Gusto Graphic Tees
United States, Austin, Texas
Hi, my name is Kelli and I own Gusto Graphic Tees. I am originally from Louisiana, I’m a true mix of Cajun and Texan.
Main Services:
unisex t-shirts, crop t-shirts, muscle tanks, hats, drinkware, stickers, canvas bags
Hi, my name is Kelli and I own Gusto Graphic Tees. I am originally from Louisiana, I’m a true mix of Cajun and Texan. I’ve lived in Texas for over half of my life now so it seems fair to have a big love of the state. I live on the outskirts of Austin with my wife, who’s an amazing teacher and tween son who’s introvert personality is working for him during this pandemic. We have 3 fur babies, 2 are rescue pups and one quarantine puppy that we couldn’t resist, who’s now the center of everyones world.
My Gusto Graphic Tees journey began 5 years ago when I followed my dream, literally, by quitting my graphic design job to start designing/screen printing t-shirts. In a dream I had of my dad, who had recently passed away, he kept repeating, “Go for the Gusto, Kelli.” With the help and support of my wife, I was able to transition into this creative adventure that my soul needed and I get to go for the Gusto everyday. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to follow their own gusto and make their dreams come true!
We are a local Austin, woman-owned business that designs and screen prints t-shirts that are primarily Austin and Texas themed. In addition to t-shirts, we’ve added stickers, drinkware, hats, bags, can coolers, to our product line and we will soon include laser engraved wood products.
What I love most about our business is that I am able to use my creativity to design our t-shirts and stickers. When we began, I had taken a screen printing class and had created several designs. We purchased a single-platen, 4 color press and had a flash dryer that we set up in our single-car garage. I emailed several local, Austin stores to see if they had any interest in our designs and we heard back from a local chain store almost immediately. This prompted our move into a room in our home, but I discovered quickly that printing with a single platen and a flash dryer took a considerable amount of time. Thankfully, as we were invited to sell in other stores and vendor pop-ups, we were able to get a conveyor dryer.
After being in business for 3 years, were able to upgrade to a six-platen, six-color press and into a larger space. We continue to add to our product line by including our designs on products that we have sublimated and laser engraved.