Adventures in Screen Printing

      Not long ago, and defintely not far away, I set up a screen printing studio in my basement. Complete with utility sink, dark room, and flash dryer with a 4 color press. After taking classes in screen printing at Pratt Institute and in Vancouver Washington at a screen print supply company, I got to work and added my calligram designs to t shirts, aprons, napkins, and more. I was lucky enough to land 2 impressive wholesale jobs. One with Made in Washington stores, and another custom design with the Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group. Both jobs required screenprinting over 300 t shirts, all done alone in my basement. It was a ton of work both physically and mentally. But very rewarding!

Fish Calligram tee for Made in Washington Stores by Joni James

     On to more creative screen printing, I worked on loading my Etsy shop with various sellables including dog tote bags, ladies tees from American Apparel, tea towels, aprons, and more tees!

Eventually it was time to give up the work due to physical challenges keeping up with the demand and my son wanted to move his things down stairs which made me a nuisance! The person I sold the equipment to is still screen printing today and can be found selling t shirts at his shop in Ebay.