Impressions - October/November 2022 - 20

Embroiderer Jane Swanzy, owner, Swan
Threads, Houston, serves her holiday
clients by supplying corporate gifts like
this GameGuard bag personalized with a
company logo and individual name drop.
Photo courtesy of Swan Threads
The Holiday Corporate Gift Market
Veteran embroiderer Jane Swanzy, owner, Swan Threads, Houston, has found a holiday niche
in creating corporate gifts that don't necessarily include a holiday design, but rather
the company logo and a personalized name drop. " My biggest sellers are fishing and camping
shirts, as well as bags from a company called GameGuard, " Swanzy says. " My husband's
construction company was one of my first clients years ago and word has just spread that I
don't do the basic stainless tumblers, rather unique high-end items, like totes, accessory
bags and coolers. "
Swanzy says that over the years she has learned what her customers like and want. In shirts,
it's performancewear or poly/cotton blends that wick moisture in the hot, Houston climate,
but all are more upscale than a basic T-shirt, she says. " They are into brands. The good
news is that for each order I know how many I need, so I'm not holding inventory. "
deal with the fact that orders can be lacking in the beginning of the
season and grow exponentially the closer you get to the holidays.
Th e answer comes down to knowing your audience, says Conner.
" Rather than producing in bulk and creating the designs yourself,
transfers allow you the freedom to not carry materials and
substrates and either getting stuck with them, rolling them over
into another project or returning them to a supplier for a credit, "
Conner says. " You're reducing some of the risk and waste, and it
adds to profi tability. "
" I don't keep any inventory, " Swanzy says. " When I fi rst started,
I used to keep inventory and not only did I not have room, but I
ended up giving a lot away, because I'd always order varied sizes of
shirts and want a couple of extra pieces in each size for mistakes.
Once you pay for it and the freight and take the hit on what you
can't sell, it's not worth having a bunch of inventory lying around
at the end of the year gathering dust. "
When you're ordering, also think beyond T-shirts. Holiday deP.20
IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM
OCT./NOV. 2022
signs are ideal for many kinds of substrates, the more distinctive
the better. Th ese include not only the basic T-shirt, onesie or towel
but sweaters, lunch bags, fabric-covered photo albums, tote bags
and even Crock Pot covers, Conner says. " Th e more obscure and
personalized the gift, the more popular through the holidays. Help
your customers set themselves apart from their competitors for
their own clients. "
Trending/Marketing Options
For this holiday season, Conner says he's expecting a continuation of
what he's seen in the marketplace this year, which includes limited
one- and two-color designs. Th is is a trend especially prevalent on
online selling sites such as Etsy, he says.
" When it comes to custom transfers, screen printing still rules supreme
over digital transfers, " reports Conner. " But there's a growing
trend moving toward full-color graphics that digital transfers can

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