A Thousand-Mile Waltz Across Texas with Numo, T-Tycoon, and Friends!

There’s nothing like a little Texas road trip to remind you just how big Texas is: from Dallas to Austin to McAllen, across the border to Reynosa, Mexico, and back to Ft. Worth. In all, we traveled just over 1,000 miles on a road trip to hang with friends and rediscover the heartbeat of what makes this incredible industry hum. 

Factory Visit with T-Tycoon in Dallas, TX

First, we visited our friend Erik Clapp, President of T-Tycoon at his factory in Garland TX. If we rattled off the names of the brands running projects through his immaculate shop, it would be a who’s who of not only industry luminaries but retail brands too. Yes, they’re known for their insanely comfortable butterwash t’s but they are also one of the industry’s fastest custom shops featuring product that ranges from stock merch to semi-custom to full custom.

The eco transformation of T-Tycoon under Erik’s leadership is profound: since their establishment, they have eliminated 80% of hazardous chemicals and reduced water consumption from 2500 gallons a day to 200 (just to name a few examples) you can check out more environmental impact info here. Thanks, Erik for letting us hang with you in your shop and giving us the tour!

Our next stop in Austin included Texas Izakaya at Kemuri with our friends Ruth Verver (Paperclip), Joe Sommer, (Whitestone), Lawrence Hanley (Desk Plants), Nick Lateur, (HPG), Matthew Ritz, (PromoStudioX) and Stephen Holden (Holden Brand).

Factory Visit with Numo in Reynosa, Mexico

After Austin, we made a pit stop in San Antonio and then ventured through McAllen, TX across the border into Reynosa, Mexico. Settled across the Pharr bridge along the border of Mexico sits one of the industry’s most remarkable stories. Numo is a buzzing hive of makers who customize both small and large-run products, and while the Reynosa factory is astounding in its size and scope, it's incredibly nimble in versatility.  

Employing a pivotal work methodology that allows Mexican employees to gain skills in multiple crafts, the entire factory is full of both vintage and state-of-the-art equipment. These two dynamics give Numo an incredible advantage with both small-run customization and large-scale production. Due to their unique equipment, ingenious product design, and versatile employee skills, they create bespoke merch for discerning customers and are responsible for some of the most creative products produced in our industry today.

To get an idea of what we mean by versatility and customization, check out what we created with Numo by converting our tablecloths at skucon into pouches that were then shipped (turnkey from Numo) to each attendee. And, to inspire your next creative client project, grab one of the new Numo swatch boxes, it’s a brilliant way to co-create your next project with the fantastic makers at Numo. We’ll have more to share about our Numo visit later, but for now, a big thanks to Jim and Ryan and the entire team at Numo for giving us a glimpse into one of the industry’s most profound group of artisans and makers today.

With Friends in Austin & Ft. Worth at the ASI Show!

Finally, from Reynosa to Ft. Worth, we joined our friends at the ASI Ft. Worth Show. Tim Andrews, ASI’s President and CEO, joined us for an interview (details to follow), and our VP of Supplier Partnerships, Dave Shultz, made the rounds to hang with friends and connect with our critical supplier partners along the way. 

Why do we travel thousands of miles to visit with friends when (some might argue) a chat on Zoom would accomplish the same thing?

1. Community first is a commonsku core value: “Customers are more than clients, colleagues are more than coworkers; we are one community that supports each other.” To support one another, sometimes it’s important to step out from behind the desk and simply spend time together proving that support — by simply showing up. 

2. Makers: This is an industry of people who make things, tactile products. So, to really understand how profound, complex, and hands-on this supply chain is, we encourage you to visit with suppliers (and distributors) and make it an important part of your personal mission to connect with those who create incredible value for your business. 

3. Learning: As big as our multi-billion dollar industry is, it’s both a small and large community, but given how unique each business is, there’s always something to learn as you sit across from someone over dinner or while touring their facility. Curiosity is the fuel that drives innovation in this business and you’re never too experienced to learn from others. 

Thank you to all our friends for joining us on our mad little waltz across Texas!

You have no idea how you inspire us to continue our mission to create the leading workflow platform that connects this community of makers and agencies and empowers our industry to thrive!