Community Highlights: Meet Dillon Toups of D’s Tees – Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Toups.

Hi Dillon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I used to stand up comedy and travel to do shows. One year for Christmas, my family took a trip to a casino and I happened to win $3,000. I figured that I would take those winnings, and transform it into a side hustle that would allow me to keep pursuing comedy, while making some income at home. Whether it’s comedy or music, when a performer is new, they don’t make very much from tickets, so they supplement everything with merch sales. So I bought a small screen printing press and made merch just for myself. I soon started reaching out to friends in the comedy scene. That niche was great because comedy is very insular, so word traveled fast to comedians and musicians around the country. I learned to simplify shirts to minimize price and maximize profit and orders began to roll in. Then I gathered as much knowledge that I could around shipping because performers are in different cities every week. Instead of packing an extra suit case stuffed with T shirts, they could arrive to their hotel with the merch waiting for them. With everyday networking, I soon started working with small business, churches, schools and small clothing lines. Now we have a great clientele that spans across the country!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been the smoothest, screen printing operates on very low margins, and my customers rely on getting the best prices so that they can make money selling them. The printing itself is also such a learning curve, even with years of knowledge, I’ll still get a design or a garment that puzzles me, but you learn to go with the flow and make the best print you can!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about D’s Tees – Atlanta?
We are a small print shop, printing T shirts the way they’ve been printed since screen printing was invented. It’s a tough business, where most shops move towards sign printing, or offering many other merch items, but we only print on fabrics. The printing game has changed a ton in the last few years, with lots of companies switching to more technological forms of printing and fabrics getting cheaper and worst quality. We still like to carry the tradition of hand printing the shirts, giving them that artisanal feel, all while staying small enough to be able to give each customer the attention to make the best work that they’re extremely happy about.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I would have to say my customers get all of the credit. I try to not only do a good job with the printing, but I also try to show that this isn’t just an empty relationship. I know most of my customers, we talk about our kids, or their hobbies, or even random plans for the future. I’ve tried many different types of advertising, but I’ve realized word of mouth always brings the best business. I try to make sure everyone’s happy with their order, like there’s often times that someone needs an order rushed, I don’t gouge people on price and do everything I can to make it happen in the way a friend helps out, opposed to how a business squeezes every penny out of you.

Pricing:

• T shirts w/ 1 color print start at $7.50
• Hoodies w/1 color start at $18
• Free shipping over $200
• No set-up/screen fees

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atlscreenprinters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dillonstees/