Meet Kristina Gibbons | Apparel Decoration

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristina Gibbons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristina, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Our industry is screen printing and embroidery. I don’t think people realize how labor intensive the process is for these items. In screen printing every color in a logo gets a separate screen, every screen is used, reclaimed coated and reused for another logo at a future time. In embroidery every design goes through a process call digitizing which is telling the needle exactly where to stitch, a sample is stitched and depending on what type of product is being stitched there is a different type of stitching.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would say what sets us apart from the others is our spirit! I run a shop that is all women and we are driven to make a difference in our community as well as print the best product for other local businesses, non-profits and schools. We offer high end printing on the best garments and we stand behind our services.

As an entrepreneur, I have grown so much in the last 9 years. I was never told it was going to be easy and it wasn’t. I think an interesting part of the story is when you first start running your own business you have a goal…1 year, 3 year, 5 year…but what happens after you reach your goal in year 5? It took me a couple years after that to really reset who we were and where we were going. Years 5-7 I coasted, with no real vision until I got reignited after attending a trade show. I came home after that with a fire! Now I can lead clearly with a goal in mind and a path of how to get there. It is abundantly clear to my staff where we’re going and it’s made a huge impact, not only in our revenue, but in our culture.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story? I think I want people know that being an entrepreneur takes determination, stamina and great people! Never stop learning and always push yourself to the next level. I want people to know that our brand represents past, present and future…we’re not going anywhere and we will always strive to be the best in our industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Haha, this is a good one! I recently just did this with a friend. I love where we live. Our town is on the Indian River in Florida and we have one of the most beautiful inlets on the East Coast of the US. First thing I would do is take them to our local brewery, Sailfish Brewing Co. It is around the corner from our shop and they are like extended family. We do almost all of their printing and we’ve been intertwined since they started in 2013. Then I would go get the husband and take the boat out for a trip, stop and snorkel and swim at our favorite passage. The water is so beautiful and clear at incoming tide. We are one of the last inlets with blue water…it’s beautiful and full of fish and manatees. Then, we would take the boat to Little Jim Bait and Tackle. It has been around for almost 100 years and has recently won several food challenges. It is literally a shack and people jump off the bridge right next to it into the water. After that, I’d probably take them back to my house and take a walk over to the beach for sunset…we usually take a walk around our neighborhood and beach in the evenings.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would shoutout to the Women’s Conference in Long Beach, CA that was hosted by Maria Shriver and my boss at the time, Jennifer Madden, for opening my eyes. Also, my parents and husband have so much to do with who I am today…I was always supported to take leaps of faith and never allow myself to be held back by gender barriers.

Website: www.varsitysportshop.com

Instagram: @varsitysportshop

Facebook: VarsitySportShop