Gab’s Small Business Resource List

I’m so happy you’re here! I often get questions about who I work with to make all my artsy goods so I wanted to build a proper resource list to share with you all to help eliminate gatekeeping among creatives. This is a living, breathing, and ever-evolving list that I’ll continue to add to as my business grows. I hope this provides some guidance and insight for your own creative endeavors!

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If you want to pick my brain even MORE you can schedule a Small Business Consultation call using this link :-)

Products + Goods

Stickers (specifically die-cut, individual stickers)

• Sticker App - I’ve been using Sticker App consistently for YEARS and have always been thrilled with their quality and customer service! Their stickers are super durable (waterproof, weatherproof, 2-4 year minimum outdoor life), they have a ton of different material options (matte, gloss, holographic, sparkly, etc) and have really low minimums (the MOQ is like 25ish stickers) which is great if you’re testing out new designs or don’t want to spend too much. They ship fast too :-)

• Others I’ve heard good things about:

  • Sticker Ninja

  • Sticker Junkie

  • Sticker You

  • Sticker Giant

Keychains + Magnets

• Zap! Creatives - I recently started ordering my acrylic magnets and keychains from Zap and have been so pleased with the ordering process and product quality. They’re based in England, but have significantly lower environmental impact in their business practices / shipping than other overseas manufacturers. They offer templates, design help, and ample resources for each product so you can customize to your heart’s content. Additionally, the acrylic they use for these magnets + keychains is made from 100% recycled plastics that would have otherwise been incinerated or tossed in a landfill.

• A few other manufacturers I considered for these products:

  • Vograce

  • Wizard Pins

  • Busy Beaver Buttons (high on my list to explore for magnets and buttons!)

  • The Pin Department (so many different products!)

Apparel

• LA Apparel - I’m a loyalist to LA Apparel for a handful of reasons: 100% cotton, garment-dyed, made in the US, ethical wages, bunch of color and style options, and affordability for the quality. Their t-shirts are pretty widely loved (among my customers) and feel like the perfect blend of streetwear and your favorite vintage tee. They offer unisex sizes XS-3X in most tees, but some products have smaller size runs which is a bummer. You can shop their blanks at retail pricing (I have several in my day-to-day wardrobe) or apply for a wholesale account to use them as blanks for bigger projects.

• Port + Co - This is the primary hat manufacturer I use! Nothing too crazy special but they are quality, have lots of style/color options, and there’s a local wholesaler here (SanMar) that I can order from to minimize freight travel.

• OTTO - I also just started using OTTO for my denim hats and I’m excited to explore some of their other hat styles.

• Other apparel blanks I’ve explored:

  • Everybody.World - Huge fan of this company for prioritizing sustainability in all ways. Their famous “Trash Collection” uses 100% Reclaimed Waste Cotton, and they have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the game. As far as wholesale goes they only offer neutrals (black and white) with options to garment dye larger custom orders. Their size runs are primarily S-2XL. Generally speaking this manufacturer is great if you’re prioritizing sustainability and have the means to place larger orders at a time.

  • ascolour - Ordered some samples and had a great order/customer service experience, but ultimately didn’t love them as much as the LA Apparel pieces. Most items have a size range of XS-2XL, but the men’s classic tee goes up to 5XL. They do have a ton of color options and their quality is definitely a step above your generic t-shirt. Also fairly affordable with low MOQs.

  • Shaka Wear - Their styles lean further into the streetwear world. I’ve clicked around on their site but haven’t placed an order. From what I’ve heard these are high-quality blanks! Size range is primarily S-XL (unisex).

  • Elwood - Another option I’ve heard great things about! Their wholesale offerings are pretty basic, with only a few neutral colors and a handful of product styles. Their sizes run XS-2XL, but it’s hard to find a style where every size is in stock. Pricing is fairly affordable too.

  • Weld MFG - Super high-quality hat blanks! I ordered some samples from them but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. They have cotton twill, corduroy, and more materials in a variety of colors and styles. They also have a full custom catalog for embroidery needs.

Prints

• WHCC (White House Custom Color) - Best print shop I’ve worked with so far. Based in Eagan, MN they offer high quality photo and fine art prints (along with other products) at a very affordable price point. Their facilities run on renewable energy (17,000sf of solar panels!!!) and their customer service is outstanding. Shipping is fast, reliable, and comes with a lollipop in every order.

Greeting Cards

• CatPrint - I’ve been using CatPrint for several months now and am so impressed with their quality, customer service, and user experience! They have a huge variety of paper types and I found it super helpful to order samples and get a feel for the weight and texture before deciding how I wanted my cards to feel. They offer folding/creasing and envelopes too!

Calendars

• Gooten - I’ve ordered my calendars through Gooten, a print-on-demand site that has a wide variety of customizable goods. I think they work with Bay Photo to print the actual calendars, but I already had an account with Gooten and it was easier to just upload and order through their product hub. Regardless, the quality is always great!

Tote Bags

• noissue - An amazing site for all things custom packaging with a focus on sustainability. They have design templates and great customer service, but they are based in Australia so orders take a bit longer for production / shipping. They have a few different types of organic cotton and canvas tote bags, and use water-based inks for printing.

• Tote Bag Factory - A great site to see allllllll the bag options in one place. This is nice if you are particular about the size / material / color for the bags, and want to buy them wholesale before passing along to a screenprinter (or printing yourself).

Notebooks

• Art of Where - Great production studio based in Montreal, Canada that offers a bunch of custom goods. I’ve only ordered notebooks here, but really love the quality and simplicity of the product. They have 2 different size options and you can choose what paper you want for the inside (lined, blank, graph, etc). Low minimums and reasonable pricing, but takes at least a couple weeks for production.

Services

Screen printing + Embroidery

• Superluxe Merch - Phoenix local business owned by Jon Pitt, they offer Soft Touch water-based ink for screenprinting which is more sustainable than other plastic-based inks and tends to have more longevity on garments. Jon is great to communicate with and always checks in with questions when it comes to getting my designs just right. They’ll also help with apparel procurement! I work with them for screenprinting only.

• Team Green Duo - Another Phoenix small business run by husband and wife team, Mari and Miguel Ibarra. While they don’t offer water-based ink as an option, they’re great to work with and have experience working with other artists / small businesses. They also have a merch shop of their own, highlighting their great design sensibility. I’ve worked with them for both screenprinting and embroidery.

• hello merch - Another Phoenix-based company! Hello merch is a bigger operation, with a lot of custom product capabilities. They’re a go-to for a lot of band and artist merch for musicians around the country. They offer water based inks and product procurement, but if you’re someone who likes to see a sample/print proof of your design I’d recommend going with a smaller print shop like the two above. I’ve worked with them for screenprinting only.

• Attack Mfg - Phoenix locals 4ever! Ivan Montero is the owner of Attack Mfg and does an amazing job with both screenprinting and embroidery. While he doesn’t offer water-based inks, he’s very detailed in his production methods and will happily send proof photos throughout the process. I work with him for embroidery on my hats.

Display Pieces

Tent - Ozark Trail Pop Up Tent - This is my tried and true, it’s not crazy expensive (my first one lasted me 4 years and I just replaced it with the exact same one) and it’s small enough to fit in my car with all my other market stuff. I can also definitely put it all the way up by myself.

Tabletop Lights - Unfortunately from Amazon - Rechargeable USBC lights with 3 temperatures!

Tabletop Displays - I started out thrifting a lot of my display pieces (thank you goodwill office supply section), this is a great way to sustainably and affordably build your setup. I also use displays from Clear Solutions, they’re US-made (based in NH), high-quality, and they pack flat. Highly recommend!

Crates + Storage - Any sort of durable clear tote from Target or The Container Store (or a thrift store) is a great place to start. Always a good idea to have something sealable and waterproof, these are what I use to transport my goods to and from markets but they also live in my storage closet during off season. For smaller scale storage, I’m a huge fan of metro shelving (I have the IKEA version) and either old milk crates (scored a ton of these on facebook marketplace) or the Aykasa folding crates. HAY used to sell the Aykasa brand, but they started making their own folding crate which is almost the same thing but a little less durable (in my opinion). The real deal Aykasa crates are a little tricky to find now. These are nice because they stack, and they pack flat so they can be used for storage AND booth displays.

Packaging

Clear Bags - This is where I order all of my backer boards and clear sleeves for art prints and greeting cards. They offer post-consumer recycled / recyclable backer board and commercially compostable clear sleeves as well as a bunch of other sustainable and standard packaging options.

EcoEnclose - This is where I order shipping and packaging supplies for online orders. They have a ton of customization options (usually with higher minimums) as well as ready-to-ship boxes, recycled poly mailers, and recycled rigid mailers (great for art prints). High priority on sustainability from this site!

noissue - As mentioned above, an amazing site for all things custom packaging with a focus on sustainability. They have design templates and great customer service, but they are based in Australia so orders take a bit longer for production / shipping. They have low minimums on a lot of their products (sticker rolls/sheets, custom tissue paper, water-activated tape, etc).

Moo - This is where I order my marketing postcards to throw in all my orders with a little handwritten note. I love that you can upload multiple front designs within one product (postcards, business cards, etc). Super high-quality paper/cardstock options with soft-touch finish, these are a crowd pleaser!

Misc. Office Supplies

Printer - Canon Pixma iX6820 - I’ve had this printer for a couple years and it does exactly what I need it to. It’s great for printing shipping labels (on letter sized sheets) and works with normal paper all the way up to 130lb cardstock. IT doesn’t have a scanner, and isn’t ideal for large color prints but is better than your average inkjet!

Shipping Scale - Rollo - I fell for a sponsored ad on this one but it’s been SO worth it. Only $40 (plus shipping) and I love that the weight reading panel is separated from the actual scale so you can still read it even if it’s a big ol’ package. It can also take up to 110lbs!

Mug Warmer - Kin - This is a game changer for anyone who takes a bit longer to drink their coffee or tea and hates reheating it 5 times in the microwave.

Digital Organization - Notion - This is the best app / website I’ve ever used, specifically for notes and lists and project management. I love the super clean interface and endless possibilities for organizing. There’s also a calendar function that I haven’t tried yet but looks delightful.