Based in Garrett, Indiana, Hometown Graphics is the epitome of a small-town business with a significant impact. In just a few short years, the company has grown from a humble 1,400-square-foot storefront to an expansive 7,000-square-foot facility. Owner Cassie Evans shared how she’s successfully grown Hometown Graphics from a side business to supplement her photography to an apparel and graphics enterprise that is now a pillar of the local business community.

Starting Out: Photography to Apparel 

Cassie says the impetus for Hometown Graphics came after about five years of working for another company while running her own photography business. 

“I had purchased a retail storefront that was 1,400 square feet; it was supposed to be mainly for my photography studio,” she says. 

As the graphics side of the business picked up speed, she says she had to rehone her focus and pause the photography side. 

By 2020, Hometown Graphics had evolved into a multi-service business offering apparel decoration and graphic design. As the company grew, so did its need for additional space, equipment, and tools to better manage orders and production. 

Building a Business Around Quality and Innovation

Today, Hometown Graphics primarily offers embroidery and direct-to-film (DTF) printing, the shop’s main revenue generator. Having production in-house keeps order management efficient and gives Cassie and her team enhanced control over quality. 

More recently, the business added an M&R automatic press to its equipment lineup to switch from outsourced screen printing to in-house as well. 

The Hometown Graphics team has also grown to six employees, each with a specific role at the company. 

“We do have some people that are cross-trained that can help in different areas when needed, but we have an embroidery person and graphic designer,” says Cassie. 

Cassie and the Hometown Graphics staff.

Online Stores & Expanding Hometown Graphics’ Reach

A pivotal factor in Hometown Graphics’ success has been its online store model through InkSoft. Currently, the business operates approximately 100 online stores. 

Cassie began using InkSoft Stores for fundraisers, and as those successfully launched, she found other interested customers.

“We also worked with fire departments because it was a lot for the people in charge to keep coming in and ordering items for their departments,” she notes. “So, we used online stores to make it easier and let the firefighters order their own things.”

That same model has helped Hometown Graphics grow its online store capabilities to serve customers in Dekalb County and other states like Texas and North Carolina. Their strategy proved so effective that it led to partnerships with corporate clients, school sports teams, manufacturers, and municipal departments, just to name a few. 

“We like the structure of InkSoft Stores and the fact that you can build one quickly,” says Cassie. “A lot of companies come in to order something, but we can tell an online store might help them.”

One of several online stores created by Hometown Graphics.

She says customers are often interested once they see the convenience of the storefronts and the capabilities of what they can do to sell merchandise to end customers. 

That convenience also benefits Cassie and her team, as they don’t have to store extra inventory or worry about unsold products. 

“Since we’re either printing on demand with direct-to-film or embroidery, if products don’t sell, we’re not out anything besides the time we took to create that store and put the mocked-up items on there,” she adds. 

Riding the Social Media Wave 

Aside from local and regional growth, Hometown Graphics recently gained national attention when a customer’s design went viral on TikTok. A local boutique owner asked Cassie if the shop printed sublimated goods.

“I told them we didn’t do sublimation, but I knew she had a local shop, so if it was going to be a matter of her doing business with us, it was worth it,” says Cassie. That flexibility ended up benefiting Hometown Graphics significantly.

A simple design of 12 pickle jars on a Gildan sweatshirt caught traction on TikTok and yielded some major volume for Hometown Graphics. The shop printed over 35,000 shirts in the first three months, added a second shift, and dedicated a UPS truck solely to orders for the shirt to keep up with volume. 

In addition to social media attention, the boutique owner appeared briefly on Good Morning America wearing the shirt, putting Hometown Graphics in front of a much larger customer base.

To date, Cassie says the company still hears from people who originally heard about the Hometown Graphics shirt either from the TikTok post or TV appearance. 

Looking Ahead at Hometown Graphics 

With a lineup of successful online stores and a customer base that spans several categories, Hometown Graphics is eyeing continued growth in production space and services. She says adding more capacity and services like engraving is a big part of why Cassie got into the industry.

With services like engraving and direct-to-film, the business can now accommodate a higher level of customization and smaller orders. 

“We used to turn away so many small orders, but then I kind of just go back to why I named my business Hometown Graphics,” she notes. “I want that hometown feel and for everybody to feel welcome. If you can help somebody small, you don’t know who they’re associated with, and a lot of these people work at big companies. “ 

Following the success of the viral pickle jar shirt, Cassie says the business is also exploring trading in its sublimation equipment for a flatbed UV printer and exploring that market. 

“I think it’ll help us show customers around the community examples of what we can offer them,” she says.

By offering smaller order capabilities and on-demand printing, the company continues to provide personalized service while reaching a broader audience.

For more about their services and to shop their stores, visit Hometown Graphics.