It’s always a pleasure to visit with customers, and Brian Sukarukoff and I recently had the opportunity to drop by the Heads Up Boutique in Barrington, Illinois. Owner Jessica Young is a very creative and enthusiastic entrepreneur and she was glad to show us around. We were very impressed with the way her store was organized, and at the number of items she offers for personalization. “We do a ton of baby gifts,” Jessica told us. It’s no wonder. She has many fantastic examples of personalized baby items in the store. One thing that caught our attention was the custom “birth announcement” on pillows and onesies. “Heat transfer materials are perfect for personalizing baby things,” Jessica told us, “because there’s nothing scratchy on the garment and the pillows lay flat and are not bumpy, as they can be when embroidered.” The Heads Up Boutique is known as the place to go for personalization in Barrington, and Jessica and her staff make sure everyone knows how fast and easy it is to customize an item. Prices include personalization with a one color, one location, heat transfer material application. They do charge more for additional colors or locations or for embroidery. What a great marketing concept and what a great way to keep your heat presses busy. The boutique’s production area features two cutters, four heat presses and a sublimation printer. Jessica hopes to add more digital printing capabilities with either a DTG or printer/cutter in the near future. For most items, personalization takes two days, however they also offer “while you wait” heat printing. We also asked Jessica about what kind of trends she is noticing at the store. “We have sororities that really go for neon pink lettering and glitter for baby items is also very popular,” she said. “For local schools and events we also have a section of store where we have a bunch of logos already cut out, and customers can pick their garment, pick their logo and we print it on the spot.”
Jessica also uses a lot of pressure sensitive sign vinyl to decorate “hard goods” such as picture frames, candles, bracelets and other acrylic items. Number shirts for kid’s birthdays are also very popular. For example if the child is turning one, we’ll create a design that features the name and the number one. Big sister and big brother shirts are also big sellers. Thanks for showing us around Jessica, and for letting me share your story. Your store is an excellent example of the power of heat printing and hard work! We wish you the best of luck in continuing to grow your business. Please take a look at their website or “like” them on Facebook.