The humble t-shirt. Once considered an undergarment or reserved solely for gym class, it now fulfills a variety of duties. It can be a form of self-expression. A fashion statement. A collector's item. An advertisement. A worker's uniform. An icon of rebellion. You could even say that the t-shirt and jeans have become the quintessential American dress code, often emulated by youth cultures around the globe.
Ron Weiss, founder of Shirts Our Business, came of age in the t-shirt's first golden era—the 1960s and 70s. "When I was in college, t-shirts were the forum for expression," explains Ron. "In the 60s and 70s there was a lot to express—some of it funny, some serious, and some political. The t-shirt became the modern-day sandwich board." When he was a student at Loyola, the expectation was that he'd follow his father's footsteps and go to medical school. Instead, he was drawn to the nascent t-shirt business. "I told my father that I had good news and bad news," recalls Ron. "The good news was that I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. The bad news was that I wasn't going to be a doctor." His studies of psychology led him to question what it was that attracted people to the t-shirts they wore. "I appreciate t-shirts as a form of interaction with others," he says. "T-shirts are usually based on some sort of expressionistic idea. I always find it fascinating and I think to myself, 'Why would someone wear that?'"
Ron opened Shirts Our Business in its first location on Devon Avenue in 1975. "It started as a retail venture," he explains. "We were selling heat transfers that we pressed right onto shirts while you waited. We could put the image you chose on the front and your name on the back." He had a small screen printer and heat transfer machine right in the shop. In those days, t-shirts were favored by young people, but were still associated with the counter-culture. "We got a lot of, 'We don't need that hippie junk here,'" recalls Ron. Over time, the t-shirt grew more popular and so did Shirts Our Business. Ron grew the business by providing good products and great customer service until the demand grew beyond what he could supply. "It started to happen that we couldn't meet our customers' needs with our existing location," says Ron. "Customers who owned businesses started asking things like 'What would it take to get my name on a shirt?' or 'What if I need to order more than one?'"
So in January 1986, Ron moved the business to its current facility at 4949 North Western Avenue. "I didn't plan to move here," explains Ron. "It was the only suitable empty space open at the time. After we moved in, I found out that it was a famous area. It was a food-centric area then like it is now. People came from all over the city to eat at the neighborhood restaurants." The large, warehouse-like industrial space is perfect for Shirts Our Business. There's plenty of space for the screenprinting machinery and for storage of screens. When Ron moved to Lincoln Square, he joined the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce and has been a member ever since.
Over time as attitudes toward the t-shirt evolved, so did Ron's customers. "As t-shirts became more socially acceptable, businesses started adopting them," explains Ron. "They realized what a tremendous forum a t-shirt can be. It exposes your business name to countless people. And people endorse your product or business by wearing your shirt." Restaurants and service businesses started approaching Shirts Our Business for t-shirts to use as uniforms. "T-shirts are inexpensive to give your employees and they're easily replaced so they can stay fresh," says Ron. Today, typical customers run the gamut from clothing lines, to ad agencies, civic organizations, police and fire departments, concert tours, medical facilities, and beverage companies. "We do all kinds of activewear and accessories like hats and bags. We can do shirts with collars and without collars," says Ron. "We do utilitarian garments as well as the fun stuff." T-shirts have even evolved into the most elaborate form of expression—art. "Threadless is a customer of ours," says Ron. "Artists submit their designs and people vote on what they like the best. It's a great opportunity for so many people to get recognition for their talent. We produce the t-shirts that result." Locally, Shirts Our Business has clothed people at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Ron has also done a variety of promotional projects for the neighborhood. Through the years, the one thing that hasn't changed is the business name. "In the 70s when I came up with it, it was all about double entendre," recalls Ron. "More recently, I thought about changing it to something more adult. But people really like the name and encouraged me to keep it."
If you want to produce your dream t-shirt at Shirts Our Business, you'd better want quite a few of them. Ron only works with bulk orders. He'll consider an order as small as 24 shirts, but his typical orders start at 144 shirts. "Like anything, there's an economy of scale—the more you produce, the lower the costs," says Ron. Shirts Our Business provides full service down to tagging your shirts, boxing them up, and shipping them out. Ron's more than 30 years of experience comes in handy if you need to consult with him about your order. "We'll make suggestions for your project," explains Ron. "We have a complete catalog of merchandise and can direct you based on your needs, budget, and what's available. Tell me what you're trying to achieve and I'll tell you if I can help you get there." Each application presents its own challenges, whether it's color, materials, construction, etc. You can come in with your t-shirt art ready to go. (You must have permission to use something that isn't yours.) Or you can give the full-time staff of graphic artists at Shirts Our Business something to reproduce as t-shirt art, such as an old design. "Our graphic artists are good technicians at reproducing art for people," explains Ron. "We're not marketers, but we take care of all aspects of production. If you want additional services, we can refer you to a network of creative people who can help you."
The mysterious process of screenprinting t-shirts is actually simpler than you'd expect—and faster, too. Each "screen" is a piece of fabric stretched over a wooden frame. "They're not really silk," says Ron, "But they're known as that because in China they originally used silk in the process." Images are printed into the fabric using a special process. Shirts Our Business keeps customer screens on hand for a year after they're used, in case customers decide to do another run of shirts. What looks like thousands of screens are stored in the Shirts Our Business warehouse. "We keep your screens on file for up to a year from the date they were used," explains Ron. "We don't want to penalize our customers by charging them again when they do more work with us." Once a year has lapsed, all screens are recycled and reused for new designs.
The main screenprinting machine at Shirts Our Business is a huge, circular Rube-Goldbergian-looking device. "Each arm is capable of printing a color," says Ron. "All of the colors are put together like a puzzle and each frame represents a different part of the puzzle. This machine can print up to 11 colors on one shirt. A design could be simple enough to only need one arm or it could be complex enough to need all 11." The machine can produce 300 to 900 shirts an hour. Once they're printed, shirts are placed on a heat conveyor belt to dry. "When they come out the other end," says Ron, "they're ready to pack and ship." Shirts Our Business also has a couple other smaller machines that they use for samples or short runs, including the original press from the first shop on Devon Avenue. Not that it happens often, but occasionally shirts are misprinted with a bad spelling or phone number. Any shirts that don't meet inspection are donated to charities that provide clothing to the less fortunate. "Someone who needs a shirt to wear won't care if a color is wrong or there's a misspelling," says Ron. Shirts Our Business does a lot of work to help out nonprofits including Chicago Canine, local schools, and religious organizations.
Whatever your reason for wearing a t-shirt—to inform, advertise, fit a dress code, or look good—Shirts Our Business is glad to make the t-shirt of your dreams a reality. Ron enjoys the challenge of solving problems for clients and making them happy. "When you do a good job and you enjoy what you're doing, it's really energizing and self-fulfilling to be able to repeat that for multiple clients," says Ron. "I find it really rewarding when someone smiles and reacts to something we've done and says, 'That's just the coolest thing I've ever seen.'"
Shirts Our Business
4949 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.271.0600
www.sobltd.com
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