More Than You Think
There's a common joke among chefs that it takes a village to make a good meal—from the farmer to the truck driver to the line cook. Oddly enough, it's not that different when it comes to making a Pure Muskoka T-shirt. Let's peel back the curtain on this process, because once you know, you realize its not just a simple t-shirt.
First off, by the time a T-shirt lands in our Muskoka shop, it has already been on quite the journey. The raw fabric's been spun, dyed, cut, and sewn—tasks that span a few different locations and countless hands. But our story begins when these shirts hit our doorstep, ready for transformation into something uniquely Pure Muskoka.
Here’s a rundown:
- Tagging Up: Every tee gets a little mark of authenticity, our Pure Muskoka hem tag. These tags aren't just made; they're crafted by our partners in Toronto, handled with care before even reaching our local seamstress. She meticulously sews each one onto the hem, inspecting the shirt for any flaws along the way — a guardian of quality.
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Branding Inside Out: Next, we add the inside tag with sizing and care instructions. Post tag printing, these shirts go through a conveyor dryer, curing the ink to stand the test of time and many, many washes.
We're going to skip the design process where a designer has gone through ideation to concept, to final art. - Screen Prep: Each colour in our design requires a separate screen in the printing process. We start with digital artwork, then print each colour onto clear film. These films are laid onto screens coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, hit with UV light, then washed out to reveal the design. Every screen is a masterpiece, prepped and dried before it even touches a shirt.
- Precision Printing: The screens are loaded onto our printing press, each meticulously aligned down to fractions of a millimetre. This precision ensures that when the squeegees pull the ink across, the design is flawless. It’s a dance of colour, executed by skilled hands, often requiring two people to run smoothly—one to load the shirt, another to operate the press,
- Curing the Canvas: Once printed, a third person catches each shirt and passes it through our conveyor dryer, where the ink is cured making the design as durable as the adventures you’ll wear it on. At the tunnel's end, another inspection is made on each piece, a final check before it journeys onward.
- Ready for Retail: Back at the store, every T-shirt undergoes a final inspection, folded with precision, and sorted for either the shelves or direct delivery to you, our Pure Muskoka family.
- Into Your Hands: Finally, the shirt is either picked up in-store or packed for online orders, handled lastly by the good folks at Canada Post who deliver it to your door.
From start to finish, if we tally up everyone involved—from the builders of the shirt to our team at Pure Muskoka, from the delivery crews to the retail staff—it's safe to say each T-shirt is brought to life by at least 10-15 people. Each one of these individuals plays a crucial role in crafting what ends up as more than just a T-shirt; it’s a piece of Muskoka, a token of our shared love for this special place.
So, next time you slip on one of our tees, maybe give a little nod to the community woven into its very fabric. It’s not just a shirt; it’s a story of connection, craftsmanship, and a whole lot of heart.
