Local Screen Print Shop, Tiny Little Monster, Gets Creative for Businesses in Need
St. Louis, MO: Tiny Little Monster, a small print shop in St. Louis, has created an online store for local St. Louis businesses to sell branded t-shirts to help their struggling operations. The online store features t-shirts for individual small businesses that choose to participate; customers can purchase a t-shirt for $20, and $10 from the sale goes directly to the business. The other $10 is used by Tiny Little Monster for t-shirt production and packaging and to pay furloughed staff.
When asked what inspired her to start the Here For Good movement owner Sloan Coleman said, “We were watching our sales numbers drop to nothing and in speaking with some of our most reliable customers realized that we are all in the same boat. Fear, closures, and social distancing habits are slashing small business earnings to the bone. Something had to happen. We print t-shirts so we came up with this idea to sell t-shirts on behalf of local small businesses as a way to generate a different source of revenue for them.”
And the movement took off! Within 5 days of opening online and advertising the store to local businesses only using social media and the hashtag #HereForGoodSTL, over 40 St. Louis business owners submitted t-shirt designs to sell. In just one weekend, Tiny Little Monster raised over $7,000 and by April 7th over 3,000 shirts have been sold, generating $30,000 in sales donations delivered directly to the participating businesses. and the Here For Good store is adding new businesses daily. By April 7th, over 3,000 t-shirts were sold and $30,000 in donations were delivered directly to local small businesses.
The Here For Good STL store is adding new businesses daily and is also excited to see that the movement has gained traction in other communities with screen print businesses in Utah, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota, and Oregon asking for assistance in setting up their own online stores to help their small business neighbors survive the coming economic climate.
“We’re just trying to do our part,” said Coleman. “St. Louis is a unique city and we just knew folks would step up to help keep their local business community thriving. We’re trying to make sure that small shops are around forever, or Here For Good.”
Any small business affected by COVID-19 can participate in the movement by submitting a t-shirt design at tinylittlemonster.com/here-for-good.
About Tiny Little Monster: Tiny Little Monster is owned and operated by Sloan Coleman and her partner, Jenny Rearick. Started in a basement in 2011, the company moved to a small storefront in Maplewood before transitioning into their permanent storefront and production studio in Shrewsbury, Missouri. Tiny Little Monster, hailed as the “print shop for the people,” prints high quality t-shirts, tote bags, and other promotional products for individuals, non-profits, and small businesses.
