Tuesday, May 21st: Forward Merch Printing Hamilton T-Shirts, Weird Al lunchboxes, and everything in between. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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THEY MAKE EVERYTHING FROM SHIRTS TO HAVE, FROM START TO FINISH. -- SHIRTS TO HATS, FROM START TO FINISH. AUDREY: MUSIC, BROADWAY SHOWS, OR SPORTS. CHANCES ARE, YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS WORN A SHIRT CREATED AT FORWARD MERCH. >> WE PRODUCE ABOUT 10,000 SHIRTS PER DAY HERE. THAT IS OUR AVERAGE. ABOUT 10,000 PER DAY. AUDREY: FORWARD MERCH IS LOCATED INSIDE AN INDUSTRIAL PARK IN DOVER. ITS SLOGAN IS, IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN MAKE IT. THEIR STORY BEGAN WITH MUSIC, CREATING MERCHANDISE FOR POPULAR ROCK BANDS. >> I TOURED WITH GUNS AND ROSES, METALLICA, ALLMAN BROTHERS. AUDREY: THE CO-OWNER HAD A BACKGROUND IN RADIO AND MUSIC MANAGEMENT FOR TURNING HIS EYE TOWARD MERCHANDISING. >> MUSIC IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF WHAT WE DO. WE HAVE FOUND SOME OTHER NICHES. WE ARE WORKING WITH QUITE A FEW PRETTY COOL SHOWS ON BROADWAY. AUDREY: THOSE PRETTY COOL SHOWS INCLUDE ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. DEAR EVAN HANSEN. AND THE SHOW THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING, THE SMASH HIT MUSICAL HAMILTON. >> THIS IS REFERRED TO AS A HOUSE THAT HAMILTON BUILD, AND THERE IS A LOT OF TRUTH IN THAT. AUDREY: THROUGH NETWORKING, FORWARD MERCH TEAMED UP WITH THE NETWORKING COMPANY IN NEW YORK CITY, AND THE PARTNERSHIP LED THEM TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF MANHATTAN’S THEATER DISTRICT. >> WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND THE TIMING WAS PERFECT. WE NEEDED THE CHANGE, WE CAN GO FROM A HEAVY METAL BAND FROM SCANDINAVIA TO 42ND STREET BROADWAY. THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS. BUT TO DO IT WITHOUT BLINKING AND I, I AM SO PROUD OF THE PEOPLE WE HAVE WORKING HERE. AUDREY ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY, THE FORWARD MERCH TEAM IS PRINTING OUT THOUSANDS OF HAMILTON T-SHIRTS FOR ITS SAN FRANCISCO TOUR. CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, A LOT OF THESE MUSICALS ARE NOW TOURING. THEY WILL ALLOCATE TO EACH FACILITY. SOME GO TO CANADA, SO WE WOULD SHIP TO CANADA. AUDREY ONCE THE CONCEPT IS IN PLACE AND APPROVED, THIS TEAM OF ARTISTS GO TO WORK. >> THEY TAKE THE OUR WORK AND SEPARATED INTO THE DIFFERENT COLORS WE WILL USE. AUDREY: THEN THE ARTWORK COMES HERE TO WHAT IS CALLED THE PRESS, WHERE EMPLOYEES LIKE CHARLIE BYRNE --CHARLIE BURN THE IMAGE ONTO A SILKSCREEN. ONCE IT IS BURNED, CHARLIE SPRAYS OFF THE RESIDUAL INK, AND THE SHIRTS HEAD TO THE PRINTER. AND ROLLED ONTO THIS DRIER, SO HOT YOU CAN SEE THE STEAM RISING FROM THE MACHINE. HOT OFF THE PRESSES. ABSOLUTELY. HAMILTON SAN FRANCISCO SHIRTS ABOUT TO BE SHIPPED OUT. AUDREY: AND SO WARM. THAT DRIER IS 350 DEGREES. >> 350-375. AUDREY: I HAVEN’T SEEN THE SHOW YET BUT I CAN WEAR THE SHIRT, FABULOUS. ONCE THE SHIRTS ARE SORTED, INSPECTED AND FOLDED, ALL OF THE ORDERS COME THROUGH HERE. IT IS CALLED THE TOURING DEPARTMENT. >> THIS IS THE TOURING DEPARTMENT. THEY ARE ALLOCATED TO A BIN, THEY GET A SHIP ORDER. THIS ORDER IS FOR WAITRESS. IT WILL BE GOING TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN. THEY WILL PICK THE NUMBER OF SHIRTS THEY NEED FOR EACH DESIGN, BOX THEM UP, TAPE, AND SEND OUT BY FEDEX OR UPS AT THE END OF THE DAY. AUDREY: THE TALENTS OF THIS TEAM DON’T STOP WITH THE SHIRTS. FORWARD MERCH DOES EMBROIDERY ON HATS, CLOTHING, BACKPACKS, AND CHECK OUT THIS OF MERCHANDISE FOR ONE OF ITS TOP CLIENTS, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SONGWRITER AND SATIRIST WEIRD AL YANKOVIC. EVEN A LUNCHBOX. IT IS A WAY OF LIFE, A POP CULTURE WAY OF LIFE. AUDREY: IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF A SHIRT -- FOR A SHORT OF YOUR OWN FOR A SPECIAL EVENT, THEY WILL HELP YOU CREATE IT. WE DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY, BRINGING IN OUR OWN ARTWORK. >> WE WOULD ASK YOU HOW YOU WANTED IT LAID OUT. SOME PEOPLE ONE IN THIS FORMAT, OR MAYBE YOU WANT THE TEXT TAKEN DOWN. THEN WE TAKE IT AND PUT IT ON THE TEACHER. >> AFTER IT GETS MOCKED UP, IT GETS BROUGHT OVER HERE. SHE SET THAT UP FOR PLACEMENT, READY TO GO, SHE WORKED HER MAGIC. AUDREY: THERE IT IS, JUST WHAT WE ORDERED. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND A BROADWAY SHOW OR CONCERT BUT WOULD LOVE SOME OF THE MERCHANDISE, THIS IS WHERE FORWARD MERCH MANAGES THOSE ONLINE STORES. EVERY ONE OF THESE BENDS -- BINS FILLED WITH SLAG FROM A SHOW OR BAND TO BE MAILED DIRECTLY TO YOU. ♪ AUDREY: FOUR CHRISTIAN, WORKING WITH THE LEGENDS HE GREW UP LISTENING TO HAVE LED TO SOME PENSION HE MOMENTS. >> WORKING WITH AC/DC IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, IT WAS A REALITY CHECK MOMENT. 14-YEAR-OLD ME WAS SCREECHING. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. SEEING THE ROLLING STONES FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN THEY WERE TOURING AND DOING THEIR MERCHANDISE WAS A BIG, YOU KNOW, A WELL MOMENT. AUDREY: FORWARD MERCH BELIEVING THEY CAN TURN EVERY T-SHIRT INTO A WORK OF ART. ♪

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