Michigan Shirt Works Owner Brings Innovation to and Hopes for EL Downtown

Ted Wilson, owner and founder of Michigan Shirt Works, wants downtown East Lansing to once again be a family destination. His aim is to become known for providing innovative design services and for providing fun for families in East Lansing while printing any design on any article of apparel.. “When I was growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, my family and others regularly came to downtown East Lansing,” Wilson says, adding, “That’s not the case anymore, and I want to be part of changing that.”

Michigan Shirt Works is located at 543 East Grand River in East Lansing. The location is in the Campus Town Mall on the street level, across from the Broad Art Museum. After opening Replay Entertainment Exchange in East Lansing’s Brookfield Plaza in 2006, Wilson started providing apparel printing and related design services in 2009. He moved Michigan Shirt Works to its current location in the summer of 2013. The location provides easy access to the company’s primary clientele of MSU students, and also sees a good amount of foot traffic. Fall finds Wilson and his team busiest working with students, while in spring and summer they work more with local businesses and organizations.

Innovation is a key part of Michigan Shirt Works’ strategy. One popular example is their tie-dye event. After a group from MSU’s Brody Hall wanted an order of tie-dyed shirts, Wilson had the idea to provide family fun at the 2014 East Lansing Art Festival. A booth was set up where families could tie-dye their own shirts, which were provided free thanks to local business sponsorships. Five hundred Art Fair attendees went home with shirts they tie-dyed themselves. The same event at Pumpstock, a popular summer music festival in East Lansing, saw 50 festival goers dye their own shirts this past June 7.

Another strategy Michigan Shirt Works is pursuing involves innovative wholesale concepts via online design, ordering, and short-order production runs. If a local business wants to sell themed shirts, Wilson can provide design support and produce at wholesale prices a small quantity of shirts that the business can then sell.

“People don’t realize the labor, fixed costs, and hard work involved in printing on apparel,” Wilson says. “It’s a trade skill, where people tend to learn as an apprentice.” He adds, “with our solutions, a bakery can afford to sell baking-themed shirts, or a brewpub can sell beer-themed shirts, and add to their cash flow.” This strategy will soon be employed at Capital City Homebrew Supply. Jordan Artuso, co-owner of Capital City Homebrew, says, “being able to sell shirts without having to design them, hold a large stock, or spend a lot of money up front makes this possible for a small business like mine. And working with a fellow local businessman and friend is icing on the cake.”

Wilson lives on the east side of Lansing, but thinks of East Lansing as part of his home. He wants downtown East Lansing to be fun for families, the way he remembers it when he was young: “When I was a kid, the Art Festival was an opportunity for local businesses to welcome the townies back downtown for the summer. Now the Art Festival is isolated from most East Lansing businesses. Add to this the backlash from the riots around 2000, draconian renter laws, and a failure to embrace youth, and MSU and the City of East Lansing are no longer cool.”

Wilson sees signs of hope, however, saying, “Hopcat, The Black Cat Bistro, the downtown Open Mics, and the Maker Space are the first signs that East Lansing is embracing 20- and 30-something’s and trying to be cool again. It’s up to businesses in East Lansing to make this a cool city again. I want everyone to come back to downtown East Lansing. I want them to get active, vote, and support their city!”