Stitches Magazine - Featuring the work of Black Duck!

I’m happy to announce that the January issue of the matchless [...]]]> (Now that we have author tags enabled for the upcoming addition of new blog contributors from the shop, I’ll be writing this post in the first person, seeing as it’s about my project!  -EC)

Stitches Magazine - Featuring the work of Black Duck!

I’m happy to announce that the January issue of the matchless embroidery industry trade magazine Stitches, is out today! Featured on the cover (viewable here in the digital edition) is the work of none other than your Black Duck Blog author, Erich Campbell. I was honored when in November of 2011, the editor of Stitches Magazine, Nicole Rollender,  contacted me with twofold good news. First, I’d been voted in to their annual Power List as the 60th most influential person in the industry (seen here) and that they were interested in having me create the embroidery for the January cover.

Being that November and December are our busiest time of year, I was concerned, but I would never deny such a great honor. I jumped at the challenge. Not long later, I was staring at a full-color photograph of a carousel, complete with a depth-of-field effects that, though wonderful in photography, aren’t well suited to the clean edges created by thread and needle. I pitched the concept of rendering the background scene in a range of grays and creating a spectacular full-color piece for the lead horse in the photograph. Luckily for me art director Jim Lange was on board. Now the real work started.

Wanting to create  it in secret so as to make for a big reveal, I worked on the project at home. After some 60 hours of art and digitizing (plotting stitch placements and types in specialized machine embroidery software) later, I had a file that would make our embroidery machines spit out a piece measuring over 9.5″ by 10.8″, consisting of 16 colors and 182, 389 stitches. The actual run, when coupled with the necessity of rethreading the machine and prepping the materials, would take over 7 hours to produce. In the end, however, I was very happy with the piece and shipped it off urgently to be photographed, cropped, and styled into the magnificent cover you see here.

I’d like to thank our proprietors, Doug and Dana Bird for the freedom they give their creative staff to do such skill-building projects, as well as the crew at Stitches Magazine for spurring me on to contribute to the industry. Last, but not least, I’d like to thank all of our customers for staying with us, and proving that quality and creativity matter and are worth supporting.

I’m happy to say that we at Black Duck are not just up to industry standards, but as you can see, we influence the standard. When you need something truly amazing, we might not be the only ones who can make it happen, but we have some practice. If you have a spectacular image or brand that you want made into a beautiful embroidered or screenprinted garment, or if you just want an artist’s eye directed toward your company’s uniforms and promotional products, please contact Black Duck. We’ll be happy to go that extra mile for you.

Here in the last week of the year, many of our customers who visit the showroom at Black Duck are raring to get an order underway so it can count as a purchase made on the [...]]]>

Coordinating shirts now come in a range of styles, colors, and fits - perfect for your logo and staff.

Here in the last week of the year, many of our customers who visit the showroom at Black Duck are raring to get an order underway so it can count as a purchase made on the current year’s budget. While we’re not here to debate the merits of fixed-budget spending, we are here to help you make your purchase more than just a way to round out your figures. Here are three ways that you can make that last bit of budget surplus money work for your department in the coming year.

1. Start the new year with a new professional look. Nothing says ‘team spirit’ like coordinated, custom logowear. Buy your key staff new embroidered button-up and polo shirts, complete with your logo, and they’ll start the new year looking and feeling ready for business. Black Duck has selections that combine professional unisex choices with coordinating and flattering women’s styles to make every day a perfect day to wear your logo (and there are at least 3 good reasons why).

2. Stock up on some essentials, with a promotional twist. You know you’ll need office supplies in the coming year- everyone wants new pencils and pens, notepads, and even incidentals like coffee mugs and flash drives, but rather than simply buying up blank goods from your office supply warehouse, why not turn every one of those frequently used and often seen items into a promotional opportunity by adding a custom print with your logo and company information?  Not only is it a great corporate identity builder for your staff, each of these items can be used as a promotional giveaway for customers and friends of your company. Useful, quality items tend to stay around, meaning that every time your customer picks up that favorite pen, they’ll have your logo and info at hand, and on the top of their mind.

The classic Bic Click-Stick is dependable and can easily produced with your company colors and logos

3. Plan for early for your next event. You know that there’s that one tradeshow, that big meeting, that presentation that you always end up scrambling to get ready at the last minute. Why not get your promotional products set up now? Logo-printed tablecloths, banners, and feather flags, giveaway items like t-shirts, hats, water bottles and the like, printed goody bags, and even business cards can all be created and coordinated here at Black Duck! Why scramble at the last minute and pay rush fees for production? Get those things that you won’t have to change up for every event done now, and have them in reserve all year long.

Three short tips aren’t all we have in store for you when it comes to making the most of your budget, but we know that you’ve got no time to waste if you’re looking to place that order- so stop reading and start calling or coming in to our showroom! We’re here to help you get the best value out of your every expenditure. Whether you need company uniforms, custom promotional products, or even a company identity plan built from scratch, we’re ready to help you put your best foot forward. Contact us, and we’ll make it easy.

Impressions Magazine posted their latest gallery of inspirational decorated apparel today, and in this latest MULTIMEDIA and Digitizing Artistry gallery, Black Duck was prominently featured through our one-of-a-kind apron for local favorite, Dion’s Pizza!  Created from a design once used for company reward jackets, this beatiful, but work-sturdy apron features a detailed rendition [...]]]>

Impressions Magazine posted their latest gallery of inspirational decorated apparel today, and in this latest MULTIMEDIA and Digitizing Artistry gallery, Black Duck was prominently featured through our one-of-a-kind apron for local favorite, Dion’s Pizza!  Created from a design once used for company reward jackets, this beatiful, but work-sturdy apron features a detailed rendition of the famous Dion’s logo, complete with all of the wood-cut inspired lines you would expect from this classic piece of logo artistry.

Thanks to the good people of Impressions, and thanks to Dion’s for all the awesome pizza, subs, and salads over the years! (we paid for them all, don’t feel bad, folks! ) We’re happy we’ve been able to help you promote your great products and outfitting your employees with identifiable and professional uniforms and apparel has been a pleasure!

As we hinted in a previous post, the work of Black Duck’s embroidery digitizer, Erich Campbell, has been featured in Stitches Magazine’s latest fashion shoot, “Bring on the Glam” with his medieval, Anglo-Saxon inspired ethnic embroidery styling. Erich also posted about it on his [...]]]>

This lacy-backed dress made an excellent canvas for Erich's metalwork-inspired designs.

As we hinted in a previous post, the work of Black Duck’s embroidery digitizer, Erich Campbell, has been featured in Stitches Magazine’s latest fashion shoot, “Bring on the Glam” with his medieval, Anglo-Saxon inspired ethnic embroidery styling. Erich also posted about it on his blog for Stitches magazine, describing the artistic process he went through in creating this fashion-ready piece. Reading through his process gives you a window into how Black Duck operates, building great finished garments, with attention to detail from the fabric, to the design, to the embroidery setup, to the decoration materials, and right through to the execution- we approach each piece as a whole, making every step count.

We know that not many of our customers are looking to create something meant for models and mansions, but when you want your corporate logo, team mascot, or even home furnishings done well, why not look to people who can do so much more than the average left-chest logo? Black Duck features experienced artists and designers in-house for free consultation. Whether you need a baseball hat or a ball gown, Black Duck can find a way to make your visions come to life, just like Erich’s did!

The fine folks at Stitches Magazine have decided to feature us and a photo of our owners, Doug and Dana Bird before one of the walls in our famously crimson conference room in their latest issue. We were selected due to our bold use of color in the decoration of [...]]]>

Doug and Dana in Stitches

The fine folks at Stitches Magazine have decided to feature us and a photo of our owners, Doug and Dana Bird before one of the walls in our famously crimson conference room in their latest issue. We were selected due to our bold use of color in the decoration of our fully-stocked showroom and conference room spaces as Stitches discussed the psychological uses of color in business spaces.

Our red showroom was meant to get our customers revved up! Just ask Doug if you see him stepping out of his awesome red Corvette, or even when he drives the classic Ford truck, complete with Black Duck tailgate, that graces illustrations on our main website- red gets your pulse going! Admittedly, red is supposed to increase sales, and while you might feel like we’re trying to brainwash you, we’re not all that bad. We haven’t started using subliminal messages or tried to hypnotize anyone, we just want to give you the energy to be as fired up as we are about your customized apparel and accessories!

If you’d like to get a snapshot view about color theory and how it affects sales, we recommend checking out this interesting and attractive infographic from the folks at KISSMetrics. It breaks down both the importance of image and the effects various colors could have on your customers, and is well worth a look. There’s a great deal of information out there, but this simple chart should whet your interest to take up a further search if you’re so inclined.

If, after you’ve checked out our mention in Stitches or read up on color with the folks at KISSMetrics, you feel the need to retool your color scheme, Black Duck is here to help you with your apparel, accessories, signage and more. After all, if we paid this much attention to the color and art on our walls, imagine what we’ll do with your gear!

Though there are many trends we’ve seen rise and fall in the garment decoration industry, some of the processes, applications, and types of decoration that came through our doors this year seem destined either to dovetail into the next fashion-forward craze on the [...]]]>

This multimedia print and rough-cut appliqué was a hit for Sandia Prep

Though there are many trends we’ve seen rise and fall in the garment decoration industry, some of the processes, applications, and types of decoration that came through our doors this year seem destined either to dovetail into the next fashion-forward craze on the horizon or to stubbornly buck the popular wave due to the large number of fans that have stayed true to their favorite gear. The first trend that seems to cut across the new movement toward minimalism in Spring 2011 fashion is Distressed Applique. Though it is rough, high-contrast, and everything that the current movement towards smooth, neutral fashion, this technique has become a major part of decoration for schools, teams, and resortwear and doesn’t show any sign of dropping off just yet. The next style of embroidery that we saw become more and more popular this was Tonal Embroidery. Though we’ve seen tone-on-tone embroidery (think a black or dark gray logo on a black shirt) in high-end corporate decoration before, this year it seemed to be the choice of many designers and even businesses who wanted to achieve a retail, designer look. It was most popular in our shop as a treatment for caps, and often came with 3D Puff Foam to create a tail, relief version of the tone on tone logos to increase the contrast and visual impact. This style falls right in line with th latest trend toward understated decoration.

This Laser Etched Blanket photo is courtesy of mhaithaca - Beam us up one of those!

The last and most surprising decoration technique that really picked up speed in our shop was Laser-Etched Polar Fleece.  Also a tone-on-tone treatment, laser etching cuts off the fibers of the high nap (think fuzz) on polar fleece jackets, blankets, and the like.  Due to the ability to create impressively large and yet tonally-understated images, it became a favorite treatment for companies that wanted to give logo-emblazoned accessories that didn’t scream ‘giveaway‘.

To all of our customers, past present and future, we here at Black Duck Embroidery and Screen Printing want to wish you a happy holiday season.  Whether you choose to use our services to buy your employees great logowear, to print up [...]]]>

Santa Duck hopes someone brought Black Duck gear to go under your tree!

To all of our customers, past present and future, we here at Black Duck Embroidery and Screen Printing want to wish you a happy holiday season.  Whether you choose to use our services to buy your employees great logowear, to print up t-shirts for your band, to make the jerseys for your kid’s soccer team, to make a tablecloth or banner for your charity event, or even to embroider the name on your new grandchild’s first stocking, we are honored to make the garments and accessories that you use to show your pride. your joy, and even your love for the important  people and places in your life.

We’re thankful for your continued interest in our work, and for your support. We can’t thank you enough.

So, for everyone here at Black Duck, happy holidays to you and your important people!