2021 Year in Review

It feels like just two weeks ago that we sat down to look back at 2020, but it’s been closer to 52. Over here at Custom Ink, we’ve been busily working away, increasing our product catalog, adding new templates, pieces of art, and fonts to our Design Lab so you can have even more options for creating a great custom design, celebrating our customers’ accomplishments, and helping you raise money for the causes you care about which has had such a positive impact on so many communities. We also won a few workplace awards, launched a fundraising partnership, and acquired a cool company to join us in helping make sure that you have what you need to adapt and build your communities, feel connected, and make your moments more meaningful.

Swag.com is Now Part of Custom Ink!

Ending the year on a high note, Custom Ink recently acquired the custom gifting company Swag.com. We’re excited to join forces with such a great company. “With Swag.com, we’ll help organizers and organizations meet the really important need of sustaining a sense of connection and community no matter where people are located,” said Marc Katz, Cofounder & CEO of Custom Ink. “Nothing creates the feeling of pride and connection like custom gear, and Swag.com has set a new standard for easy and intuitive gifting of high quality swag. There is amazing alignment of values between our companies, and we’re excited to build and extend our platforms together.” Read the press release.

Advancement Project Fundraising Partnership

This past year, we partnered with the next generation multi-racial civil rights organization Advancement Project to raise money and awareness for their work fighting systemic injustices. They raised nearly nine thousand dollars and got the word out about their cause by selling custom shirts designed by the team here at Custom Ink. Read more about them and their work.

#11 Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail™

We are proud to share that we were named number 11 in the Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail™. Fortune cited this quote in our listing, “The sense of belonging that is established is so refreshing and encouraging. All walks of people are welcomed and loved. I can always be myself here. The executives are consistently engaged with the workers at our sites. I feel seen and cared for.” 

With 31 retail locations and more on the way, we’re bringing Custom Ink to communities across the country. At a Custom Ink store, you can come in for an appointment and get personalized recommendations on design, product choice, and ordering. Touch and feel products and get help from our friendly store reps. 

#40 The Washington Post’s Top Workplaces

Each year, the Washington Post polls employees of companies based in the Washington, D.C. area and ranks those with the highest scores on their Top Workplaces list. This year, we landed at number 40, due, in part, to team testimonials like this one. “’Each and every day, I feel like I have the potential to make a difference in the world, and I am surrounded by people who want to see that happen as well,’ an employee wrote in the survey. ‘It’s a company of optimists who care about the work they do and the people they work with.’”

#82 Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces

This year Newsweek started a new list, Most Loved Workplaces, which they say celebrates and recognizes “how employees feel about their organizations. There’s a big difference, after all, between workers getting a kick out of free Doritos and whether [employees] truly love and feel in sync with the company they work for.” Newsweek cited our Inkternship program, an internal internship opportunity that temporarily matches team members with other departments so that they may get exposure to other experiences, as one of the reasons we’re a “most loved” workplace. “To keep things interesting, and personal growth going, the company gives employees a two-to-three month rotations in different parts of the business. Helps with collaboration, too.”

Shared 30+ Customer Stories

We shared and celebrated stories about the great things our customers are doing with custom gear telling the stories of everyone from the 4.5 acre 5R Farm in Oregon that sells handmade products with the help of Ringo, their t-shirt wearing turkey, to the not for profit organization Outdoor Afro that inspires Black connections and leadership in nature.

Helped Raise 12 Million+ Dollars for Causes

Our wonderful customers and their supporters raised more than twelve million dollars for causes in 2021! We see you supporting your communities and causes through our Fundraising platform and are so proud of the work you’re doing. Let’s see if we can top that number in 2022!

Added 700+ New Products

The Merchandising team is always looking for new quality products because we know the more variety we can provide, the more likely you are to find the perfect products to customize for all of your groups. We’ve added some of your favorite brands including Roots, Swig, Vineyard Vines, Nautica, Helly Hansen, Bose, Skullcandy, JBL, Osprey, Thule, Case Logic, Marine Layer, and Nalgene plus a few that you might not know about yet, but you’re sure to come to love. 

Made 4,000+ New Design Elements

The Design Resources team added 250 New Design Templates, 4,500 New Pieces of Art, and 94 New Fonts to our Design Lab giving tons of new elements to experiment with when creating the perfect custom design.

Created 2,000+ Team Names and Slogans

A little added service that we provide is ideas for team names and slogans. Whether you’re looking for the perfect name for your beach rugby team or making shirts for a half marathon and need slogans, we’ve got you covered. We wrote more than 2,000 last year and have years of this stuff, so you’re bound to find what you’re looking for here on our blog.

It’s been a great year, and we’re so excited about all that we’ve been able to do together. As you can imagine, with all the work we’ve been doing we’re about ready for a long winter’s nap, but we’re really just getting started. Thanks for being such an important part of Custom Ink and here’s to 2022!