Feature Friday #029 - Tom Hillmeyer

Hiking enthusiast, digital ninja, and designer extraordinaire, Tom Hillmeyer has traveled both terrain and industry. His career as a technical director demands maximum adaptability, a challenge he's built for. Today's chat covers his all-encompassing role, B-52 Bombers, and why Dwayne Wade is persona non grata 'round these parts.

Browse his site to discover more of his work and enjoy 20% off all of his on-demand items through Sunday, October 12 with coupon code featurefriday20 at checkout.


Thanks for chatting Tom. We're always eager to hear our designers' thoughts on the current state of the industry but first I have to ask, is designer too limited of a term for you? You're a videographer, filmmaker, trivia host, and apparently a water-curtain engineer (which is one of the coolest things I've ever seen).

Can you give us a little insight into your career and how do you define your skillset?


Designer is probably too limited of a term for me! My design skills have come about like most things have in my career, which all seem to be the result or byproducts of something else. I was always pretty nerdy as a kid, which led me into learning how cameras work. In starting to make videos, I naturally began designing graphics, titles, thumbnails, etc. Those skills led me into broadcasting in high school and college, and then in creating my online trivia show with one of my best friends. All along the way my eye for design has gradually evolved, and has served me less as a primary focus by itself and more as an enhancement in my other projects. Design has always been the thing I stress over and take the extra time to make better in whatever I'm doing.

I can't take credit for engineering the water-curtain, but I will take some credit for figuring out how to make it fit in a ballroom! My day job is as a live event technical director, where I design and execute the AV for corporate meetings and conferences. I've ended up in this career in part because it's a wonderful combination of all of the skills I have in broadcast, video, and design. Most days I'm designing room layouts and stages, getting as creative as I can within the limitations of LED screens, lights, and rigging. (and budgets, of course).

AEM Water Curtain by Tri-Marq

Oh wow, that sounds like an awesome work environment. It also feels like the perfect intersection of your abilities. But seriously, a water curtain has to be the wildest thing you've worked on, right?

Any other conferences or projects that specifically stick out as being incredible experiences?

Of course the water curtain is near the top of the most unique projects I've been a part of. The group of people I get to work with mean the world to me, so the projects that usually stick out are the ones where we pulled off a complicated show or solved an especially difficult problem. We also get to travel around the world together and have done events in some historic places, so certain events definitely stick out when I've called a famous venue my "office" for a few days!

Without a doubt the craziest place I've had the delight of working is a couple hundred yards from an active runway during AirVenture Oshkosh, the world's largest airshow. I'm lucky enough to be part of the team that produces the live streams for EAA during AirVenture, and it never gets old opening the door of our control room to see a B-52 or a Lockheed Constellation sitting right there. Also, that show is definitely the one where my graphic design shines the most these days, as I put together our on-screen graphics package every year.

That sounds so cool! Most designers we chat with are in a more concentrated field or are very selective about the type of projects they take on. What's it like working on big productions where you have to integrate design assets with event planners, engineers, film production, and other departments? Is having too many voices in the room ever part of navigating those especially difficult problems?

It can be difficult for sure, but having dipped my toes in several roles I'm able to understand a little bit of where each of those departments are coming from and what they're trying to specifically accomplish. Every show is a tightly choreographed dance of what the video, audio, and lighting departments need on top of the look and feel the client is after. It is a game of compromises and prioritizing certain aspects, while of course keeping event planners, venue staff, and the laws of physics happy.

Having too many voices in the room can just make a problem more difficult, however it is also incredibly useful to present a difficult problem to a larger group and get everyone's thoughts. It becomes more of a problem of controlling the chaos, but there may be a good solution that only one person on your team thinks of.

AirVenture Oshkosh - Photo by Tom Hillmeyer

Balancing voices in a field like yours might differ from obstacles that independent artists deal with. Is that a reason for your side projects? Between Fast Facts Live, a podcast, and other design work it seems like you can flex your creative muscles and follow your vision 100%.

That's exactly the reason for my side projects: they're both an opportunity to flex my creative muscles and as a way to still do the type of work I want to do that doesn't necessarily align with my full-time work. That being said, I am constantly taking something I learned doing Fast Facts and applying it to my live event work, and vice versa.

Coming out of college I was so worried about being locked into one type of work and missing out on doing the other things I was passionate about. My career has definitely proven to be more wide-ranging than I anticipated, but regardless, having these side projects does exactly what you said: they give me an opportunity to make a vision or idea come to life.

Fast Facts Live Trivia Show by Tom Hillmeyer

Call it predictable, but my favorite side hustle has to be your photography. We're big nature geeks at CB and you've been to a ton of really cool locations.

Any favorites to photograph or just visit in general? Have your travels influenced your technical director job at all? I could see your experiences aligning well with featured projects at shows or some of your other endeavors.

When I'm deciding where to travel personally, I'm heavily influenced by photography. In almost every case the pin goes in my bucket list Google Map in response to a cool photo I've seen from that location. In fact, the very first trip I planned myself back in college was completely centered around getting that iconic shot of Horseshoe Bend in northern Arizona. Building that trip around that single photo led me to discover Valley of Fire in Nevada and Zion National Park on the way, still two of my favorite places. Plus we ended up in Antelope Canyon, the site of one of the most expensive photos ever sold. It kind of taught me that you can build a really great trip around a single photo, and I've used that method ever since.

The photos with locations that end up on my bucket list are almost always tied to nature, and most of those are places that I don't know if we as humans could've even dreamed up. I look at places like the Grand Canyon, Banff, and even lesser known places close to home like the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and wonder what had to happen to make these places as beautiful as they are.

What's really rewarding about traveling for work is I'm not deciding where we're going, so I end up in locations around the world I probably never would've picked otherwise. Sometimes I'm taking my camera around these places, but most of the time I get to enjoy the place as-is without any expectation of needing to get to an iconic spot. In terms of influencing my job, having photography as a side hustle really helps from a sales perspective as I'm usually the one taking cool photos of our stage setups to sell to future clients. I'll often come back from a show with an SD card full of photos of the stage and our lighting setup right next to photos from the hike I took right behind the hotel.

NPA Annual Passholder by Tom Hillmeyer

Now you're speaking my language. Zion is my absolute favorite park followed closely by Banff.

Diving into your comment about building a great trip around a single photo… it strikes me as oddly contrary to your professional and personal outlook. Do you find it more rewarding to get one amazing picture or would you rather have a series of really good ones?

Clearly you juggle a lot of skills, which provides a certain security. But does a broad approach prohibit you from really honing and maximizing your potential in one particular craft?


Of the thousands of photos I've taken on trips, there are usually only 2-3 per trip that stand above the rest. I do find it more rewarding to get one amazing picture, but it's often not the picture I went to get! I got that picture of Horseshoe Bend, but it's actually a picture from nearby Antelope Canyon that's framed on my wall. I have a picture of Angel's Landing in Zion I planned a trip around, but it's a photo of The Watchman in Zion that went on my wall first. The inspiration photo for a place is almost a consolation prize, but it puts me in a place for inspiration and I oftentimes walk away with something unique.

With that question you've hit on the thing that I ask myself all the time. The honing of a craft comes in phases for me. I have never been someone to stick to a single particular thing for very long, however I always tend to build up a muscle in that area. For example, after learning broadcast television in high school and college I never moved on to working full time at a TV station where I could really maximize those skills. However, I had built up that muscle enough that when I started working in live events, those skills were invaluable and put me a step above those who had never had that experience.

The roles I've found myself in and the things I'm passionate about are all things that require a patchwork of skills. There are definitely jobs out there where you can focus on one thing, become very good at it, and that's how you move forward in that career. The career I've built for myself requires me to be just strong enough in key areas to fill my specific role. I'm not the best designer, programmer, engineer, or photographer in the world but I'm strong enough in each of those areas to successfully be a live event technical director. It's a niche role that you can't just learn by itself.

Antelope Canyon - Photo by Tom Hillmeyer

You've set yourself up quite nicely in a very cool, important industry. And it sounds like the route you took to get there was the only way to make to work.

So you're in an accomplished position. Business is good. Now it's time to look down the road. Do you anticipate ever narrowing your scope or specializing in one area? Is it all just adding tools to the toolbox from here? It's interesting to consider what your career and hobbies look like 10 years from now.

I have resisted narrowing my scope, and I've done that to avoid losing the skills I've gained. I don't do a ton of video editing nowadays, for example, but I haven't completely gone away from it. Every so often I find myself in a position where I need to get back into editing for a single specific project, and because I've kept up with it I'm able to re-teach myself quickly and accomplish that task. I wouldn't be surprised if I settle into something specific, but having a little bit of experience in a lot of fields has really benefited me. I don't anticipate that changing, and I'm excited what my toolbox looks like 10 years from now!

MUBB Fight Songs by Tom Hillmeyer

If it ain't broke, right? But just to drive this question home, I have to try from one last angle.

Any chance you drill down to one or two teams? I mean, you have Marquette, Kansas City, Milwaukee, all the St. Louis squads, and plenty of other designs in your CB catalog. We'll let your KC and Bucks support slide, but D-Wade is a non-starter for us diehard Pitt fans. 


I'm a recovering St. Louis Rams fan, and when I became a free agent I chose the green and gold rather than the red and gold (Good thing the Packers and Steelers are in two different conferences!) It'll always be the Cardinals and Blues for me...

…and #3 speaks for himself. Ring Out Ahoya.

Alright I think we have to wrap it up on that note. This was fun!

💡
P.S. Use code featurefriday20 for 20% off all Tom Hillmeyer products now through Friday, October 12!

Feature Friday #028 - Daniel Saludares


Hey Daniel! Welcome to our Designer Interview series, we're happy to have ya. Let's start with the basics. What have you been up to?

Skateboarding! To be honest, I had been struggling to focus creatively and to stay motivated. For a while I just felt stuck. But one thing that helped was getting back on a skateboard. I've been taking it easy relearning some basic tricks and trying not to injure myself too badly. It's been fun and therapeutic.

I also recently got an Ipad and learning to draw on that.

Skateboarding sounds like an awesome way to find some new inspiration. I feel like skateboarders are the most creative athletes. To a skateboarder everything is a potential rail/ramp/jump etc. It just seems like you look at ordinary objects and make something fun out of them. Meanwhile I'm just using railings trying not to trip down the stairs lol.

How's the iPad drawing going? I assume there's quite a learning curve there. Think there's a chance it'll become your go to drawing method?

Drawing on an iPad for me is one of those things where it's the same but different. The motions are the same as drawing with a pencil on paper but with the iPad I now have these additional gestures and features to add to that. There's so much more that you can do that it can be a little overwhelming. It's definitely a learning curve for me and it's probably because I don't normally use a stylus when I digitally create.

My laptop paired with adobe illustrator has always been my go-to tools ever since my school days. I don't know why but I never used a mouse. My cousin gave me his old Wacom tablet for a while but after it stopped working I just defaulted to my laptop trackpad. Anyone else on team trackpad? Well...I guess I'm team trackpad/iPad now.

I've seen artists who moved their whole workflow to just the iPad; I don't know if that will be me anytime soon but who knows? As super convenient as it is to have everything digital I am still a fan of the analog and tactile. I like my cheap Bic mechanical pencil and flipping through the pages of my sketchbook.

I'm not much of an artist myself but I definitely understand craving the pencil and sketchbook every now and then over the iPad. I feel the same about books rather than reading on a Kindle or iPad. For me it's a break from the constant screens in my face all day. Back to the basics is refreshing sometimes. 

What’s your favorite part of the illustration process? Do you enjoy the sketching and getting your ideas down, or is there a moment later on when things really start to come together that you love most?

Yeah. There is a definitely a convenience/curse element to all the tech around us. I always feel refreshed after a good screen break.

My favorite part of the creative process is that initial thought or idea. Ideas really can pop up out of nowhere and if that idea continues to repeat in my head then I know I have to get it out and just make the thing. What usually results in this brain dump is a starting point for the final piece. I also like this stage because you have that freedom to take a concept into multiple directions without necessarily committing to one just yet. It's the play before the work.


Ah okay, yeah that makes a lot of sense. I can see the appeal for sure and I've seen some really cool designs from you so your process must be working! 

Speaking of your designs, we must talk about The Office for a minute. If you got to spend the day with any one of the characters, who are you picking?

That's a good question. I probably put more thought into this than needed... I know you said one person but I'm going to bend the rules a bit and pick a trio of people: Kevin, Andy, and Darryl aka Kevin & The Zits. I feel like with other characters there would just be too much crazy antics; they're all fun to watch on screen but having to be involved with that all day seems stressful. Kevin and the Zits are a group of guys that know how to party but also know how to chill. I imagine having an ultra feast, dance offs, boardgames with cash prizes, maybe rollerskating to Dave Matthews' greatest hits, and ending it off with an acoustic jam session by a dumpster.

And if I couldn't hang out with those guys then I also wouldn't mind listing to more stories from Hidetoshi Hasagawa, heart surgeon number 1.

Hahaha I love this answer, I appreciate all the thought you've put into this one. To be honest, Kevin and The Zits never would have been my pick. After your explanation though it's a real toss up for me. Ultra feasts and roller skating is really hard to pass up on. Maybe I'll start a rewatch so I can make a final decision. 

Well hey, it's been great chatting with you. Big fan of your work, good luck with the iPad, I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

💡
P.S. Use code featurefriday20 for 20% off all Daniel's products now through Friday, September 26!

Feature Friday #027 - Steve DeCusatis

Photo by Sam Fritch

Jack of all trades Steve Decusatis joins us this week to talk about snowboarding, Europe, and Philly's penchant for producing top tier design talent. 

Browse his site to discover more of his work and enjoy 20% off all of his on-demand items through Sunday, August 17 with coupon code featurefriday20 at checkout. Now on to the chat!


Before we get too deep into your process and experiences, I have to know: is there something in the water in Philadelphia? We've chatted with Martha Rich, Mario Zucca, Maria Tina Beddia… it's no question your city has produced the most interviewees in this series.

What's the design community there like? Is it so big that you have little interaction or is it tight knit with plenty of collaboration? Whatever the answer, Philly is doing it right. The collection of talent is impressive!


There just might be! Take the Schuylkill and mix in a splash from the Delaware, and there you have it. I'm in good company here with the people you mentioned. All great folks-and extremely talented!

I've known Mario since school; we studied together at Tyler School of Art and have collaborated a bunch over the years doing logos, apparel, icons, etc. We even spoke at a conference together about our collaborations. Big high-five to Mario!

Martha is super cool. Martha and Mario spoke at a Philly lecture that I hosted many years ago called Multifaceted. Come to think of it, Martha and Mario have both done some snowboard illustrations with me. Maria took part in two PhilaMRKT events as a vendor, and her illustrations are dope.

PhilaMRKT is a pop-up marketplace hosted by Mario Zucca, Josh Carter, and myself. We feature Philly's best designers, illustrators, printmakers, independent artists, and more.

The design community is wonderful here. It's one of those cities that feels like a small town; especially when you're at a design event. There are some very talented designers (and illustrators) in the Philly area and new talent emerges often. It's inspiring.

Phila MRKT with Mario Zucca and Josh Carter

That's some sort of cocktail! Your city definitely has a few of our favorite CB folks (don't tell the others).

You mentioned two very interesting points that I want to followup on. First, and more simply, what's your favorite snowboard destination? You can certainly do worse than our Appalachian resorts in PA, but having recently experienced Breckenridge and Park City, holy moly the Rockys are a different animal.

Snowboarding is such a fun way to get outdoors and be creative. I started riding in 1994 and have immense passion for it, even though I don't get out too often.

My favorite destination would be Killington or Pico, and we lived nearby for a few years. From Philadelphia for a day trip, I would say Bear Creek or Blue Mountain are two solid options.

Vermont is next on my list! I've heard Killington is a great East Coast resort. And Blue Mountain looks pretty awesome. Really at this point I'll take any non-90°-full-humidity weather.

Okay a little more topical, tell me more about PhilaMRKT. How did it get started? What's unique about it? Does the city have the grease the lamp posts when you have the event?


I'm typing this on a day with a high of 95º, so any mountain right now would be incredible!

PhilaMRKT is super cool, I must admit. It's a pop-up event where we take over a space and fill it with graphic designers and illustrators. Most artist markets are more "artsy" and we're more "designy" if that makes sense. It's fun, community-focused, and we started it in 2017.

The vendors set up shop and sell their goods, and before the events we promote the heck out of it. No grease needed, haha. You can check out our website or @PhilaMRKT on Instagram for a glimpse into the events. Josh, Mario, and I are kinda on a bit of a hiatus, but PhilaMRKT could resurface again.

Snowboard design for Gilson

The 'designy' market is definitely evident. It's very cool to see the community creating such exposure. It's a great collection of talent but clearly features a lot of variety as well. That seems par for the course with you personally, no? An Italian study abroad program with history, language, and cinema courses… that's a full experience! How did the time away affect your work, in regards to both juggling projects and expanding your skillset?

Yes, I like variety. It's the generalist vs. specializing debate that's tough for me sometimes. I love designing logos, but I also like doing packaging design, apparel design, snowboard design, etc. I also love being a student as much as I can to learn new things.

Studying at Temple's Rome Campus has been amazing. I've completed their adult study abroad program twice now, with different classes, professors, and classmates each time. This time around, I had a wonderful drawing class-highly recommended. Luckily, I was able to juggle some ongoing design projects while being there. I usually spent my evening hours catching up on emails and keeping designs moving forward. A nightly gelato break didn't hurt the momentum.

Temple Rome's Adult Study Abroad program

Speaking as a fellow generalist, I 100% get this mentality. And I have a few questions about your versatility, but we're going to keep this one simple: What was the best thing you saw or did in Rome and will there be a third trip some day?

Trying to keep this one simple: Arriving in Rome on the first day of the Conclave was special. Witnessing the energy and global news reporters in St. Peter's Square during such a historic time was unique. Another trip to Rome? Absolutely.

That's so cool! It's definitely a bucket list trip. And with minimal interruption to your work projects, it sounds like you're getting the best of both worlds. But I do want to focus on the business side of things for a second…

Clearly AI design has become more prevalent over the past few years. Have you seen an impact to your logo or packaging work? Either positively through its usefulness as a tool or negatively with client expectations and demand? I also wonder if you're set up to be in a stronger long term position because of your proficiency in multiple areas. A wider scope means more security, no?


It's hard to say too much about the direct impact of AI. I think having a diverse set of skills is important for designers. Adaptability, creativity, and flexibility are crucial. I've been leaning into teaching a bit more lately as well.

Peddler Coffee Company client work

Teaching is such a great way to give back to a community you're active in. I don't think there's anything more valuable than hearing from successful business owners and accomplished designers about their methods and experiences.

Has the teaching process mainly been facilitated through a studio, online classes, or more student based school systems? I'd expect to see a younger demographic more invested and enthusiastic about generated art. Have you noticed a similar theme?

Thank you! Teaching is wonderful. Challenging at times, but overall impactful. I've been teaching at Philadelphia and NJ universities part-time for almost 20 years.

I touch on some of the generative AI tools via Adobe. For example, the Generative Color feature in Illustrator and the Generative Fill feature in Photoshop. Some of the students are into it. These tools are useful at times. I like to show multiple ways to handle design scenarios. It's important to explore and improvise. Generative Fill is insanely powerful. Adobe even has a similar feature in InDesign now. It's totally wild what you can do!

“Give” t-shirt design on Cotton Bureau

Agreed. The possibilities are some weird combination of exciting, scary, and intimidating. I think we've done our due diligence on your process and experience. Let's wrap up with this one…

Many of your CB designs revolve around Philly even though it's the second best city in the state (😉). If the Acme cheesesteak factory exploded tomorrow and buried the city in whiz, what does your fresh start look like? Maybe a new location, different industry, or focusing on passion projects… anything is on the table.


Anything is possible. My wife and I are both close to getting dual citizenship in Italy. That opens up some doors to the EU. Winning the lottery and/or retiring early would be amazing too! Working less and traveling more is an ideal scenario.

Thanks so much for your time and fun questions, Joel! Much appreciated! Also, much love to Pittsburgh. Cheers!

Appreciate the time, Steve. This was a lot of fun!

💡
P.S. Use code featurefriday20 for 20% off all Steve Decusatis products now through Friday, August 17!

The needle just dropped.

Big news! While we started Cotton Bureau over a decade ago with a simple pre-order campaign model for screenprinted tees, each year we’ve been able to grow our offerings, gradually increasing not only the ways to sell (adding stock and on demand) but the also types of products available, which now includes hats, drinkware, totes, phone cases, and, as of last month, stickers.

We’re thrilled to announce today the most recent expansion: we’re bringing our ultra-premium on demand embroidery program to t-shirts and sweatshirts, effective immediately. Get started with apparel embroidery now.

Though our on demand hat program has been met with universal acclaim, there’s one small problem: not everyone wears hats. As far as we know, however, pretty much everyone wears a shirt, most of the time.

Graphic tees have been popular at least since the ’90s. Nobody knows if they were popular before then because the internet did not exist. Embroidered tees though present an entirely new fashion frontier, a frontier that we humbly invite you to explore with us.

From day one (today), most core apparel products are included in our new on demand catalog, from all-time favorites like the premium lightweight Next Level 6010 tri-blend tee and outrageously soft Bella + Canvas 3901 raglan crewneck sweatshirt to popular newcomers like the 100% cotton vintage Comfort Colors 1717 tee and the premium midweight Bella + Canvas 3739 zip hoodie. Chances are if you have bought (or sold) a shirt on Cotton Bureau, it’s now eligible for some fancy stitching.

Here’s the full list of available styles for 2025:

  • Comfort Colors 1717 — 100% cotton, premium heavyweight tee
  • Next Level 3600 — 100% cotton, premium lightweight tee
  • Next Level 3900 — 100% cotton, premium lightweight women’s junior fit tee
  • Next Level 6010 — tri-blend premium lightweight tee
  • Next Level 6710 — tri-blend, premium lightweight women’s junior fit tee
  • Bella + Canvas 6400 — 100% cotton, premium lightweight women’s regular fit tee
  • Gildan 18000 — basic midweight 100% cotton hoodie
  • Bella + Canvas 3901 — premium midweight crewneck sweatshirt
  • Bella + Canvas 3719 — premium midweight hoodie
  • Bella + Canvas 3739 — premium midweight zip hoodie
  • Bella + Canvas 3501 — premium lightweight 100% cotton longsleeve tee
  • Bella + Canvas 3501CVC — premium lightweight poly-cotton longsleeve tee
  • Independent IND4000 — premium heavyweight hoodie

We hope (and expect) that list to grow over time. Let us know if we missed your go-to tee.

FAQs for On Demand Apparel Embroidery

Where can I position my artwork?

The pocket. We may eventually expand to more locations, but for now, your only choice is the left chest pocket. Sorry.

How big can I make it?

Maximum size is 3.75" ⅹ 3.75". That’s pretty big. You can set a custom size anywhere from there down to 1" ⅹ 1". Anything smaller than that and it’s pretty hard to embroider. Speaking of…

What else should I know about apparel embroidery?

The same embroidery limitations apply to clothing as apply to hats.

In general, the smallest details that can be rendered are about 0.04" (1mm). The smallest gaps that can be maintained are 0.01" (0.25mm). Here’s a good way to think about it: for a design of 1.5", you have a canvas that is roughly 75 x 75 pixels. It’s possible to get creative with running stitches and contrasting stitch directions to show subtle detail, but the best designs are going to avoid squishing too much detail into too small a space. When in doubt, err in favor of smaller and simpler.

Unlike the hats we offer, shirts range from extremely thin and light fabric to heavy-duty fleece. Please be advised that the larger and heavier your artwork, the more prone to puckering and pulling on lighter weight fabrics. Less is better, usually.

I have a Cotton Bureau account. Can I offer on demand embroidery?

Maybe. Embroidery is limited (for now) to accounts with a strong sales history because of the complexity and hard costs associated. That said, if you think you’re hot stuff, just email us. We’ve been known to make an exception from time to time.


As with hats, we’re extremely excited to see what new and existing designs you’ve got up your sleeve, so to speak, and we can’t wait to share them with everyone else as well. Get started creating on demand embroidery apparel now. The next Cotton Bureau t-shirt Tuesday just got a whole lot more interesting. 👕

On demand stickers are live.

While we’re not in the habit of pre-announcing new products and features, once we’re getting close, we do occasionally drop a hint or two. When you see the timeline for on demand stickers, you’ll understand why it’s best to ship first, talk later.

The first public mention of on demand stickers was in our 2023 in review email way back in January of 2024. At the time, we felt confident enough that stickers were happening to tease them. Well. Fast forward to the 2024 year in review email six months ago, and, as they say, even the best laid plans often go awry. Believe it or not, as recently as April we were still confident stickers would ship sooner rather than later. Our best guess at the time was just prior to our big birthday celebration in June. Mmhmm.

In the end, here we are. A task that was originally created in February of 2022 and conceived as a possibility long before then can finally be checked off in July of 2025. We’re so pleased to be able to finally, finally, finally deliver on demand stickers. 😅

If you, like us, have been champing at the bit for high quality vinyl on demand stickers, your wait is over. All Cotton Bureau accounts (including Custom accounts), are immediately eligible and can create new on demand stickers right now.

Keep reading if you’re one of those people that likes to ask questions.

On Demand Sticker FAQs

While we’ve had plenty of folks offer stickers over the years, the only way to do that in the past was by purchasing hundreds of stickers upfront and storing them to be sold as a stock product. That’s great if you’re offering something more exotic like holographic or unicorn dust. For your everyday, basic, just-the-facts-ma’am stickers, the new on demand stickers are just the ticket.

First, to be clear, on demand stickers are… on demand. That means they’re printed (and shipped) when you order them, and you can have as many or as few in your store as you want.

The standard sizes are 2" and 3", but you can create custom sizes between 1" and 4" as well. Max of three sizes per sticker.

On demand stickers are kiss-cut only and are printed on a matte white vinyl backing with a 0.15" border. The cut is automatically determined, so if you want full control and a smooth border, we recommend filling any little gaps with an opaque white background, or even augmenting the border to create circles, squares, and other containing shapes.

As with everything else, only one artwork file per product which means alternate colorways need to be additional products.

Could you make a mini sticker sheet? If you’re careful… yes. Any colored area at least 0.25" away from another area will receive its own cutout. (Stickers can’t have holes, fyi. No donuts.)

Recommended sticker retail price is $3, shipping is a flat $1.99. That’s a sticker delivered anywhere in the US for less than $5.

One unfortunate but necessary caveat: on demand stickers can only be shipped independently inside the United States. We’re working on finding an affordable way to have them shipped internationally. (It is possible to order a sticker with a t-shirt or other on demand product for shipment outside the US.)

Sticker-only orders are currently completely untracked and usually take about a week to arrive.

Okay, let us have it. What are you thinking? We’d love to offer more styles and options in the future (transparent stickers anyone?), so if you have questions or suggestions, let us know.

If you like stickers, try adding a few of your existing designs as sticker products or creating something new. We’ll be heavily promoting stickers all through July, so kick back by the pool and fire some products into the sun.

That’s it for now. We (hopefully) will have another big announcement for you in a month, though we’re keeping this one mum.