Notes from the West Loop.

It started with forty conference polos in a drawer. The five reasons merch goes unworn, and the fix for each.

Faraz on why we embroider most of what we make, and the four cases where DTF print wins outright.

How each piece gets checked on the QC app and banded with the wearer's name before it's boxed, with the packing checklist we work from.

How an embroidered left-chest logo gets built, from digitizing and underlay to the 5 mm floor for lettering.

Northwind's 180-piece first order set the design. Every reorder since has been one email with names, sizes and a quantity, made from the same file.

A paper band with a first name on it goes around every piece we ship. What it changes at the booth, at onboarding and for gifts.

The onboarding kits that end up on LinkedIn share five decisions about the box and its timing, and budget barely figures in any of them.

Poly9 put ten people in one gradient collection at three fall expos. This is the booth apparel playbook we wrote from watching their season.

Our 220 GSM tee's spec sheet, one line at a time: fiber, weight, seams, neck, decoration and OEKO-TEX, plus a five-line audit for any supplier.