Shirt Shack prints T-shirts out of home garage

Driving down the quiet residential street in Evergreen, you would have no idea that there is a thriving manufacturing business operating right out of one of the houses. Only a couple of signs in the driveway give it away.

Lifelong Evergreen resident Troy Schweigert has known a thing or two about “working from home,” for years.

Schweigert had already been operating an automotive glass installation and tinting business, Troy’s Auto Glass-n-Tint Shop, for over 20 years when got the opportunity to go into the screen-printing business. He leapt at the chance, and Shirt Shack Screen Printing got its start. He had the garage space and the do-it-yourself skills and mindset. Now he’s been able to supplement his income and lower the toll of the more taxing physical labor on his body.

“Lifting windshields was getting to be too much for my body,” Schweigert said.

That was nine years ago, and Schweigert has pressed on, with his sales only growing in recent years. Schweigert says that most of his clients are local businesses and schools, with Kila School District his best regular client.

Schweigert knew business was good, but it wasn’t until he spoke with his wholesaler recently that he realized that his sales volume was up 60% from just last year.

He made the decision to set up shop in his home garage to stay close to family and care for his children.

Cars were Schweigert’s first passion, and when he wasn’t working with auto glass, he spent his free time racing, something he did for years before the costs started to pile up. Now he says he enjoys camping when he gets the chance.

Customers send their designs directly to Schweigert’s shop, which he sizes and prints onto plastic stencils. The process has similarities to tinting windshields and windows, which Schweigert had years of experience doing before he got into clothing production.

The business can print up to six colors per project — including impressive half-tones — on T-shirts, hoodies and more. Most any design is doable, provided it is sent to the shop in a vector format. This allows it to be scaled up or down, and printed in any color the shop has available.

The T-shirts are then put on a rack to stretch them taut, and the designs are printed on, one color at a time. Schweigert runs the shirts through a dryer to make sure the colors are set properly, and then the process is complete.

For more information, visit https://shirtshackmtscreenprinting.com/ or call 406-871-1236.