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From sports bags to socks

to bracelets, just about

any type of accessory

or bag can be dec-

orated for the

promotional or

athletic mar-

kets. (Im-

age cour-

tesy JDS

Industries)

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A ccessories and bags might not be the first things your clients consider when they’re devel-oping uniforms or coming up with what to sell for fundraisers. But, they are one of the things

fans look for before they get in the stands at sporting events, and they can have huge selling potential for your shop. Going into niche apparel like socks, sports bags, and ties,

there are lots of different styles and ways to decorate them that will appeal to your end users.

STAND-OUT STYLESBags are a go-to in the accessories market. Sports bags are practically necessary for every type of athlete, from Little League to college and professional basketball players to weekend Ultimate Frisbee teams. Especially at the seasonal or scholastic level in sports, the demand always comes back as new players join leagues and commute to prac-tices and games.

Even pet bags designed to carry cats or small dogs have seen higher demand as more travelers decide to have their pets tag along with them. With this comes plenty of opportunities for customization.

Between pet carriers, athletic bags, and shoulder bags, there are plenty of choices beyond the typical tote bags for deco-rating with mascots, logos, and other

promotional embellishments. While they all come in different styles and have very different purposes, they all have real estate for decora-tions on their sides, flaps, and pockets.

While bags and other standards such as scarves or non-wearable items like mugs are solid and profitable items in the accessories mar-ket, in truth, there are loads of distinctive products that go beyond the mainstays.

Bruce Everakes, Wolfmark, says that self-tie bows are extremely popular, as well as more classic tie and scarf styles.

Thanks to new and updated technology, plenty of other acces-sories are at the potential disposal of decorators. Shon Roti, JDS Industries, says that newer pieces with a noticeable impact include sport sleeves, socks, cuff bracelets, and luggage handle wraps.

“My personal favorite is the sport sleeves, because they are easy to produce, get a lot of attention, and work as visible walking advertise-ments,” Roti explains.

While the sports sleeves come almost naturally to events like bas-ketball, soccer, or football and have been marketed as such, they can also be useful in places besides the court or practice field. Specifically, Roti reasons, they can be used to cover up tattoos in workplaces. This, combined with the additional use as possible advertising space, leads to plenty of potential.

The durability and distinction of accessories shouldn’t be underestimated by decorators, either. Not

only can they last just as long or even longer than T-shirts

used for the

Sock It to Me

Niche Accessories & Bags at a GlanceB Y S A N D R A S E P A N I A K

While less common outside

of sporting events, sport

sleeves can be used as vis-

ible advertising space and

might also be used to

cover up tattoos in

the workplace. (Im-

age courtesy John-

son Plastics)

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BAGS & ACCESSORIES

Messenger bags have large flaps

that often make for a good deco-

rating medium for everything from

embroidery to sublimation. (Image

courtesy Johnson Plastics)

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same promotional purposes, but they also have other perks. A bow-tie or necktie speckled with a school mascot or company logo will stand out in someone’s mind, and sublimated socks will get plenty of attention when they’re spotted in the stands or on the court. What’s more, the decoration methods used can further help your end users’ logos or emblems stand out.

DECORATINGTies, socks, backpacks, and sport sleeves all have one thing in common: they require some unusual steps in order to decorate them properly. For example, working with bowties requires a completely unique approach to help them retain their shape. Ever-akes explains that there isn’t enough room to put a hoop on the bow, nor is there enough space in a single spot to screen print directly onto the bowties. It is for this reason that he doesn’t recommend print-ing on solid-colored bowties, though that doesn’t immedi-ately rule out other forms of decora-tion, like ordering custom woven or dyed pieces. Likewise, he says that neckties can be tricky to embroider if extra steps aren’t taken. This is be-cause with embroidery, the threads on the reverse side of the tie are vis-ible when the back is exposed. One solution for jobs requiring embroi-dered ties is to take the tie apart at the bottom and resew it so the threads underneath are hidden.

Embroidering on backpacks, mes-senger bags, and other bag styles can also be tricky. Fortunately, many of these styles have flaps as potential decorating spaces, which can be relatively easy to work with compared to zippered pockets.

Socks are a different matter altogether. Working with them requires extra work for quality assurance, including the use of a sock jig if you’re sublimating your socks. Roti says that there are two main reasons for this. For one, the jig allows you to stretch the sock over a larger surface area to

get a more saturated image, especially in the ribbed portions. Sec-ondly, when you sublimate a stretched sock, the image will appear proportionate when the sock is on the wearer’s foot and ankle.

Roti also suggests that there are other techniques to improve qual-ity, such as rolling the edges of the first side of the sublimated sock

over the jig. Doing so allows the second side to overlap just slight-ly, which prevents any unwanted white lines from forming be-tween the two sides.

It’s important to note that these specific challenges will change based on the makeup and design of each individual piece and dec-oration. For instance, neckties and other accessories with flat surfaces can be decorated with screen printing, heat transfers, sublimation, or pad printing with relative ease, while hard goods and certain bags will re-quire specialty equipment.

CONSIDERING COSTSWhile there’s no doubt that working with bags and acces-

sories can be a profit booster, you have to consider cost-effectiveness as

much as you would with any other type of apparel, if not more.

In the interest of being efficient and cost-effective for end users, Shaw explains that most

decorators working with promotional products probably wouldn’t choose sublimation as a common route, due to the high quantities required for a variety of

products. On the other hand, he says that sublimation is a good choice for providing specification samples for your clients.

In smaller runs for some of the previously mentioned types of bags and accessories, it can easily become popu-lar with end users. The crisp, eye-catching graphics have plenty of appeal for them, and they usually last for years.

Regardless of whether you are screen printing, embroidering, working with heat transfers, sublimating, or using any other type of method, it’s important to remember that time and proficiency are key to making

Above Left: Neckties can be embroidered with

logos, mascots, or other designs, but the back

often must be resewn in order to cover up the

back of the embroidery. (Image courtesy Wolf-

mark) Above Right: Accessories can be a dis-

tinctive, fashion-forward way to show off team

spirit or send advertising or promotional mes-

sages. (Image courtesy Wolfmark)

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sure your accessories are cost-effective. Especially for orders requiring customization, Everakes says that time is important to think about, since sometimes customers need an exact PMS match. Not to mention, in many cases, if the client thinks the turnover time is taking too long or their order is particularly time-sensitive, they may try to take their busi-ness elsewhere.

A huge part of being proficient is using the right equipment and pieces that are large enough to accommodate the types of orders you want to fulfill. As an example, you might have a hard time decorating larger socks from top to bottom with a standard heat press. Likewise, using heat transfers on oversized bags or other big items with a smaller press could prove tricky depending on how large the design in question is.

It’s also important not to cut too many corners if you’re looking for ways to keep your venture into bags and accessories affordable. While there are a lot of methods you might adopt to save money, there are some that just shouldn’t be done.

Roti warns that one of these practices is cutting down paper, which he doesn’t recommend as it can cause a jam if the paper isn’t perfectly square.

“The small amount of money saved could be lost with the amount of time it takes to clear the jam and execute any maintenance procedures, like a print head adjustment,” he continues. As a possible alternative, he points out that there are smaller paper options available from most distributors to help avoid those kinds of messes.

Additionally, in order to keep your turnover relatively short and take care of any potential problems, it helps to have some preparations com-pleted before you try to make any suggestions to your client.

“Before you market anything to a client, be sure that you have actu-ally created the product,” Roti says. “If you have produced a product successfully prior to selling, you have already worked through any chal-lenges that can occur.”

Accessories can certainly be a worthwhile addition to your shop, es-pecially after you’ve found the right market for them, be it in sports, promotional products, or beyond. However, just like with almost any other piece of apparel out there, knowing how to overcome potential is-sues with the accessories and bags themselves is key to making sure your customers are satisfied and coming back for more. While figuring some of this out may be a matter of trial and error, diving into accessories and bags could result in more sales for your shop at the end of the day.

BAGS & ACCESSORIES

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