Owning a small business is hard. It can be lonely. It can be risky. And, oh my gosh, the freeze tag I find myself playing with a fear of failure AND success is the absolute WORST (I promise that's actually a thing).
But it's also empowering. It's energizing. And, in my experience, it shows you the absolute BEST in people. Live Dreams has given me the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, family and teammates in ways that I never even dreamed were possible. I've also had virtual strangers go out of their way to make my business so much better today than it was yesterday.
Enter, Rivet Press. I can't even tell you guys how long and hard I looked around for the right screen printing partner to help me create the product I needed to have in-house to launch Live Dreams back in 2017. I was new to the business and needed someone I could trust to have my back when it came to quality. I knew I had one chance to make a first impression and Rivet Press came through for me in every way. I cannot recommend them enough — they're incredible at what they do, they communicate well, they're kind, and they also have the cutest kids clothing line ever, btw (seriously, check it out).
I will continue to outsource my screen printing needs and partner with Rivet Press as long as they'll have me. With that said, I'm also a small business in the beginning stages of self-discovery, and I couldn't help but feel like my business would be more successful if I could screen print a portion of my products in house. So I taught myself. Every sale I've made over the past two years has been invested right back into the purchase of equipment and building my own in-house screen printing shop. And, this is the best part, when I felt like I was getting in over my head and needed advice from seasoned screen printing veterans, my colleagues at Rivet were there to point me in the right direction. Yes, you read that right. I think when you're as good at what you do as Rivet Press is, you have the confidence to pay it forward. (Note to self: always look for opportunities to do the same.)
I recently launched my first in-house screen printing collaboration with my college roomie/teammate, Melissa (Brewer) Smith, and her stylin' business, A Tall Order Shop. She came to me with an idea and we were able to work together to make it a reality. Our vintage-inspired ringer tee is all about finding the power in love, which is the perfect reminder to tell the weakness that comes along with fear to take a long walk off a short cliff (that's so not the right saying, but I'm going with it). And it's also inspired me to have the confidence to tell the world that, yes, Live Dreams is a clothing brand, but it's also now a little screen printing shop. So think of me the next time you are looking to collaborate on a new graphic tee and if I can't handle it in-house, I seriously have the absolute best group of people to refer you to at Rivet Press.
