Make Money with our NEW Custom Shops!

Do you have a school, club, team, business or non-profit that you'd like to promote?  Have you always wanted to sell your own product line or apparel with your logo on it but didn't want to buy inventory for fear that you'd be stuck with the overstock?  Well, look no further as we have the solution for you through our Custom Shops at Threads!

Raise money for your organization by selling your organization's logoed apparel: caps, polo shirts, hoodies, tote bags, t-shirts,etc. and you don't even have to buy the inventory!  We set up a Custom Shop for you, process all the transactions and cut you a check at the end of the month.  It's that EASY!  All you have to do is PROMOTE and PROFIT from the sales!  The process is fast, easy and fun from start to finish!  Contact us today for details.  Check out some of the Custom Shops that are already using our new service.

Lady Cougars Soccer

Kukui High School

Record Highs for Cotton Prices

The price of gold isn't the only thing skyrocketing these days.  According to our suppliers, cotton prices are at record highs and aren't expected to come down anytime soon.  Prices for t-shirts, sport shirts and fleece from the largest manufacturers including Hanes, Gildan and Jerzees will increase 5-10% starting in November.

What does this mean for Threads and our Customers?

It means that we'll have to shell out a lot more dough for our cost of goods; however we will do our best to maintain our current pricing to you for as long as we can.  We will also promise to continue to offer excellent customer service and exceptional quality...two things that we can control.  Thanks for your continued support!    

Interesting survey on 'party' swag....

Since it's almost election time, check out this interesting survey conducted by ASI providing insight into what type of promotional products Democrats, Republicans and Independents are more enticed by.

Courting Votes? Send Republicans Food
New study says Republicans far more likely to gobble up promotional
food basket than Democrats or independents

TREVOSE, PA - October 19, 2010 - Republicans like food gifts, Democrats prefer logoed pens and independents might scoff at anything less than a brand-name shirt, according to a new study of political party preferences released today by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI).
An ASI study reveals what Democrats, Republicans and independents think about promotional products, a.k.a. swag (stuff we all get) and freebies, millions of which are distributed during election season along with bumper stickers, buttons and yard signs.
Here are study highlights:

• Independents get more promotional T-shirts than either Democrats or Republicans.
• Democrats receive more outerwear than Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin.
• Independents are less inclined than Democrats or Republicans to take free pens.
• 86% of Republicans give away the freebies they don’t want.
• 75% of independents prefer name-brand consumer promotional products, nearly 1.5 times more than Democrats or Republicans.
• Republicans are nearly 1.5 times more likely to accept a free promotional food basket than Democrats.
• Independents value promotional swag the most - on average, they own 11.6 logoed products, compared to 9.4 for Democrats and 10.3 for Republicans.

Final results of the 2010 Advertising Specialties Impressions Study will be released in November. For a sneak peek at preliminary results of the breakdown by political party and independents, and the study methodology, click here.
“Want a Republican’s vote? Send him a food basket emblazoned with your candidate’s name. Want to impress independents? Make sure the shirt you send has a brand-name label - or it might end up in the trash bin, along with their vote,” said Timothy M. Andrews, ASI’s president and chief executive officer. “Our study reveals that when it comes to courting voters, you’ll get more bang for your promotional buck if you consider their likes and dislikes.”
According to new results from the upcoming 2010 Advertising Specialties Impressions Study, the average cost-per-impression of an ad specialty item is $0.005, making it less expensive per impression than prime-time TV.
 
About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, with a membership of over 26,000 distributor firms (sellers) and supplier firms (manufacturers) of advertising specialties.  Supplier firms use ASI print and electronic resources to market products to over 22,000 ASI distributor firms.  Distributor firms use ASI print and electronic resources, which contain nearly every product in the industry from more than 3,500 reputable suppliers, to locate supplier firms and to market services to buyers.  ASI provides catalogs, information directories, newsletters, magazines, websites and databases, and offers e-commerce, marketing and selling tools.  Visit ASI online at asicentral.com and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, the CEO's blog and the ASI Social Network.

NEW! Snag-Proof Tactical Polos

All types of fabric have their pluses and minuses.  Cotton is generally high quality and is nice and cool for most uses.  Some cons are that it shrinks, easily wrinkles, colors fade quickly and for polos shirts, the collar tends to curl over time.  Polyester is generally hotter especially if there's no breeze but its color retention is better than cotton, it's wrinkle-resistant and the collars tend to stay flatter.  The polyester "dri-fit" type of materials are extremely popular nowadays with its moisture-wicking properties and more fashionable appearance.  All major companies including Nike, adidas, Under Armour have their own version of a dri-fit material; however they all basically have the same properties.  A common complaint with dri-fit material is that it tends to snag easily because of the micro-mesh holes that allow for the breath-ability of the material.

Now you can have the best of all worlds with the new Snag-Proof Tactical Polos!  These polos are moisture-wicking, odor-fighting and are made of 100% snag-proof polyester.  They will keep you looking great both on and off the job.  Terrific for security, law enforcement, event staff, restaurant staff, network technicians and even for everyday office attire.  Available in both men's and women's.  For more detailed information, click here.

What kind of Gift should you Give? A Gift of Appreciation...

Deciding on what to give your Clients, employees, friends or family to say thank you can be a tough task.  For businesses, you want your clients and employees to remember you and show them how much you appreciate their business and hard work.  But will that Frisbee with your logo on it do the trick?  Probably not.  Or how about the extra large men's polo shirt for your petite sales consultant?  I think it's safe to say she won't being the dance of joy if she received that either!  It's not about how much you spend or how much a Client spends with your company that should determine what you should give.  Hopefully, through the relationships you've built with your Clients and employees over the years, you'll know what their interests are and what they would appreciate.  It's a great idea from a business standpoint to give a gift with your logo on it but just make sure it's something the recipient will enjoy.  By knowing what they'll appreciate, you can show them how much they are appreciated.  Read more about this at The Art of Giving.  Happy giving!

That's why it's called Custom Embroidery....Off the cuff placement

It's not called custom embroidery for nothing...you can truly customize what you want to say and where you want to say it.  Here's a few of some not so usual placements or items we've worked on recently.

Moped seat...check out Wrench Werks, they specialize in repairing Audis and Volkwagens.

Matching track jacket sleeves for a wedding gift...embroidered on opposite sleeves so that they "match up" when holding hands.  Awww...how sweet!

Embroidered toilet paper?  Yup, that's right...they make great favors or gag gifts.

The possibilities are endless, the only limitation is your imagination...

YES WE CAN.....put YOUR picture in stitches!

Drum roll please!  Introducing a new technique called...PICTURE DIGITIZING!  No longer do you have to make yourself look like a cartoon in order to be embroidered.  We can take almost any high resolution picture and have it digitized to look remarkably realistic!  Check out Obama...he liked it so much, he was in stitches!  Okay, that was lame, not gonna quit my day job!  Why would you want to do this?  Other than the fact that it's COOL, they make terrific one-of-a-kind gifts!  Great for a wedding gift for the newlyweds or a gift for yourself with an awesome embroidered keepsake picture of your kids.  Excellent for framing.

The fine print: The embroidery looks best on a white background and is not cheap by any means but unique and quality is rarely cheap.  No one wants a cheap gift anyway!  Contact us today for more info. 

Design Elements to make Your logo POP or PUFF....

You've seen them all over the place, your favorite athletes and rappers wear them, big name surf companies like Billabong and Quiksilver sell them...what exactly am I talking about?  Caps with 3D embroidery on them of course.  You know, the ones that have the thick NY on a Yankees cap or a raised wave on the Quiksilver logo.  This type of embroidery is popularly known as 3D Puff or RAISED.  It's a great way to make your logo stand out and differentiate itself from all the other logos out there.  Don't let the BIG NAME companies and movies get all the attention, you can now have your very own logo in 3D.

 

Another terrific way to stand out in the crowd is to use a design that has gradients and shading.  Of course this is more difficult to do and is not always the best alternative in every situation but is an alternative nonetheless.  This process is known as Blending and can really add an awesome dimension to your design if done properly.  Both 3D Puff and Blending techniques can truly enhance and make your logo truly something to talk about.

Full-color Custom Mouse pads

Add some pizazz to your desktop by creating your own custom mouse pad!  Capture your favorite memories or put your favorite people or pets on a high quality mouse pad you can use for years to come!

• Measures: 7 3/4" X 9 1/4" X 1/4"

Only $9.95 each

Make note: Cross Promote!

We are exposed to so much advertising these days, that after awhile, we may tune them out altogether.  There's TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, Facebook ads, affiliate links, banners on websites, telemarketers, etc.  Twitter recently announced that they are showing advertisements that are relevant when you search for a term.  Of course, I don't think you can fault these companies, as they are a business and need to generate revenue.  As we are inundated with advertising from all angles, there is one form of advertising that we still have a good deal of faith in...word of mouth.

Word of mouth is effective because generally the source of the information is from someone we know and/or trust.  Whether it be an individual or company, if we have had great experiences with them, chances are we'll have a great experience with the people or companies that they recommend.  That's what we try to do here at Threads, we cross promote other people, clients and businesses that we have had wonderful experiences with.  Nothing gives us more satisfaction than seeing a fellow small business grow and succeed and we do our best to help them along the way!  So if you've received service or worked with an individual or company you think is top notch, don't keep it a secret, tell everyone you know...chances are they'll return the favor and everyone WINS!

Reducing Stitch Counts = Reduced Cost

Limited budget...I think most of us are familiar with this terminology.  Whether you are a parent, team leader, coach, small business owner or a CEO of a huge corporation, we all can appreciate getting the most bang for our dollars these days. The silver lining is a limited budget is not no budget at all so there's still room for creativity.  I bring this up in an blog about reducing stitch counts because by reducing stitch counts, you can reduce the cost of your embroidered apparel.  The higher the stitch counts, the longer it takes to to produce which in turn increases cost.

So what does this all mean?  Often times clients and businesses have elaborate logos with lots of detail, and outlines, etc. which is great when printing on letter heads or business cards but makes their logo costly to embroider.  Some clients opt not to order uniforms or gifts for their staff or teams because it is more than their budget.  But there is a win-win solution for everyone, modify your logo to reduce stitch count therefore reducing your costs.  See the example below:

 The original logo has a lot of extra details: swishes, flags and the text is double outlined.

Now look at the modified embroidery, we removed some of the unnecessary details and outlines and drastically reduced the stitch count while maintaining the "WOW" factor of the logo.  Most importantly, we stayed within the client's budget and the kids got to have their caps after all.  So when facing a limited budget, don't give up...adapt and move forward.  Contact us and we'll be happy to help!

We're a Favorite Place on Google!

Thanks to all of our phenomenal Clients and potential Clients, we've been chosen as a Favorite Place on Google!

According to Google's website:

"Google identifies the most popular local businesses based on how many Google users looked for more information about a business, looked for driving directions to the business, and more. Over 100,000 businesses were identified as Favorite Places, representing less than 1% of the 28 million U.S. businesses. We believe that our standards for selecting businesses are as selective or more selective than other companies which have run similar initiatives."

We are thrilled with this honor and sincerely thank you for your continued support!

Custom Transfers: An Awesome Alternative

When people think of t-shirts, screen printed shirts are usually the first thing that comes to mind. While screen printing is a great option when you need a fairly large number of shirts (36 minimum), it is not as economical or feasible when you only need a small run of shirts or if you need full color such as photographs. This is where Custom Transfers are a viable alternative to screen printing.

With transfers, you can order as little as one item and have a full-color print with NO SETUP FEES. Transfers are great for reunions, anniversaries, birthdays, team and gag gifts. The only limitation is your creativity. If you need some help, we have over 700 templates to choose from to get you started! Transfers can also be printed on mouse pads.

Create a unique and one-of-a-kind design for that special someone or event.

*Note: printing on white garments only

NEW! Full Front or Back Applique Designs...

As we continually look to expand our services, we are excited to announce our partnership with Holloway USA, a Leader in the Team Apparel market to bring you Full front or back applique designs for pullovers, hoodies, etc. Low minimums and NO SETUP FEES make this a great alternative to outfit your school or corporate teams. Ordering is EASY!

1) Select the type of garment you would like decorated from Holloway USA
2) Choose from over 20 Applique templates, just change the name and colors to your specifications
3) Look AWESOME at all your upcoming events!

Only a 12 piece minimum required.
3-4 week turnaround time.

Call or email for more information.

We're Expanding!

We are excited to announce that we will be expanding into a larger showroom in February 2010 to better serve you! With the larger space, we'll have more samples to display and a small retail area for those of you who need a quick gift or just ideas on what to do for your business or event.

Our last day at our current South King St. location will be Friday, January 15, 2010. We will be CLOSED between
January 16 -31, 2010 while we transition to the new showroom. No orders will be fulfilled at that time.

We will re-open at our new location at:
1513 Young St. #203, Honolulu, Hawaii 96826 on February 1, 2010.

We look forward to seeing you all there!