When the housing market crashed, Gwyn Glass and her boyfriend, a residential designer, jumped at the opportunity to purchase a local screen printing company in Pitman, New Jersey and launch what is now Press 10 Printing, named after their son Preston. Gwyn’s business philosophy focuses on high-quality apparel, custom designs, and eco-friendly printing materials and processes to create a product that is both durable and adorable. (Did we mention we want all the sassy baby bodysuits?) NJMOM chatted with Gwyn about her plans to open a teaching studio offering specialized screen printing and illustration classes, plus her family’s favorite neighborhood eats in downtown Pitman, including Alaura Kitchen and Chloe’s Crème Puffs.
Owner of Press 10 Printing & NJMOMpreneur:
Gwyn Glass
NJMOM: What do you offer to your clients and how is it different than other professionals in your field?
Gwyn: At Press 10 Printing, we are a local screen printer that offers custom bulk screen printed apparel, in addition to our own designs of baby bodysuits, graphic tees, and Pitman spirit wear in our small retail shop. We only use high-quality apparel and top-of-the-line inks, while promoting sustainable materials and eco-friendly chemicals; when you walk into our store, it doesn’t smell like a screen printing warehouse. Most importantly, we care about customer service and focus on educating the customer, because we want people to enjoy the process of creating and ordering their own custom apparel.
NJMOM: What is your background in your business expertise?
Gwyn: When my son started kindergarten, I decided that I was ready to go back to work, but I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted to do with my background in marketing and graphic design. My boyfriend, a residential designer by trade, attended Savanah College of Art and Design and had always been interested in graphic design and screen printing. Since the housing market crashed, things were less than stellar in his field and he decided it was time for a change. When we learned that the local screen printer was selling their business, we jumped at the opportunity. Between my boyfriend’s knowledge of screen printing and production (not to mention he’s super artistic), combined with my graphic design and organization skills, we had a good mix of knowledge, skills, and capability to launch a successful screen printing business.
NJMOM: What is your favorite part about your business?
Gwyn: My true passion is creating original designs for our own line of apparel, which we sell right in our retail shop. My favorite part of our business is seeing our products come to life from designs on paper, to digital renders, and finally, being printed on a t-shirt. When customers choose to buy the finished product, it’s the icing on the cake. A lot of our inspiration for our baby wear comes from our one-year old little girl, and our seven-year old is quite the card and gives us plenty of print-worthy ideas. Some of my favorite original designs have been the “Locally Grown” and “Girl Power” baby bodysuits, and “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost” for adult shirts.
NJMOM: ‘Being green’ is so important in the printing industry. How do you practice sustainability in your business?
Gwyn: We currently use soy-based solvents and take off as much ink as we can from the screens, so barely anything is going down the drain. Although it’s a huge cost commitment, we are exploring all of our options to become even more eco-friendly, including looking at water-based inks. We are also making the switch to Allmade shirts in our retail shop where we can. Allmade shirts are produced with USA-grown organic cotton, recycled polyester, and modal from sustainably harvested beech trees, and gives a living wage to Haitian employees.
NJMOM: What are you most proud of in your career?
Gwyn:
We take great pride in our work, and people are noticing.
When customers tell us that they heard Press 10 is the go-to place for really soft, stylish shirts with beautiful prints, I realized that we must be doing something right. It’s a good feeling to know that we have a reputation in the community for producing high-quality printing on high-quality apparel.
NJMOM: What is something few people know about you?
Gwyn: The name “Press 10” is actually a play on words for “Preston,” my son’s name, plus the fact that we use a hand screen printing press for the production of our apparel (most screen printers use automated presses).
NJMOM: What can we expect from you in the new year?
Gwyn: We are ready for a bigger and better 2018 by preparing to expand our retail space and renovate our entire shop. Currently we run DIY workshops that are fun for ages five to 102 throughout the year – you color your own design using special paper and crayons and then we heat press it onto a shirt that you get to take home – but we are gearing up to open a studio/school where people can learn about the art of screen printing, and even rent press time to print their own shirts. We will offer screen printing classes and even a course that teaches design in Adobe Illustrator for t-shirt art and heat transfer vinyl printing. There is nothing like this in the area and many people have inquired about learning how to make their own shirts. These programs will be a great way for customers to learn about the process through a hands-on experience using professional equipment to print apparel themselves. We are so excited about this new venture.
NJMOM: What is the best piece of advice your mom ever gave to you?
Gwyn: The best piece of advice my mother ever gave me was, “Always do your best. When you’ve done your best, you feel good about yourself.” I love the sense of satisfaction that comes with knowing you gave it your all, whether or not the outcome was for the better.
NJMOM: Do you have a favorite quote you live by?
Gwyn: My favorite quote is by Helen Keller:
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.
Life is more about having experiences and making memories than by acquiring physical things. Spending time with family is my favorite thing to do. When you own your own business, you never take that precious time for granted.
NJMOM: What are your favorite things to do in New Jersey with your family?
Gwyn: There’s nothing better than going down to the shore and walking on the boardwalk in Ocean City. Smelling the salt air and listening to the waves crash on the beach while eating boardwalk fries with a fresh-squeezed lemonade is one the best things about summer. We also spend a lot of summer weekends at Lake Kandle in Sewell. This local swim club’s lake, pools, and people make the summer so fun that it seems to pass too quickly. In the fall, we love to go to local South Jersey farms for apple picking, pumpkin patches, and hayrides.
NJMOM: What is the best part about being a mom for you?
Gwyn: The best part about motherhood is seeing the joy for life in my children’s faces. At its core, seeing them happy makes me happy.
NJMOM: What are your favorite businesses in New Jersey?
Gwyn: We are located on Broadway Avenue in Uptown Pitman, which is ideal since I am a bit of a foodie. Uptown is full of delicious bakeries, breweries, and eateries. All of the shops here are amazing, but some of my favorites include Alaura Kitchen for the best homemade ice cream, Thai Burger Cafe for authentic Thai food and gourmet burgers, Dia De Los Burritos, and Chloe’s Creme Puffs. My son’s favorite shop is Crossroads Comics and Collectibles – it’s his go-to locale for Star Wars toys and Lego mini figures.
NJMOM: Where do you reside and vacation in New Jersey?
Gwyn: Living and working in the small, family-friendly borough of Pitman, we love that we can walk to work and encounter friendly faces along the way. Our town has so many fun events throughout the year, including Fourth Fridays, The Pitman Potter Festival, Pitman Craft Shows, a Food Truck Festival, and the widely-celebrated Independence Day Parade.
NJMOM: What advice might you have for a fellow NJMOMpreneur who is just starting out?
Gwyn: My advice to other NJMOMpreneurs is to have perseverance! Finding the right balance between work and home life is the key to success. When things seem hard, don’t give up; keep trying, and if things aren’t working, don’t be afraid to try something new. Most importantly, ask for help! Being a mom doesn’t mean you have to do it all – accepting help from family and friends makes balancing life and work that much easier.
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