Let’s start at the beginning. The owner’s name is Joyce and her husband’s name is Ralph. Ralph and another gentleman worked together to develop a connector. The connector would connect the computer to the transfer printer. This eliminated the copier step (copying the computer print out to the transfer). This process allowed for color printing. Color printers weren’t available at the time. The only way to get color was to go to a big print shop. About the same time period T-shirt shops were just coming out with the black and white dot photo prints.
The idea came to Joyce and Ralph, that while everyone else was selling black and white photos on T-shirts, they could offer color. They started out in California May 1988. Ralph went to craft fairs and such. It was discovered that people at craft fairs aren’t willing to part with $20 for a shirt. A protto-type store was opened November of 1990 with the intent to franchise.

They did quite well with Christmas sales and did OK in January. When desert storm happened, T-shirt shops saw it as an opportunity to make money. Joyce and Ralph chose to sell the desert storm shirts and give the profits to a Veterans hospital. This choice game them a lot of free publicity in newspapers. People would come in and buy the shirt and see what else was offered.

A partner opened a franchised store in a Mall. The rent was three times the rent of the first shop. There was not enough traffic and there were employee costs. The mall store went out of business within six months. The partner left the business. Joyce and Ralph had to make their shop work; it was the family’s only source of income.

Joyce’s dad, who lived in Evart Michigan, became ill. Joyce said it was her God-given right and responsibility to take care of her dad. She wanted her children to know her dad before he passed on plus she knew her mother would need help with the 10-acre homestead. The decision was made to move to Michigan in 1998.

The T-Shirt & Tole Shop actually strated in Midland before the family arrived. They wanted to advertise ahead of time so that upon their arrival there would already be profitable work to do. There was an 800# and a PO Box, but still needed was a local phone number. Ameritech would not give a local number without a location. The couple was in California with a map of Midland in front of them. They had never been to Midland. The corner of Eastman and Saginaw Road looked good so that is the location that was given to the phone company. They got their local number 631-5000. Normally you have to pay a phone company extra for an easy number to recall, but this was the next number available so it was received at regular rates. Joyce says God’s hand was in that.

All their belongings, both personal and business were packed into a semi truck. The instructions given to the driver were to take it to Midland and in 3 days he’d be told where to unload it. It would have to be unloaded in an area-zoned commercial, because it was a full size semi.

When Joyce and Ralph arrived in Michigan, they dropped their three children off at her parents and drove to Midland to find their business location. The store would need north facing windows so the shirts would not sun fade. It needed to have at least two doors, one for customers, and one for delivery and pick up. The desired store size was to be at least 1,000 square feet. No realtor was involved; they went to the corner of Eastman and Saginaw Road and started looking. The T-Shirt & Tole Shop’s current location: 4955 Eastman Avenue was available. It had the accommodations the business needed; the size is about 1,100 square feet. The lease was negotiated their first day in Michigan and two days later their belongings and inventory arrived.

The business ownership was officially changed from a partnership (Joyce and Ralph) to a sole-proprietorship. A small business owned by a female opened the doors to government contracts & small business loans, although, they didn’t end up needing one.

Work is taken in based on the date it is needed. It will not be accepted if she knows the deadline can’t be met. “It’s good business to turn down work rather than miss a delivery date.”

The T-Shirt & Tole Shop is here to support Ministries. Joyce advertises on Christian Radio stations; stating she can give to them without loosing. Also that is the market she wants to reach. She doesn’t print offensive things. She owns the company and it’s company policy not to print anything anti-God or X-rated. She has been told by some, “but it is for an adult.” To which she answers, “But my children will read it.”

When someone brings in their own shirt, the results are not guaranteed. Some materials don’t work as well as others. Joyce is up-front, “This may not work, the shirt could be ruined, I’m not paying for a replacement, do you still want me to try.” There’s a small contract on her order-form, which covers this, and copyright laws.

Donations are made to schools and discounts are given to non-profit organizations when someone comes into the store, but not when requests come in the mail. This way she had personal contact and when the person comes in he or she can see what else is offered. Joyce hopes that the schools will recognize she supports them and maybe will return the support by giving her business.

When asked what segment of the Midland market she has, Joyce says she has the complete gift market, meaning the single-piece-custom shirt order. Other businesses require bulk orders. The single piece order is what her business is built on. Most bulk orders happen because she has contact with the group in one way or another.

The first part of the business name is almost self-explanatory. “The T-Shirt” there is a full catalogue you can order from – not just T-shirts. Professional office wear and outerwear are also available. Decorations, photos, or words can be added to a shirt by embroidery or screen printing. The second part of the business name, “& Tole Shop,” takes a little more defining.

Tole painting is a style of decorative painting, which originated in Scandinavia. It used to be done only on tin. Tin-ware and Tole-ware are inner changeable words. In the store, you can see Joyce’s handiwork. The work is an expression of the beauty within Joyce’s heart. There’s a lesson to be learn in telling the difference between hand painted work and tole style hand painted work (both styles are sold in the store). The tole work is done with a single brush stroke to make a petal or part of an item. She does high quality work. The ornaments are painted on both sides and the boxes are painted inside and out. There is also some 3-D style work, for example; one painted on a box is of a rose resting on sheer material (It looks real!).

Original Source: Bradford, Nettie. "More Than Just a Tole Tale." Oct. 2002.

© 2007 Seus Productions