Jarrod Hennis from Rockford Art Deli (RAD) explains why community-based experiences like a Free Print Day matter for screen printing businesses in this exclusive interview at THREADX 2020. “How many businesses have a line out the door for 8 hours?”, Jarrod said.

From printing a Christmastime Baby Yoda print for 8,000+ people that waited in line for 2 hours to donating 1% of Rockford Art Deli’s gross sales to 1% For The Planet, Jarrod has spearheaded an amazing mission to use his business to spotlight Rockford, Illinois’ community...and push the screen printing industry forward.

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Jarrod asked a poignant question about how print shops could impact their community with events: “When you have 800 people coming in the door, and they all bring in one can of food, what’s that do for the local food pantry?” That’s why he’s been highlighting local nonprofits in Rockford at the most recent Live Print Days.

How do the Live Print Days actually work? Jarrod explained that customers wait outside the shop, then check in the garments they bring. The shop only offers a single-color black print. “They come in, check-in their shirt, then they can watch us print it or watch it come out of the dryer. It’s fast-paced.” The RAD team doesn’t let people print their own shirts. It’s too fast-paced: “It’s 400 shirts an hour.” On a manual screen printing press!

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But Jarrod isn’t just thinking about fun designs to print for Rockford’s local population. He’s thinking about the global impact that screen printing has: “A lot of companies are greenwashing it,” he said candidly. “The garment industry is the second most polluting in the world after the oil industry,” Jarrod explained.

By partnering with Allmade to ensure a sustainable product made ethically, Rockford Art Deli expands the conversation about the impact a seemingly small business can have.

This interview took place at SGIA’s THREADX 2020 in Scottsdale, AZ during February 2020. We were fortunate enough to bring ART BY MATOS and CEDAR CITY PRINTS to the show, and can’t wait for future SGIA events.