
This photo collage, put together by Keith Allison, comes close to portraying just how busy and energetic the SGIA Expo 2013 was for GroupeSTAHL.
The show’s not over yet, but from all accounts it looks to be one of the most successful ever in terms of registered visitors and attendees. It sure seemed like it from our booth. One reason for the show’s record-breaking numbers might be the fact that the SGIA Expo hasn’t taken place in Orlando since 2007. And according to SGIA management, 48% of the visitors were first time attendees! We are glad to report that many of the folks we spoke with were just getting started in custom garment decorating and it was our pleasure to educate everyone who stopped by. One of the busiest parts of the booth was the Bling Shop, where visitors could design and heat print a custom shirt. After choosing a transfer and using the Hotronix Air Fusion to apply the transfer, you could dress up the shirt with distressed twill lettering, GlitterFlake text or any number of fun graphics that we had on hand. On the other side of the booth, live workshops showed our guests how to print on performance wear, which transfer to use on any type of fabric, team jersey tips and more. There was a lot of educating going on. And since we announced on Tuesday that we are now partnering with Epson to sell their direct-to-garment printer, we were walking a lot of people over to the Epson booth to show them this sought-after technology. Luckily we were right across the aisle. On one end of the booth people could learn about Transfer Express custom transfers, on the other end, CAD-CUT and CAD-COLOR. Plus there was even an embroidery machine right in the booth where we were showing people how easy it is to create applique looks with GlitterFlake using our famous Rip Away technique. There was a lot going on, I’ll let these pictures tell the rest of the story. If you’re in the area, the show doesn’t close until Friday, so make an effort to stop in if you can.

Ariel from Stahls’ International was super busy not only because of his heat printing expertise, but because he is able to communicate in Spanish.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with longtime customer Loring Strickland of Bartley’s Sporting Goods of Ft. Meyer’s. This family owned business has been open since 1910! We’re going to try to find out if they’re our longest perpetual customer.

A booth visitor attends our transfer application workshop and applies a Goof Proof transfer for the first time.

Courtney holds a roll of CAD-CUT GlitterFlake, which is one of our most popular materials these days.