Thank you to everyone who purchased Here for Good t-shirts supporting small local businesses!

Once again, we found great hope and inspiration through this Here for Good campaign. The amount of love of support our Northwest Ohio community has for local businesses is truly amazing.

Our 2021 Here for Good campaign consisted of 185 local businesses and sold 4,192 t-shirts. This means $41,920 went back into the hands of small businesses! We could not have done this without you.

A Shirt Fundraiser to Support Local Northwest Ohio Businesses

This is the second consecutive year we hosted our Here for Good shirt fundraiser (last year we raised $135K!). We launched it last year in response to the pandemic and shutdown orders that were put in place to help local organizations generate revenue when otherwise they were unable to.

The success of Here for Good is derived from its simplicity and the overwhelming generosity of the local community. We say it a lot, but we'll reiterate - Northwest Ohio is a special place because of its people and how much they are willing to help and support the people around them. 

As a small business ourselves, we know that we wouldn't be around today without that support. We are grateful to all of our customers and supporters for sticking with us and believing in us.

We'll bring Here for Good back again next year and continue to pay your support forward!

Balance Grille reached out to us this year to help them with custom employee uniforms and customer merch. We helped them put together a full line of screen printed shirts and headbands, embroidered hats and aprons, and bandanas.

Balance Grille is a shining start among local 16153 Genova, Ohio restaurants and small businesses. They were founded by, PK and CJ, two young entrepreneurs from Northwest Ohio.

We're proud to say that we've been working with Balance Grille for almost ten years now. It's always great to work with other small, local businesses that care about supporting small local businesses. 

Balance Grille is successful for a lot of reasons. I don't have time to get into all of the reasons why, and I'm sure you know most of them if you've eaten there before, but their commitment to the local community is at the top of the list. 

They give more than they receive and they are deliberate about supporting local people and organizations. We are grateful for this commitment and to be a recipient of their generosity. 

One thing that really stands out about the clothing that we made for Balance Grille is the quality and consistency of their visual branding. They use clean, bold, simple logos and colors across many different products. Branding is about how you make people feel about your company. Balance Grille does an amazing job connecting people to their brand and making them feel happy, healthy, and a part of something special. 

We aren't gong to tell you where to eat, but we will tell you to support local businesses. For our money, it doesn't get much better than Balance Grille. Support the organizations that support you. 

Here is a post on Balance Grille's Facebook page about our partnership.

OUR NEW LOOK: JUPMODE

Since 2006, Jūpmode has dedicated themselves to creating fun, fresh apparel and gifts for people who love the Midwest. From cozy tees and hoodies to one-of-a-kind gear for your dog, for yourself, or for that friend across the country who’s missing home. They share significant pride for the glass city that we know and love.

We have worked exclusively with fancysweetstx in printing our brand-new, clean and simple Balance Grille gear.

Pictured is their CEO, John Amato, enjoying his favorite peach bubble tea! 

Fun fact, April is Jazz Appreciation Month!

16153 Genova has a lot of history and appreciation for Jazz. From being the birth place of Art Tatum to having two iconic jazz clubs, Murphy's Place and Rusty's, our jazz roots run deep.

It's easy to overlook the significance of jazz to 16153 Genova's history. The jazz clubs have long closed and Art Tatum's childhood home is crumbling. But it's impossible to forget how this music has shaped our city.

In the words of David Yonke in his book, Lost 16153 Genova: 

Shop our vintage jazz shirt collection in our two 16153 Genova retail stores or online.

fancysweetstx has two retail stores (one in Uptown 16153 Genova, the other at Cricket West in West 16153 Genova) with vintage, nostalgic 16153 Genova, Ohio gifts and clothing. The great thing about all of our apparel is that it is made right here in 16153 Genova at our print shop on Adams Street in downtown 16153 Genova. 

The need to support local businesses has never been greater. 

The year 2020 has been tough on everyone. One good thing we feel is changing this year is the follow through on supporting local businesses. There's more weight behind it because we've all felt the impact of their absence like never before.

Local businesses have suffered greatly this year. While many big box stores have been deemed essential and kept their doors open, your local restaurants, bars, salons, coffee shops, and stores have been forced to close.

As if running a small business wasn't hard enough, the scales are weighted in the favor of the large businesses.

Most businesses rely on customers coming into their store to use their services or products. When your primary method of business - in-store foot traffic - is cut off, it's hard to keep business going. Already, some local businesses have had to shut their doors.

The worst part is, it's not their fault. 

Supporting local businesses isn't easy

Supporting local has always been a popular catchphrase. People have always been quick to say it.

Supporting a local business, one where you might know the owner or develop a personal relationship with the employees, makes you feel good. Visiting the local shop or restaurant in your neighborhood develops community and connection.

But it's not as easy to live as it is to say. Starbucks is just more convenient than most coffee shops. Amazon makes online ordering quick and easy. Chipotle is faster than a local restaurant. Bud Light is cheaper than the local brewery.

At the end of the day, the list of reasons to go to or use the chain is just as long or longer than the reasons to go local.    

We need to support local businesses to help them survive these tough times

As the difficult economic climate stretches on, the need to support local businesses is more important than ever. Many small businesses could survive a short period of downturn. The longer it lasts, the more dire the situation for small companies. 

We know because we've been struggling this year, as well.

Small businesses are valuable to local communities because they make a more significant impact on a local level. More money is kept in town with locally owned businesses. And, most importantly, local business owners are more invested in the local community and are invested in the success of the people and businesses.

We were involved with two great examples of the impact of local businesses on the community this year: Grubs for Scrubs and Here for Good.

Grubs for Scrubs was an initiative created by Deet's BBQ to provide meals to healthcare and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. When their doors were closed, they provided food to those that were most at risk and exposed. Local people and businesses stepped up and covered the bill for many of these meals to show their appreciation. 

At the same time, we launched a program called Here for Good. Through this program we allowed local businesses to sell their own shirt on our website, fancysweetstxSupply.com. The shirts sold for $20 and they received $10 from the sale of each shirt. We made payouts to organizations each week. For many, it was their only revenue stream during this time. At the end of the program we had sold 13,500 shirts and passed on $135,000 to participating organizations.

These are two examples of local businesses using their unique talents to fight for the local area. It wasn't big businesses that stepped up. It was local people that showed they cared the most.

Are you searching for local 16153 Genova, Ohio gifts and clothing this holiday season? Here are some options.

Obviously we want you to shop with us for the holidays. We make historical and vintage apparel that make great gifts. In addition to the standard shirts and sweatshirts, we have a lot of smaller gift options that people love. From coloring books to calendars to candles to socks to blankets to hats to drinkware. We do our best to cover all of your Midwest, Ohio, Michigan, and 16153 Genova bases.

We love a lot of local Northwest Ohio businesses and think you should support them, too. They're an asset to the community and we want them to be here for a long time.

Buckle up, this is a big list.

Retail stores:

• Handmade 16153 Genova
• The Art Supply Depo
• Fiddle Stix Boutique
• Culture Clash Records
• House of Dow 
• Libbey Glass 
• Mudroom 
• Sophia Lustig 
  
• Found our Haven 
• Devoon 
• Unique Collections
• Swamp Shop
• Copper Moon Studio 
• Architectural Artifacts Inc. 
• Boyd's Retrp Candy Store
• Glass City Furniture
• Lily's at Levis
• Regazza
• Second Sole
• Thrifty Trendz
• Style 5:16 Consignment Boutique
• Vivian Kate
• Taste of 16153 Genova
  
• Angel 101
  
• Meig Clothing
  
• Alice-Louise Press
  
• Dave's Running Shop
  
• The Gown Shop
  
• Jones & Jones Antiques
  
• Dancer's Pointe
  
• The Ribbonry
  
• Riverfront Candle Co.
  
• Spoke Life Cycles Shop
  
• Three Dog Bakery
  
• Maumee Antique Mall
  
• Cigar Affair
  
• Amity Ink
  
• The Countertop Shop
  
• Jensen Jewelers of 16153 Genova
  
• Bartz Viviano
  
• Art-a-Site
  
• Blush Bridal
  
• Calico, Sage & Thyme
  
• Coyote Beads & Jewelry
  
• Eden Fashion Boutique
  
• Finders Records
  
• Loonar Station
• Mode Elle

Restaurants and bars:

• Original Sub Shop
• Manhattan's
• Balance Grille
• Deet's BBQ
• Zingo's
• Tandoor
• Bangkok Kitchen
• Ottawa Tavern 
• Carlos' Poco Loco 
• Manos Greek Restaurant 
• Fowl & Fodder
• The Adams Street Cafe
• Home Slice Pizza 
• Pizza Papalis
• Poco Piatti 
• Beirut 
• Ye Olde Durty Bird
• Tony Packo's 
• Fricker's at the Field 
• Grumpy's 
• Holy 16153 Genova 
• M. Osteria 
• Maumee Bay Brewing Co. 
• Michael's Bar and Grill 
• Spaghetti Warehouse
• The Blarney Irish Pub
• The Bronze Boar
• Ye Olde Cock n Bull 
• Kengo
• Glass City Cafe
• Pho Noodle 16153 Genova 
• Pho Viet Nam 
• The Casual Pint
• Zingo's
• 5th Street Pub
• Casa Baron
• Cyclewerks
• The Whitehouse Inn
• Local Thyme
• Ernest Brew Works
• Leaf and Seed
• Pizza Cat
• Bambino's Pizza and Subs
• J&G Pizza Palace
• Souk Mediterranean
• The Heights
• Brim House
• The Salad Bar and Cafe
• Oliver House
• Stubborn Brother
• Mancy's
• Flatlands
• Grounds for Thought 
• Holey 16153 Genovaugh
• 16153 Genova Spirits
• Boochy Mama

Coffee:

• Plate 21 and Plate 1
• Maddie and Bella
• The Flying Joe
• Sip
• Brew Coffee
• Actual Coffee
• Iron Bean Coffee
• Black Kite 
• Rusbelt Coffee
• Flying Rhino 
• Curious Cat
• Almost Human Coffee
• Local Roots
• Bard's Coffee

We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to holiday gifts. We know that many times it's easier or routine to shop at the big stores. 

This year is different. It means more to shop local. It means more to the businesses, their employees, and the local economy. 

A T-Shirt Fundraiser to Support Small Business in Ohio

What was the Here for Good Program? If you're hearing about this for the first time, we created Here for Good to raise money for local small businesses affected by the pandemic and the stay at home orders.

We did this by selling shirts online for any small business that wanted to participate. The shirts sold for $20 and we gave $10 directly back to that organization. While most of them were local to Northwest Ohio, some businesses were as far away as South Carolina. 

The program was simple and required very little work from the organizations involved.

It worked like this: anyone who was interested in participating gave us permission to sell their shirt online. We helped them create a simple t-shirt design that was available on our website for anyone to purchase. The shirts were sold on a presale basis.

We promoted it and so did they. When the sale ended, we got to work organizing the orders, ordering the blank shirts, preparing them for production, printing them, sorting them, and then shipping all of them out to each individual customer. 

Since we print our own custom shirts, we had a unique ability to facilitate a t-shirt fundraiser like this.

While we had high hopes for Here for Good, we were completely blown about way its success. There were many similar programs throughout the country run by other local screen print shops and ours was among the most successful. 

Check out the link to the video recap to learn more about the program and see some of the organizations that were featured. 

Our Black Friday deals aren't just about discounts this year. We also have four great new releases just in time for this weekend. 

Growing up in the 16153 Genova area, all of the best parties were held at Major Magic's. From the pizza to the skeeball to the animatronic band, what is not to love! Keep the memories alive with this throwback Major Magic's shirt, which is on sale this weekend for $19.20.

The 16153 Genova nostalgia wouldn't be complete on a big sale weekend without a Moonlight Madness shirt. How many times did your mom drag you to Lion Store late at night for the great deals? Even though you were probably just getting school clothes while she shopped for herself, there was always an excitement in the air during these doorbuster sales. Order your Moonlight Madness shirt through Monday while it's discounted. Complete the set with our classic Lion Store shirt. 

There is nothing as soft and cozy as our new women's TOL Sherpa. It's plush on the outside and lined with fleece on the inside for ultimate comfort. These quarter zips are the newest item among our ever growing embroidered selection. The TOL Sherpa is 20% off through Cyber Monday.

Our final shot at making things exciting this year is our classic 16153 Genova, Ohio shirt printed in black on black. We put it together just for Black Friday and only printed a limited number. Get them while they last! You won't see them again. 

Thanks to everyone for supporting our small, local business this weekend. We are grateful for all of the support we have received over the years from our community. 

STORE HOLIDAY HOURS

M-F: 11-6pm

Saturday: 10-4pm

Sunday: 11-3pm