Custom Ink Bids a Fond Farewell to 2023

Posted By Grant Shumaker —

A picture of a large group of Custom Ink employees huddled together while wearing t-shirts sits above a blank white banner with the number 2023 in it. The image of the group switches to an image of a custom backpack, hat, speaker, water bottle, beanie, and t-shirt on a red background.

2023 has been a year of big changes for everyone here at Custom Ink! We finally came back together in person for our (previously) annual Companywide meeting for the first time since 2019, and it was great to see so many faces—both new and familiar—gathered in support of our mission to connect with our community in new ways. Over the course of this last year, we’ve added tons of new products, launched new ordering tools and services, helped raise money for an awesome array of great causes, shared some wonderful customer stories, and expanded our brick-and-mortar showrooms to even more locations across the country. Meanwhile, our hardworking teams continued to add even more awards to our collection.

As we continue to grow, we’ll never forget the reason for all of our success—you! We owe a huge thank you to the customers and groups who have been beside us all along, as well as the new supporters who are joining us on this journey. All of us here are excited to see what the new year will bring, but before we get there, let’s take a look back at everything we accomplished together this year!

 

An assortment of customized apparel and accessories on a white background.

Added Hundreds of New Products

This year, we expanded our catalog by adding hundreds of new products, bringing our total number of available products to over 4,000 across 100+ categories, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, activewear, hats, bags, and drinkware. We’re excited to offer an exciting selection of products from new brands like Brooks Brothers, Hydro Flask, Stanley, and Wonder Wink, as well as new product lines like Die-cut stickers, awards, patch hats and beanies, and calendars.

 

Examples of new artwork of mascots and new Spanish word art Custom Ink has to offer.

Introduced 5,500 New Design Elements

Over the past year, we’ve added over 5,000 new pieces of art to our Design Lab, including some awesome new Spanish word art, school art for K-12, and some adorable mascot designs. We’ve also created over 400 new design templates for you to use and added 25 new fonts to make your words more fun. We’re always adding more art options, so keep checking back to find the perfect starting place for your next great design!

 

An array of four designs being compared in order to show an improvement being made from the design on the left to create the design on the right.

Created Thousands of New Designs

There’s nothing our team loves more than helping people create custom gear with dazzling designs on it. That’s why we’re proud to have helped bring thousands of custom designs to life, including original custom designs as well as design upgrades. Start your own design in our signature Design Lab, or reach out to our Design Services team for assistance in making your art look amazing.

 

An assortment of custom products with various fundraising causes printed on them.

Helped Raise More Than $8.8M in Fundraising

We love helping customers raise money to support their passion projects—whether they’re raising money to take a band from the garage to the stage, support their community parent-teacher association, or cover a loved one’s important operation. With our simple online fundraising platform, you can elevate a cause you care about while raising awareness through great custom gear. It’s risk and cost-free, and there’s no need to manage inventory or distribution!

 

An image of a custom hoodie and t-shirt next to a computer showing the same items in one of Custom Ink's Online Stores.

Launched 300+ New Online Stores

Since its launch a few years ago, our Online Stores platform has been a favorite way for our customers to share their custom products using a branded digital storefront. This year, we helped customers launch over 300 new Online Stores to boost their brands and keep their teams, groups, and fans connected. 

 

A selection of custom products with various slogans and artwork on them.

Generated 6,000+ Team Names and Slogans

How do you like to pass the time? One of our favorite endeavors is coming up with team names, businesses, and slogans for different organizations and businesses. Whether you’re trying to come up with a name for your book club or trying to light up your new electric company, we’re happy to help you brainstorm with our lists of ideas.

 

Three images of Custom Ink employees assisting customers in stores.

Opened Five New Showrooms

Custom Ink is more than just an online provider of custom gear—we now have 41 showrooms in 15 states (including DC) across the country. Our showrooms focus on community outreach, and our representatives take pride in their work helping local customers bring their ideas to life. Check out our constantly growing list of showroom locations, and keep an eye out for new locations coming next year!

 

An image of a Custom Ink employee assisting a customer in choosing a product. An award for Fortune's Best Workplaces in Retail in 2023 is overlaid on the image.

Earned Recognition for Our Culture

While we focus a lot on what we’re doing for our customers, we take just as much pride in creating a phenomenal culture and community for our Inkers (what we call our team members). That’s why we’re proud to have earned these two distinguished awards in 2023 that help assure us that we’re on the right track. 

#8 Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail™ 2023

We were thrilled to be named #8 on Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Retail™ list.

#63 PEOPLE Companies that Care

We’re always working to make our workplace more inclusive and equitable, and we’re thrilled to see that hard work recognized.

 

Thanks for taking a moment to celebrate everything we’ve done together this last year. We’re excited to share the new changes coming in 2024. If you’d like to take a sneak peek, head on over to our coming trends blog to see what we think is going to be topping the charts in the new year!

Grant is the Senior Copywriter at Custom Ink. He loves stories of all kinds and actively seeks to enthrall everyone around him with exciting tales, even if they’re about everyday events. Outside of storytelling, Grant loves to immerse himself in movies, television, books, and games, as well as go exploring in order to draw inspiration for the worlds in his mind.