Halloween Costume Ideas for 2023

This year Halloween has the potential to be great, as the day falls on a Saturday, which means you can have a late night with the kids or with friends watching scary movies and eating way too much candy until you pass out from a sugar crash. While a lot of things are different this year, we can all still dress up and make it fun. We’ll take you through some simple and on-a-budget costume ideas to stay in the spirit even if there is no Halloween parade this year.

Costume Ideas

If you’re anything like us, every year you get caught off guard once this time of year arrives and you end up panicking trying to find a last-minute costume for a zoom Halloween party. Here are some ideas that you may find helpful in the search for that great costume that took little money, effort, and time to put together.

Custom T-Shirts make great DIY Halloween costumes

While not the most original idea, it’s the perfect last-minute choice and the cost is much less than a traditional costume. So, you will be saving money and time! a t-shirt costume is a simple and practical idea for a costume that, if dressed correctly, can be a big hit at the annual Halloween party. For 2020, especially, you will most likely spend the night at home but this doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun and dress up!

A few things to consider when coming up with a costume t-shirt:

1. Humor - Always be funny! Do you like to make people laugh? find a way to still be funny with a simple t-shirt costume by

2. Cleverness - A play on words is always a hit! a clever way of using a word or phrase will almost always get a chuckle from people.

3. Originality - Make sure you’re the only one at the party with your costume, try to be creative and reference pop culture or current events.

4. Relativity - There is nothing worse than having to explain the joke. Make sure your costume is something people will understand and relate to.
   

Here we will show you a few fun ideas that have all the elements needed for an awesome last-minute Halloween costume for your “chill-at-home Halloween party”.

Nerd Tee

The classic nerd costume. We all have a pair of old thick framed glasses. Buy this shirt and put on the glasses and you’re good to go!

BUY

Clever Tee

Wittiness will always get you brownie points. Everyone likes a clever t-shirt!

BUY

Tuxedo Tee

This shirt tuxedo costume allows for some versatility. You could be a magician or a fancy man at a fancy dinner party. Grab a top hat and some dashing white gloves and you'll be ready.

BUY

Hillbilly Tee

Barbed wire tattoos, flask in the pocket, corncob pipe, and a bandana. All you need is a mullet and a trucker hat and you’re good to go.

BUY

Pregnant Costume Tee

Have a bun in the oven? Most costume won’t fit? No problem! This t-shirt will scare all the little trick-or-treaters.

BUY

Star Trek Tee

Now this is an effortless cool costume! Throw this shirt on, slick back your hair and put on some black pants and you’re in with the trekkies at the Zoom party.

BUY

Costume Masks

As we continue to battle Covid-19, it is important to follow the CDC guidelines for this holiday. Wearing a mask will have to be part of your costume if you are taking your kids trick-or-treating, or if you’re an adult that still enjoys childhood traditions. Whatever the scenario, we decided to list some of our favorite Covid-19 friendly face masks for Halloween.

Fun Halloween Face Masks for 2020

Ron Swanson

Everyone loves the show Parks and Recreation, and Ron Swanson is an iconic character. Just put on a suit, slick back your hair and put on this mask!

Buy

Kevin - Home Alone

You can’t think of a more iconic movie from the 90’s. This scene from home alone printed on a mask is genius!

Buy

Zombie

The classic Halloween costume! get this mask and skip all the special effects makeup.

Buy

Hocus Pocus Witches

The best Disney Halloween movie ever made! The Sanderson sisters are the most iconic witches, and these face masks prove that!

Buy

LED light-up Face Mask

If you’re going for a more futuristic look, this face mask is it! Some of the features are great and you can use it for multiple occasions.

Buy

Plague Doctor Mask

We couldn’t think of a better occasion to wear this than for Halloween during a pandemic. This steam punk mask is great for a simple costume idea.

Buy

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Custom Design Embroidery Tips and Trends

Embroidering a logo or a design on a t-shirt or polo-style shirt automatically elevates your brand above common apparel. Embroidered logos are most often done on polo-style shirts for big company corporations or on hats with your favorite sports team name or mascot. We’ve seen a popularity increase in this trend among streetwear and modern fast fashion clothing brands. In this article, we will take you through some tips and tricks when designing a logo or a graphic for embroidery.

Design

Lines:

The thickness or weight of the lines on the logo or the graphic should be thick, as stitching creates a thicker line than ink does. Designs that may look great on paper can be hard-to-read on fabric. Thread is of a standard thickness, approx. 0.4mm. and tiny strokes for emphasis and small lettering are often not possible in embroidery.

Colors:

Repeated color changes within the design can result in the thread breaking during the embroidery process. When designing, try to avoid changes in the line weight for each color. This is what we strive for when converting a design into a stitch format.

Shading:

Color shading or blending is easier to when screen-printing than with thread, therefore, it is not recommended to have a design with different shades of color that merge. However, color blending is not uncommon as there are a few ways to achieve this. Check out the different ways color blending can be done.

Letter Sizing:

Line weight also applies to letter size, you will want to make sure your front or text is the right thickness, lettering below 5mm rarely embroiders well. By designing something bold, clear, and simple you are guaranteed a nice embroidered shirt. It is also important to keep in mind that the sizing of the font will differ depending on whether it’s written in upper or lowercase lettering. Lowercase lettering is approximately 70% of the height of uppercase lettering. Keep this in mind when ensuring that your lettering is contained in the parameters.

0.25'' is equivalent to approximately 36pt, and the letters will also have the necessary thickness. But this depends on the font. We recommend using simple fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Myriad pro.

Details:

When embroidering on fabric with a pile or heavy texture (eg. Polar fleece, terry toweling, etc.) thin lines can often sink into the fabric pile or texture. When sewing on a cap, detailed outlining is often unsuccessful as the register is often lost in mid-design. See tips to avoid shifting and gaping.

Size

Simple and small is the way to go! A big embroidery piece on a shirt is not only a bad design choice but depending on the material, the embroidery might cause the shirt to look deformed around the design over time. If the design is for a jacket, it may look better big, but it also depends on the placement.

Fabrics

This image shows how embroidery may cause some fabrics to bunch up around the design after a single wash.

Embroidery can be applied to most knit fabrics such as Polo, Lacoste, and Penguin, as well as most outerwear and denim. The fabric you should avoid is cotton, after the first wash cotton will cause the fabric around the embroidered piece to bunch and therefore making the garment unwearable, unless that’s the look you’re going for! Check out embroidery fabrics 101.

Placement

The most common placement on a shirt is the top-left chest area, while for outerwear and denim it is common to see embroidery on the back of a jacket, jeans, or even collars. When designing apparel, placement is very important, therefore, this should be considered when submitting your design to your embroidery shop.

Trends

Patches

Embroidered patches have also become very popular in the year 2020. As they say, history repeats itself, and in this decade we have seen styles from the ’90s make a comeback. Patches of your favorite band or that classic American tattoo style heart design with a ribbon around it with a catchy phrase are all the rage now. Embroidered patches are commonly applied to denim jackets or jeans but are also commonly applied to flat brim hats or sweatshirts.

Shoes

Shoe giants Nike and Adidas both have customization options for a lot of their classic shoes. One of those customization features is embroidered text. Personalized embroidery on shoes is not as common but as we embrace the ‘90s more, they seem to also be making a comeback.

At Family Industries, we try to help our customers by providing design consultations and placement recommendations. Let us know if you need help!

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

The Process of Printmaking

When looking at the history of printmaking, we see evidence of this artform going back thousands of years and in many different cultures. The art of printmaking has evolved in the types of techniques used to achieve prints, and not only on paper but on other surfaces such as wood, metal, and glass. In this article, we will take you through the different techniques and applications as well as a little bit of the history behind this art form.

What is Printmaking?

Printmaking is an art form consisting of the production of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, parchment, plastic, or other support, by various techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision of or by the hand of the artist.

5 Types Of Printmaking

Woodcut

Woodcut Print by WoodcutEmporium

Woodcut printmaking was first used as a means to print books and create repeating patterns for textiles, and it eventually turned into an art form. The process of creating a woodcut print is by carving out negative space from a surface, leaving only the lines and shapes that you want to appear in the print, and then coat the remaining surface with ink. The next step is to place the inked surface on a piece of paper, and finally, create a print by placing pressure on the back of the block - with a roller, printing press, or other tools – to transfer the ink onto the page.

Engraving

St. Jerome in His Study (1514), an engraving by Northern Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer

Engraving is the oldest and most difficult form of printmaking. Unlike relief printmaking (where ink is placed onto a surface) engraving involves making incisions or grooves in a plate, covering the plate with ink, and wiping the surface, so that the ink remains in the grooves. Then, the plate is placed in a printing press, which forces the paper into the plate’s grooves to pick up the ink. When the paper and plate are peeled apart, you’ll see that the ink has adhered to the paper.
The incisions in an engraving are entirely produced by carving into the plate by hand, which is why it’s one of the most challenging printmaking methods to master. The technique typically calls for the use of a burin - a steel rod with a sharp, oblique tip attached to a rounded top for the hand to firmly grasp onto – to draw into a metal plate.

Etching

Graphic Etching “Surfeit” by DariaSobieskaGrafika

Etching is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines or areas are incised using acid into a metal plate in order to hold the ink. In etching, the plate can be made of iron, copper, or zinc.

The etching process involves incising marks into a plate through a process called biting. First, you cover a metal plate with a wax-like layer called the “ground.” Then, you draw your design onto the plate with a needle; no pressure is needed as you only need to scratch through the surface of the ground. When the drawing is finished, you coat the back of the plate with a varnish, then immerse the plate into acid. As the plate lays in the acid bath, the acid will eat away at the marks you made, creating fine incisions.

Lithography

Lithography Print “Tea stall” by Chetanartindia

Lithographs, which were created in 1798 in Munich, are made with a large slab of limestone or metal plate and require an intensive process of developing an image on the stone or plate.

To begin making a lithograph first you need to prep the surface of the stone with grit, a sand-like dust, and a levigator, which is a heavy circle of steel that is attached to a handle. With some force, you start spinning the steel across the surface to grind it down a millimeter at a time. This is a crucial step for leveling the stone, which will provide an even print.

Next, the stone needs to be sensitized by dampening it and applying an acidic liquid across the entire surface. Then, the solution is rinsed off, and when dry, you apply a substance called “gum arabic” around the edges to create a border for the print area. Now you draw your image onto the stone with greasy tools such as a lithographic crayon or ink.

Once complete, you begin the transfer of the image onto the stone by an intensive process that involves layering talcum powder, resin, liquid-etch solution, gum arabic, and mineral spirits. Finally, you will ink the stone and print the image with help of a press.

All of these steps play a role in transforming the surface of the stone so that whenever a mark with a greasy material was made, the ink would stick to the surface of the stone.

Screen Print

Screen Print - “Her” Illustration by Raphael Kelly Printed by Family Industries

Screen printmaking originated in China as a way of transferring designs onto fabrics, following this, the Japanese began using simple stenciling techniques as a way to create imagery. They would cut stencils out of paper and mesh was woven from human hair. They used stiff brushes to force ink through the mesh onto the fabric.

In the 1930s in New York, a group of artists began experimenting with screenprinting as an artistic medium by applying it onto paper. They coined the term ‘serigraphy’. Later in the 1960s Pop artists such as Peter Blake and Andy Warhol used screen printing as an essential element to creating their artwork. These artists established screen printmaking as a medium for creating contemporary art by popularising the method.

What is the process of Printmaking?

Screen Printing, also known as silkscreen printing is unique in the sense that the print isn’t made directly from the surface of the block or plate; instead, the image is printed through a screen mesh using stencils, and within this medium, there are a few techniques used to achieve specific prints. People new to screen printing often first learn how to create hand-cut stencils. In this method, you use an X-acto blade to cut out a design from a sheet of self-adhesive plastic film. Then, the shapes are positioned on the film to the bottom of a mesh screen and place on top of the paper.

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At Family Industries we practice the art of screen printmaking, using stencils and exclusively on French Paper, the gold standard for screen printed posters. Screen printmaking is ideal for high-quality posters, art prints, and other types of flatstock. Screen printed posters are always a hit and are a great way to make small or large runs of your custom artwork. Whether you’re a band who needs tour posters or an artist looking for a premium-quality replication, the team at Family Industries takes great pride in our poster printing department.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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For questions, send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

Covid-19 Continues To Disrupt Supply Chains

The consequences of the pandemic when it comes to supply and manufacturing have been long lasting and it may be a while before we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. With the delays in transit times, shortages, low employment and more, many of us have had to practice patience or look for alternatives to continue business as usual. We’ll go through all the shortages that many of us are facing and give you a inside look into how it is affecting Los Angeles print shops like ours.

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The Domino Effect

In early 2021 as covid restrictions began lifting, we started to notice the biggest change in supply and demand. People’s spending habits not only shifted back to normal but in the case of eCommerce the changes show an astonishing increase in sales, which created more demand as the supply was running out.

More notably, we are seeing this play out with restaurants who are not only having a hard time hiring and retaining employees but are also experiencing a shortage in supply and slow shipping.

Read US consumer sentiment and behaviors during the coronavirus crisis

Rising Costs

With low inventory and manufacturing issues coupled with inflation many industries are raising manufacturing costs. You may be seeing this most notably with the price of food at your local supermarket.

For print shops across the US, costs have increased and we believe they will increase more as shortages continue. As an apparel business, you may be faced with the tough decision to either raise your prices or look for alternative styles that match your previous COG.

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How is The Shortages Affecting Apparel?

According to Forbe’s consumer report on apparel, the industry welcomes the rise in prices but remains tenuous. For a business like a print shop that offers t-shirts and hats, the story is a bit different. As a print shop and fulfillment business, we are in a tough position, however, we strive to work with our clients on finding solutions and weathering the storm.

Where do the shortages start?

The supply of garments are mostly imported from countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; where the Covid-19 restrictions are tougher and employers are forced to minimize their work force to avoid further spread of the virus.

Data from 2020

Besides the delays in manufacturing, we found that the primary reason for the shortages is delays in shipping. Because materials such as cotton is grown in one country and processed in another as well as the actual creation of the garment and then shipped to you (or us) for printing. The various stage of making apparel coupled with slow transit times are causing much of the shortages.

Furthermore, because of the increase in demand across the board, countries like China are having a hard time keeping up with the shipping due to delays of cargo containers. In 2020 containers were not being shipped back at the same rate they were arriving to our US ports, this has created a bottleneck effect and is contributing to delays.

In addition to delays, the cost of shipping containers has increased from $1,500 in early 2020 to now in 2021 at almost $9,000 per 40ft container. This is yet another reason why costs have gone up.

Read more about Why The Pandemic Has Disrupted Supply Chains

Unable To Meet Demand

During the early months into the pandemic, online shopping grew 32.4% and has overall helped the eCommerce sector for most industries including small independent apparel brands. Young people are moving away from traditional fast fashion retail stores and seeking unknown and more exclusive apparel brands.

Source: Digital Commerce 360 analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data

Due to high demand, we recommend to make a plan and order your apparel NOW while styles are still in stock or pre-order apparels in anticipation of further shortages.

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Conclusion

DON’T WAIT - Order what you need now or in advance to minimize wait times and secure inventory.

FIND ALTERNATIVES - Should specific garments not be available, talk with your screen printer or supplier to find the best alternative for what you are looking for. This issue may persist well into the following year, so finding an alternative could be your best bet.

RAISE YOUR PRICES - With inflation on the rise and the obvious increase in cost, it is a good idea to begin raising your prices incrementally and in anticipation for overall costs increasing.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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eCommerce: Apparel Fulfillment Service

Fulfillment for a small clothing brand can be a challenging task, especially if you are receiving hundreds of orders in a single day and you’re competing with larger operations that may have more resources to get the orders out the door faster. In the age of instant gratification, small brands are having a harder time ensuring customer satisfaction when it comes to shipping efficiency. At Family Industries, we offer a solution to all of your fulfillment needs.

How Does It Work?

As a full-service print shop, we feature white-label fulfillment which means we not only print your merch but we also pick, pack, and ship your orders directly to the buyer. We also include any other promotional items such as pins or stickers and branded packaging. This allows you to focus on your business strategy and your creative process to push your sales, while we worry about getting those orders to your customers.

Integrations

We can connect directly to your e-commerce store and sync your product SKUs to begin receiving orders. Integration time may vary and depend on where the e-commerce store is hosted. In most cases, this can be done in a single day.

Invoicing / Restocking

We invoice your monthly for your orders and services, we also track your inventory so re-stocking is easy and we ensure you’re never sold out of your most popular items.

Client Services

We’re always here if you have questions or concerns, our goal is to ensure 100% satisfaction with all the brands we work with. While we don’t directly contact your customers, we are always here to address your concerns.

Shipping & Returns

We offer white-label shipping which means your brand logo, name, address, and phone number will be on the shipping labels as well as any other promotional items included in the package. We simply do the work for you ensuring tracking information is available for your client by alerting them via email.

Benefits of Fulfillment Services

Time

If you’re like most business owners, you have your hands in every aspect of your operation. As you continue to grow your brand, tasks such as shipping become a daily time-consuming chore that must be done in a timely manner. Most start-up brands eventually run into difficulties when it comes to shipping on-time and this also becomes something that can damage your brand and reputation. Not to mention, in order to survive you also need to be constantly innovating to retain those customers, therefore, time becomes of the essence. You will need to dedicate more time designing and/or scaling your business, and for this reason, you will need fulfillment to be done and taken care of in a timely manner.

Space

One of the many pain points of an eCommerce business is inventory and the capacity to store those items. With fulfillment services, you have the freedom to keep as much stock as possible, ensuring that you will not run out of the popular items in your catalog. This also prevents “out of stock” products and diminishes the amount of “stock availability” inquiries from potential buyers.

Shipping Rates

In many cases, fulfillment services will provide you with their negotiated shipping rates. If you’re a brand that is just getting started, chances are, your shipping rates will be high and you don’t have the leverage that some of these bigger companies have with a long record of packages shipped. In order to be able to negotiate a discounted rate, as a business owner, you would need to show the carrier that you have the volume they would like to see in order to offer you those discounts. With fulfillment services, discounted rates are almost always offered and can be highly beneficial economically.

Quality Assurance

Because printing and shipping are done in the same location, the quality of the product tends to be the main priority, and inspections are done prior to drop-shipping. The fulfillment process requires quality checks and ensures your buyers are happy with their purchase.

Re-Stocking

A fulfillment service company will keep track of your inventory and replenish it as needed to ensure you never run out. Restocking is generally done per SKU, calculating sales velocity and production time to ensure restocking is done on time before running out. This calculation can also be adjusted depending on the seasonality and other factors such as special sales days or in preparation for the holidays.

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If you’re thinking about using a fulfillment service, hit us up!



Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Meet A Family Member - Nick Perry

Each month we bring you inside our warehouse to introduce you to a member of our Family.

Nick Perry

Shipping Manager

When most people hear the word “finishing”, they likely assume things have wrapped up. For our Shipping Manager Nick Perry, “Finishing” is where it all begins. Surrounded every single day by boxes, you’d think Nick would go a little crazy, but it’s actually quite the opposite. He handles his work with the type of calm you’d expect from someone who worked on a golf course, but in lieu of a quiet stretch of well manicured grass, Nick works in a bustling warehouse downtown Los Angeles.

Everything we do here at Family Industries starts in a box, and if even one of those boxes is missing it could mean the difference between a job getting done on time or a massive delay. While there’s nothing inherently sexy about handling the day-to-day logistics of shipping and receiving all of our materials, Nick does it all with the smoothness and ease of a well timed jazz solo. Nothing that comes in or goes out that isn’t within Nick’s purview. It’s because of his tireless work ethic and confidence in what he does that we never find ourselves hitting the panic button. There’s a lot of pressure that’s unavoidably placed on the Shipping and Receiving department, as much of our work is dependent on it, but Nick somehow remains cool, calm, and collected. It’s a gift really.

We couldn’t be more excited to finally introduce you to the man behind the boxes: Nick Perry…

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What do you do at Family Industries?

I'm the Shipping Manager. I oversee all incoming orders and then make sure they are correctly shipped to the customer. I have also been working to help expand our flatstock printing department to accommodate more fine art elements. Most importantly, I bring the donuts on Friday.

What piece of clothing that you own could you not live without?

Give me a super soft, raglan style sweatshirt and I'm happy.

At the moment, what are your top three songs?

1. “Blacknuss” - Rahsaan Roland Kirk

2. “Say Goodbye” - Tonio K.

3. “Of Men and Demons” - Quincy Jones

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“THE OVER-SHARE QUESTIONNAIRE”

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SHOW US YOUR WORK (OUTSIDE OF WORK)!

I'm always trying express a truth, either with straightforward representation or the silliness of the absurd, sometimes using both at the same time.

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AND FINALLY,

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN ONE GIF…

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