Chris Fahrbach | Mixture | Shirt Show 274

A day one listener of Shirt Show, Chris Fahrbach got bit by the print bug back in high school, but came into his own through the world of skateboarding and snowboarding. Now looking back on 22 years of business, it's clear that Mixture really hit it’s stride by following tried and true business practices. Topics of discussion include: Door to door sales, building longterm relationships vs sales funnels, choosing the right shirt for the right job, getting bitter with age, seasonal depression in business, volunteering, satellite locations, bringing buttons back, efficiencies, and a brand new shop hack.

Josh Wells is a longtime printer, though you may recognize him from his educational videos with Ryonet. He’s got decades of print knowledge and experience under his belt, and he’s got a hell of a story to show for it. Mr. Timboslices is in the co-host seat again, a designer who’s still pretty fresh in his print journey. Getting these two together made for some great conversation on getting into this trade, education, and finding our own paths along the way. Topics of discussion include: Screen Printing Reality TV, content creation, early print jobs, starter kits, when and when not to DIY, building trust, cover songs, and Dylan’s top 10 movies of all time.

Angel gave us a peak behind the curtain into the chaos of tour merch. He began his journey by going on the road with Taking Back Sunday, and has since worked his way up to touring with the biggest bands, artists, and public figures like Oprah and Michelle Obama. Topics of discussion include: getting into touring, the different levels of the merch guy role, The Delicate Genius, Gildan acquiring Hanes, sustainability, forecasting, lack of accountability, best shirts, shirt collections, venue merch cuts, wildest merch items, and the best and worst venues.Jared Mendelewicz of AKT in the co-host seat!

It’s been a long time since episode 2 of Shirt Show, and from the outside looking in, Juan seems to have cracked the code on work life balance. Between crushing it with Squeegee Prints, and giving his time to the things he loves outside of the shop, Juan is the perfect role model to any shop owner who is feeling overwhelmed. But through our conversation we learn of the hard changes he had to make in order to reach this point, and it didn’t happen overnight. This was a much needed therapy session, so let’s talk feelings. Topics of discussion include: intentional growth, running a self audit and knowing your numbers, slow season, self discipline, improved printing methods, managing sales, different viewpoints on digital printing, the value of quality, and chickens.

Tidalwave was born out of bringing production in-house for their e-commerce brand. While Bradley & Matt may have underestimated the gravity of this endeavor, they found greater value in the opportunities that came with it, propelling them to becoming the 37th fasting growing business in 2025. Topics of discussion include: grass being greener on the other side, having sales before skills, 3PL & fulfillment, utilizing twitter/X, focusing your customer profile, automations and equipment, print on demand, box robots, managing your PnL, and the value of friendship.

Screen printer turned apparel manufacturer, Josh has been designing his own graphic tees since elementary school. After college and a brief stint in the corporate world, he went back to printing and even ran a shop of his own, but he found the perfect fit for himself once he’d created his own garments. Topics of discussion include: sourcing, finding your lane, shifting from a service business to a product business, saying no, finding good partners, manufacturing in the USA, dye houses, tariffs, longterm goals, the value of good storytelling, and shrinkage.

Zach is a longtime listener, and let’s just say he’s been taking notes over the years. We got his story of starting from the ground up, to eventually buying his local print shop. At about the halfway mark, armed with a long list of questions for your favorite screen printing podcast, the roles are reversed, and Dylan gets in the hot seat. Topics of discussion include: college fraternity and sorority markets, buying a print shop, hiring consultants, work life balance, weaknesses, error rates, shop visits, seminars, and comedies.

Here to provide a reality check on our outbound sales strategies, we brought in the master himself, Kevin Baumgart from Sales Ink. Brad Oliver from Culture Apparel, and Shirt Show’s very own Dylan Gilligan are sharing their experiences and strategies that were born out of personal experience, and developed through consultation with Kevin. Topics of discussion include: The Brat Boys, what’s special about the printing industry, outbound and inbound sales strategies, implementing CRM systems, getting leads, virtual assistants, scripts and prompts, timing, and Wild Hogs.

Brad Czarnowski is back, now with his new shop, Industrious Print Studio. Nick from Forward Printing is in the guest-host spot, and we’re talking fresh starts, and brighter futures. Topics of discussion include: Stepping your game up for dream clients, the clean slate that comes with starting over, transitional stresses, local sales strategies, finding your place in your community, and baseball.

People’s perception of OSHA falls somewhere between a guardian angel and the boogeyman. Gary is here to give it to us straight, and help us in walking the path of OSHA compliance. Topics of discussion include: Sustainability, osha misconceptions, injury procedure, inspections, common violations, make ready, the danger of ‘real quick’, ergonomics, electrical safety, health tests, respirator and face mask requirements, inspection etiquette, what to do if you receive a citation, and a whole lotta missing fingers.