Kyle Robinson and his wife, Annie, started Print My Threads, an apparel screen printing company, in 2009 after their move back to Ashland, Kentucky, Annie’s hometown.
Soon after, demand allowed them to move the business out of their garage and into a storefront in downtown Ashland. In the fall of 2013, Print My Threads secured financing through MACED to purchase and renovate a vacant building in Flatwoods, KY that was originally built in the 1960s as the town’s local roller skating rink.
Today, Print My Threads manages a full-time staff of nine employees and prints apparel for companies, events and retail clothing lines all over the country. They attract customers who appreciate their use of sustainable processes, inks and fabrics, and they work with clients looking to build their brand, tell their story, and make money through the use of custom screen printed apparel.
Print My Threads recently worked with MACED’s Energy Efficient Enterprise program and was awarded a $20,000 USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant to install solar panels on their facility that will offset their use of electricity during production. Other recent energy upgrades include efficient central heating and air, and the addition of spray foam insulation and LED lighting throughout their facility.
Businesses whose entrepreneur-owners strive to use business for social and environmental good are often termed “social enterprises.”
Social enterprises can be:
- For-profit businesses with a mission to make a difference in their community. Examples include a manufacturing business that trains and hires veterans, or a retail store that donates a portion of its profit to a nonprofit organization.
- Nonprofit organizations that generates some earned income. For example, a food pantry that also operates a coffee shop, or an arts organization that rents studio space to local artists.
Print My Threads and MACED are both founding members of the Kentucky Chapter for the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEAKY). SEAKY is a growing regional network of Kentucky businesses working to create a positive impact through their business. The SEAKY Chapter provides education, resources and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs with the goal of helping other social enterprises start, grow, and thrive.
toured the facility and printed their own shirts
Social enterprises are becoming more common in eastern Kentucky. These creative and unique enterprises are helping to build Appalachia’s New Day.
For more examples in eastern Kentucky, check out this map!
About: Appalachia’s New Day is a new storytelling effort offered by MACED to eastern Kentucky communities. We can work with you to help identify, shape and amplify stories about businesses, programs and initiatives in your community that are helping build a new economy in eastern Kentucky. Contact us or sign up here if you would like more details.
