The Design, Decorate, Deliver (D3) event that took place Sept 12 outside of Cleveland, Ohio, was once again proof that savvy garment decorators are thirsting for knowledge on how to heat print. If you were one of those lucky enough to be able to attend (I spoke with people from as far away as Washington and Virginia), your mind is probably swirling with ideas and ways to create great looking garments. It was interesting to discover that 25% of the attendees didn’t even own a heat press! Everyone I spoke with was inspired to try some of the different heat printing methods they saw featured and presented at the event. Like it has been for decades, people are always looking for something to set themselves apart from the competition, and many told me that they prefer this type of “how-to” event over a traditional trade show. There was no shortage of ideas on how to do that at D3. We know that the presentation of a logo can mean the difference in getting the order–one customer wanted to print up shirts for a local school in just about every color of Glitterflake, since he knew that it would appeal to the buyer. On a personal level, I was so proud of all of the speakers and everyone involved in making this event happen. Your passion for excellence really shows through! You all left me feeling very confident that our tradition of education has a strong foundation that will only continue to grow in the future. I was inspired and very pleased to see that all the attendees seemed to feel the same way. People said they left with tons of ideas…and we had plenty for them…the whole entry way was lined with fantastic heat printed garments, and every room was filled with garment ideas, how-to information and folks ready to answer questions at every level. There was standing room only in some of the sessions. When we do this again, and I’m sure we will, make sure you don’t miss it. All the educational sessions were video-taped and I’m sure they will be made available in one format or another in the coming weeks. Thanks again to everyone who attended and participated, and thanks to everyone at Stahls’ ID Direct, Stahls’ CAD-CUT Direct, Stahls’ Transfer Express, Stahls’ Hotronix and Great Dane Graphics for all your hard work in making this event so successful.