the San Francisco Examiner and Oakland Tribune.
Brian Lessard, Made Lab
Brian Lessard is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art. He spent almost 20 years as the main production printer and manager at Mirror Image, creating numerous award winning prints. He moved on to be the Technical Manager at ink company Rutland. He currently is a partner at Made Lab.
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.
Jody Mazade, 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.
Monty Mims, SanMar
Monty worked in his father’s embroidery business for 7 years prior to joining SanMar in 2007 as a Territory Manager. He has been a Strategic Account Manager on SanMar’s Decorator Relations team since 2016, with a particular focus on production and management software.
Michael Modgill, Supacolor
Mike co-founded Supacolour in 2016 and has provided the leadership and vision for it to become a world leader in the heat transfer industry. With three decades in the decoration industry, he possesses an innate understanding of Supacolour’s clientele.
Additionally, Mike co owns Codewolf, which makes Supacolour’s ERP system. He plays a hands-on role in its architecture and development, ensuring Supacolour’s is at the front of being a digital company.
Driven by his love for the decoration business, Mike thrives on helping others grow and reach their potential, whether they are employees, customers or suppliers. This mentality has shaped how Supacolour presents and interacts with all its stakeholders.
Michelle Moxley, M&R
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.
Erienne Murphy, Eastern Tech Company
Erienne has worked in the decorated apparel industry since 2020, overseeing daily operations and managing the customer service and fulfillment teams at FIREBIRD Ink in Orange, CT. She previously worked with commercial direct mail print facilities and paper mills across North America during her time at CellMark, Inc., and as the Operations Manager of an environmental consulting firm in Southern CT. She holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and completed her RYT200 in 2021.
James Ortolani, Hix Corporation
James Ortolani
Tony Palmer, Palm Print Consultants
Tony Palmer has been in the garment decoration industry for over 30 years and is now an independent print consultant working closely with print shops to get the most from existing processes and techniques. Tony is passionate about keeping and enhancing production skill levels within the industry. He is the owner of Palmprint Consultants, offering practical help and assistance to garment decorators all over the globe.www.palmprintuk.com
Nicole Pape, Embellishr
Nicole Pape is the owner and CEO of Embellishr, a trusted Pre-Owned Marketplace for premium garment decoration equipment. Nicole has nearly 20 years of experience in the decoration industry, from reclaiming screens for Reebok, venturing into manual printing, transitioning to automation, and eventually becoming a partner in a large commercial contract embellisher on the west coast. Her wealth of experience includes valuable insights gained during her tenure with the ROQ US team, where she delved into the nuances of new equipment manufacturing. This experience fueled her desire to address a niche problem in the industry, leading to the birth of Embellishr in 2022. She is also a mom, a wife, an avid art lover, chicken farmer and even a mead maker in her part time.
Alex Phelan, Merchadise
Alex Phelan
Sergio Ramirez, Supacolor
With several years of experience in the decorated apparel industry and over a decade of experience in the content creation world, Sergio specializes in creating disruptive digital content for both DTC and B2B.
Under his helm, he helped grow Supacolor’s user base internationally and social media equity tenfold.
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 content 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 a brand in the decorated apparel industry.
Sergio has already been a guest speaker on Ink Kitchen’s Shop Talk once, this will be his 2nd time, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear from the expert on how to take your brand’s social media content to the next level.
LaTonna Roberson, Lady Print Boss Consulting
Meet La Tonna Roberson, The Lady Print Boss: A creative with 30+ years in apparel, from a wholesale rep to a T-shirt maven. She’s an author, coach, and diversity advocate, leading Lady Print Boss Training & Consulting to empower entrepreneurs and break industry barriers. Join her to create, print, and succeed together.
Rick Roth, Ink Kitchen
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.
Kevin Tsukahara, Amazon
Kevin Tsukahara currently works in management at Amazon’s Direct to Garment facility in the Dallas Ft. Worth area. He has worked at the highest levels of both DTG and screenprint as he is the former Director of Print Technology and Quality at Teespring and before that served as Technical Sales Rep for Rutland inks.