Today we’d like to introduce you to Rich Santo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rich. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Superior customer service and innovation through technology is all part of the CS Experience and mission to keep manufacturing jobs in America.
CS has been changing the apparel game since 2008 and they have skyrocketed ever since with some of the largest artist and retail brands in the country. They create incredible products with a new generation energy that you can just “feel” when you work with them. “The idea was to establish a youth driven company that would exceed the apparel printing industry standards in technical practices, production management, customer service, and company ethics. Production has grown both in size and capability, utilizing state of the art equipment, production management, and technology” says CEO Rich Santo. CS uses their years of experience to help guide their clients in making the best possible decisions that will yield the highest results. It’s your brand after all… they just make sure the end product is as great as it deserves to be.
Today, Culture Studio services leaders of the retail apparel industry including tour merchandise, direct to retail, and promotional clientele. They’ve worked with many of the nation’s leading brands and legendary music influencers such as The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin (no big deal), Black Sabbath, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Drake, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West. Just to name a few. They have also entered into the athletic sector printing for Adidas and Reebok and service a ton of restaurants and bars in the hospitality industry. Nothing is too big or too small for them.
Culture Studio is currently located in the heart of the Chicago Industrial Stockyards and employs close to 100 team members. From printing one off t-shirts and selling them out of their trunks to 50,000 square feet of the latest and greatest in apparel decorating machinery.. They have been through the motions of growing in a fast pace industry. INC magazine released its Inc 5000 fastest growing companies in America list in 2013 which featured CS as one of top ranking companies… and they’ve made the list ever since.
To what do they owe their success? Customer service, innovation, and staying up to date with the times. Their most recent purchase was a magnificent 22 station press – one of the first of its kind in North America. CS is also a founding member of a one of a kind shop management software called Stokkup that is geared specifically towards servicing the decorated merchandising industry. Through this technology, they have been able to take their business to the next level and become more efficient and organized. Talk about innovating a classic industry! The CS website even has an easy online builder where you can design your own merchandise with your logo on it. This allows clients to be apart of the creative process and makes it a more interactive experience.
You may have been surprised to learn that the t-shirt you bought at the Kanye concert was made right here in Chicago. “Our biggest competitor is overseas products. Through our innovative technology, we can continue to thrive in our marketplace and hopefully bring more American jobs and more American manufacturing back,” says Santo in a recent article published by Built In Chicago.
Embroidery, fulfillment, creative services, on-site printing, logistics, product development, project management, and branded merchandise with a full garment database to choose from… you name it, Culture Studio can do it. CS is a one-stop shop for its clients to get everything they are looking for out of the decorated apparel industry. Passionately creating lasting first impressions… making ideas become a reality… artistic innovation through technology. That IS “Culture Land.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t believe anyone in business could honestly say it has been a smooth road. Running a business is very difficult in which it should be because if it was easy everyone would do it.
We have experienced everything along the way. Personal issues, banks not believing in us, bad advice you name it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Culture Studio story. Tell us more about the business.
Culture Studio is the only merchandise company that has the unique combination of creativity, manufacturing and industry-leading technology.
What we are most proud of as a company is the ability to leave our thumbprint on an industry. What started as just a simple vision of a small group has now manifested in something larger than anyone 1 or few of us.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t necessarily believe as much in luck as I do timing. Being in the right place at the right time or meeting the right people has certainly played a role. But from there, it is the execution that has been the deciding factor to success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1151 W 40th St
- Website: culturestudio.net
- Phone: 312-243-8304
- Email: rich@culturestudio.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturestudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CultureStudioDecoratedMerchandise/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/culturestudio
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