Nice shirts: SpecialTee Screenprinting's Dana Adamy enjoys being involved in Columbus
Dana Adamy, owner of SpecialTee Screenprinting, grew up in the business world. Members of her family have owned several over the years and she always wanted to own one herself.
After college, she worked odd jobs around Columbus until Lisa Garrett, then-owner of SpecialTee, offered her a job, which ultimately led to her achieving her goal.
"Lisa Garrett, who owned it previously, was like, 'why don't you come work for me? Then, you know, in like, five to 10 years, you can buy it.' I was like, 'OK.' Well, then a year and a half later, she's like, 'well, I'm done. Would you like to buy my business?'" Adamy said.
So she did.
From one-offs to orders in the hundreds, SpecialTee does a lot when it comes to shirts, Adamy said. With a preassembled crew of knowledgeable people who like what they do, it was a good deal.
"It has been a lot of fun," she said. "I was truly blessed in the opportunity that I was given. It came with amazing employees that have stayed on and continue to help it grow, coming up with and building new ideas to get people to come into the store."
The humorous shirts one can find in the window and on the sales floor are designed by Lisa Ternus, who can throw out designs quickly, Adamy said. Francis Veseth does their embroidery, which is a task in itself.
Adamy said with her crew and her personal ethics, she tries to ensure a fast turnaround on projects without being too optimistic.
"I try very hard to do very quick turnaround," she said. "It can be frustrating when someone comes in on a Tuesday and wants things done by Thursday, but I will try to make it happen almost every single time. There are times I have to say no, but I feel that our turnaround time to get your product is really time efficient."
Jen Klutman, a friend of Adamy who has seen her go from new face at the shop to the owner, said the real trademark of Adamy's style of business is how accessible things are, whether it's a big order or someone just wanting to buy a Nebraska-themed shirt.
"She's got it figured out," Klutman said. "She orders everything, the stuff that she has in the shop, there's a lot more availability of somebody being able to come in and pick something out for our local schools or Nebraska, or anything like that."
Making things like shirts supporting local teams is one of Adamy's favorite parts of what they do at SpecialTee, but she also likes the fact that she is more involved in Columbus now that she's back. As a mark of that, she recently joined the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, prompting a visit form the group on Sept. 19.
"One of the biggest things is, I like being part of Columbus again because I was gone for 20 years," Adamy said. "I came back and now I get to work more with the public and I get to sponsor things and and be part of things and that's probably my favorite part."
