Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Christman.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I first started working in the industry at an apparel shop called Noble Wear when I was 18. My brother Joe got me a job apprenticing under him in their art department. We were the heart of Noble Wear in a way; every order received couldn’t be printed without passing through Joe’s hands or mine. During my years of working alongside him, Joe trained me to become a really great artist. He pushed me to improve my skills and create consistently better art and he wasn’t afraid to tell me when something was terrible. I would get often indignant at his harsh critiques but today I’m grateful for them. I can say without a doubt he trained me to deliver a level of quality that is extremely rare among not just printing companies but in the professional world at large.
Unfortunately, despite my consistent growth and progress as an artist, my boss didn’t view me in the same light. He saw me as just riding my brother’s coattails and collecting easy paychecks because Joe was the one who got me the job. Raises and bonuses were few and far between and this effort/reward disconnect left me feeling frustrated and unappreciated. My brother and I were a rock-solid team and some days I would get through more work than he did yet I had so little standing to show for it. Working my first job for someone who had no respect for me left me incredibly disillusioned with the working world and hungry for change. The prospect of living fifty years of this 9 to 5 life under someone who saw almost no value in me left me with a pit in my stomach.
That planted the seed (pardon the pun) that would become what Gold Tree Apparel is today. I had always entertained small ideas of starting a business but never seriously believed I could or would. I knew had a deep passion for my work; I just disliked the place I was doing it. I hated getting up early and dreamed of sleeping in all the time (I was still a teen at the time after all). I considered myself a fairly affable person and dealing with customers didn’t intimidate me at all. With strong attention to detail, I knew I could deliver quality creations both in terms of art and final product. Being my own boss became an idea of escape to me; an open window away from ‘the grind’ and a chance to live the life I wanted to live on my terms and schedule. I knew running a business was its own unique grind full of perils and uncertainty, but it was a more fulfilling concept of how I wanted to live my life. It was a challenge I was eager to face head-on and dive into. Thanks to my years at Noble Wear, I already knew most of the printing process, I just needed the equipment and the connections.
Little by little over the course of a year in 2015 I pieced together a small collection of supplies, a few screens, and a beginner press. Man, I hated that thing. It was less of a printing press and more a bent and broken pile of freshly painted scrap metal but it was a start. It took several months of trial and error, but eventually, my first few successful shirts were printed… until the ink washed off. But progress was progress and I learned from my mistakes. I continued to buy new colors of ink, more screens to put designs into, and better equipment overall. I saved up for several months and eventually bought a high-end press that would become my workhorse. To this day every supply and piece of equipment I own I paid for out of my own pocket. I never took a loan for any of it and I consider that a considerable point of pride.
It took about a year of this trial and error before I was confident enough to start accepting orders from customers. Some friends reached out to put in small orders thanks to my posts on social media. Shirts for events, parties, church groups, etc. From there it was all a matter of word of mouth. I tried advertising in more conventional ways over the years but nothing seemed to stick or gain any traction. All the new customers I was bringing in were simply because of the quality of my work getting around. That’s something I continue to not take for granted even today.
Now here’s the part where I have to admit I ran my shop out of the basement of my parent’s house for the first six years of Gold Tree’s existence. My parents have always been nothing but supportive of me throughout my whole life and I know my business would not have survived without them giving me a place to allow my business to flourish. It did have its own hardships working out of a literal room though. It became difficult hooking some larger customers as they were put off by the lack of a professional setting.
In March of 2022, I finally had a strong enough customer base to take the leap and Gold Tree was moved into a commercial office space in Hutchinson, MN. The excitement of “making it” was indescribable to me. It was just a 350-square-foot room but it was MINE. I had finally achieved what I wanted for so long. A quiet sanctuary where I could do what I loved. It didn’t take long for that room to present its own challenges, however. Business picked up so fast that I almost immediately outgrew my new space.
My first month open was filled with fourteen-hour days and six-day work weeks. Boxes of garments were stacked in the doorway and had to be climbed around to get to different parts of the shop. It never really got to me though; a fourteen-hour day of having fun working is not a bad day at all. From there business has only continued to grow and in my first nine months of being open commercially, I almost tripled my invoices from the prior year. I grew so quickly that in February of this year, I moved into a 1000-square-foot building right on the main street in Hutchinson and am close to hiring my first employee or two. I’m incredibly grateful for the people who supported me, believed in me, and recommended my work to get to where I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As far as growing businesses go it has been a remarkably smooth road thanks to my incredible support team of friends and family. Admittedly it took me a few years longer than I would’ve liked to get to this point but you can’t rush greatness, right?
For actual hardships, the pandemic was a major hurdle for me. Businesses didn’t need apparel to sell and events weren’t happening so business dried up almost completely for the first year of covid then slowly trickled back in.
After that, for several years the product delays from overseas created vast shortages in shirt sizes and colors so fulfilling orders became much more headache-inducing than they had been before covid. They eventually got sorted out though and today the whole industry is back to normal.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Gold Tree Apparel is a full-service silk screen and embroidery business delivering wholesale goods to businesses, events, and private purchasers. We create the art, take the orders, purchase the garments, print them, box them up, and deliver them to the customer. Through the years we’ve printed on tees, hoods, tote bags, beanies, baseball caps, duffel bags, dress bags, sweatpants, flannel jackets, windbreakers, and many more that I know I’m forgetting.
Gold Tree doesn’t really specialize in any particular product or thing, instead prides itself on being able to offer whatever the customer needs and delivering a quality product every time. If for some reason we’re unable to offer what they need, we’ll help point them in the direction of someone who can.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and don’t be afraid to take a chance on something you’re passionate about!
Don’t chase your dreams recklessly, but also don’t hide from them timidly.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goldtree.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gold_tree_apparel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldtreeapparel
