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Date: 7/18/2023
HOLYOKE — In continuing their mission of offering custom apparel services, printed in-house, as a vehicle to expand opportunities for youth in Holyoke, Paper City Clothing Company has introduced its new, “Fresh Pressed: Print and Design Summer Series.”
Open every weekend during the month of July, the public is invited to come to the shop located at 358 Dwight St. to choose their own blank apparel and home goods off shelves and pair it with a wide array of original art prints, all designed in-house. Each weekend, Paper City Clothing Company is partnering with a different local designer to drop a limited-edition print.
Every Friday the public is encouraged to come and check out the series to print their own wares and celebrate some of the area’s talented clothing designers. The event is open on Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and some Saturdays, including July 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Print your own prices start at $5. Music, refreshments and “good vibes” will be available at the event according to Paper City Clothing Company.
Paper City Clothing’s Katy Moonan is a partner of the company and told Reminder Publishing the new series goes along with their continued mission of creating opportunities in the field for the youth.
“Fresh Pressed is a result of years of conversations with other local designers and clothing makers and artists, who also have something to say, also have great work they do, so why not collaborate and use our platform and our resources and capabilities to do something together, something really cool that benefits everybody,” said Moonan.
Moonan added Paper City Clothing Company felt this event was a great opportunity for more exposure for designers and that went along with their main mission.
“The company is a mission driven business. The mission is to expand creative and economic opportunities for especially young people,” Moonan said.
Last fall Paper City Clothing Company purchased a previously abandoned building from the city to be their new hub of business. The building is still under renovation with an ultimate goal of having a more permanent art gallery, more space for daily operations and having space for community events.
The clothing group hopes to continue hiring young people and embracing a culture that brings in and shows the youth the opportunities out there.
“With a mission to create opportunities for young people, they have work opportunities, mentorship opportunities and education in the form of entrepreneurship,” Moonan said. “The main thing is design and entrepreneurship, kind of as a handshake as a way for them to learn about what it takes to run a business and make a little money by selling something.”
Fresh Pressed is a new series under the same umbrella of getting involved with the community. As a small business in the middle of a transition of space, the Fresh Pressed series allows for Paper City Clothing Company to stay present in the community.
When walking into the Fresh Pressed series attendees will have options of blank shirts, tank tops, hoodies, notebooks and onesies and other garment items that are to be used to print whatever original designs available.
“Each day you have not only your own in-house designs that are there all the time, but each day features a different local designer so you get a chance to see somebody else’s work and get a feel for their style and then we print it for you live onto the item you selected in any location you want,” Moonan said. “If you want to mix and match different designs, that’s very much encouraged. It’s something fun to do.”
Moonan said turnout the first couple weekends have been good and having featured artists has allowed for them to get some spotlight on their work. Reminder Publishing spoke with Shalimar DeJesus who was a recent featured designer. DeJesus, who has experience working at a mass production print shop, said she was able to sell all the work she had brought and was excited to get the exposure and experience.
“It was a first for me, I’ve never done an event like that, but the turnout was really good, I sold out the 10 designs I had on the same day,” DeJesus said. “It was really amazing for me as an artist that has not really explored the world yet. It’s only friends and family that knew I kind of do this stuff so for me to sell out in the same day was pretty awesome.”
DeJesus added she felt it was a great opportunity and experience for people in situations like her who don’t know the best way to start and get their name out there. She added after seeing firsthand her work be sold during a Fresh Pressed event, it has given her confidence in exploring what it would take to have her own small business in the field.
Moonan said with all the space available already inside the Paper City Clothing Company shop, they are just opening their doors for those interested in celebrating art and those looking to make some money for their work. She added that everything a feature designer sells with their art is profit shared, so designers not only get recognition but some money for their work as well.
Paper City Clothing Company looks to maintain its role in community outreach and being a resource for young people looking to learn.
“I hope that by coming to Fresh Pressed people feel inspired because they need something exactly the way they envisioned it, inspired by downtown Holyoke and all the potential it has. There’s so many great restaurants and there’s definitely an art scene so I hope people experience downtown Holyoke and want to come back, not only to Paper City Clothing Company but the city in general,” Moonan said. “We hope to continue to build not only our business but helping with everybody who is building downtown Holyoke to fulfill its potential.”