From Joe at Vivere Colorado, to Kelsey
Kelsey, I built a complete merch store for Vivere Colorado and I want R&K to make the first run. This report shows you what I have built, what the numbers look like, and how we could scale it together, with social media, new products and automation on my side. Then we offer the same package to other small businesses.
1 · Executive summary
Small businesses want branded merch. They get stuck between a big print-on-demand company that is cheap and generic, and a local shop that makes lovely things but cannot sell online. I think you and I can be the third option.
Embroidery on hats, zips and shirts, leather-patch hats, custom tees, laser-engraved pieces. The craft and the quality check stay with you.
I run the store, the photos, the digitizing tools, the social media and the order admin, and I automate as much of it as I can.
A complete merch line from two people they can call, with numbered runs so nobody sits on dead stock.
2 · What is already built
This is my private review build of Vivere Colorado. Every picture is still a concept render, which is why your stitched samples come first. Please click through these.
Type in the box on Shop all, tap Shirts, Hats or Hoodies, or turn Quick view on and off.
Open a product page, pick a size, and add it. The bag has quantity buttons. Checkout says it is not open yet and charges nothing.
The Field Series page shows the numbered run of 48, with filters by piece type.
Boxes start with a starter box or a box you send as a gift.
The clean catalog shows the same pieces with no logo on the outside.
The full line puts all 93 pieces on one page.
| Built | Status |
|---|---|
| Store with 12 lines, 93 pieces, search, filters, gift boxes, bag | Built private review |
| Numbered pre-order run counter and owner admin (orders, packing list) | Built payments not switched on |
| Generators that rebuild the whole store from data files | Built a new brand is mostly a data swap |
| Vivere Digitizer: upload a logo, free stitch preview, paid file download | In progress access granted by Joe |
| R&K Designs website, randkdesigns.com | Live since 15 Oct 2026 |
3 · What I have built
I want you to be able to stay at the machine. Here is what I have already built and run, and what is still in progress.
12 product lines and 93 pieces, search and filters, a quick photo view, gift boxes, a clean no-logo catalog, a bag, and a numbered-run counter. I rebuild the whole store from data files, so a new brand is mostly a data swap.
An owner-only page for orders, size totals for you, the packing list and the give-back total. Payments and order emails switch on when I add my payment and email keys.
I make concept renders of every piece so a line can be shown, tested and fixed before a single blank is bought. They stay labelled as concepts until your stitched samples replace them.
In progress: a logo upload, a free stitch preview, then a paid embroidery file. I grant access personally to small businesses and small makers. I am building it to save you digitizing time.
I have built and launched sites for local businesses in Delta, including your own, R&K Designs, with a brand kit, a how-to guide, a check-up report and a campaign pilot that is paused.
I schedule and publish posts across platforms with my posting tools, and I make short animated product videos. I already run this for local clients.
4 · How we scale
Your time is the scarce thing, so everything I can automate, I will. Here is how I would grow it in three ways, and where I need you.
I turn each of your sew-outs and finished pieces into photos and short videos, then schedule them. The numbered run gives me an honest story every week: how many are left. I post and I answer, and you appear as the maker. Real counts only.
Start with hats and tees. Add zips and hoodies. Add small keepsakes like patches and pins. Add gift boxes. Then seasonal numbered runs. Each step is a new line in the store, which I add without rebuilding anything. Printed pieces and overflow can go to a print-on-demand partner.
The store rebuilds from data, the run counter updates itself, the packing list builds itself, and my posts run on a schedule. My plan is to automate the repeat work for each new client, then time how long a setup really takes.
| Job | Who | How |
|---|---|---|
| Rebuild a store for a new brand | Me | Data files plus art; the engine builds every page |
| Count the numbered run, close it when full | Automatic | The store tracks real orders against the run size |
| Packing list and size totals for you | Automatic | My admin builds it from paid orders |
| Photos, videos and post scheduling | Me | Made from your real samples, queued on a calendar |
| Reports and updates | Me | Rebuilt from live data, so numbers stay honest |
| Stitching, quality check, packing | You | Hands and eyes. This is the part nobody can automate. |
5 · The offer
Here is what I would offer local and regional small businesses with a brand worth wearing: restaurants, outfitters, gyms, contractors, venues, clubs and small makers.
A local maker who checks every stitch, real numbered runs, a store that matches the brand, and two people they can call.
The client can sell online, with real counts and a store that tells the truth.
I never invent numbers, counts or dates, and concept renders stay labelled until your real photos exist.
6 · How we work together
This is how I picture it. Tell me where you disagree.
| You (R&K Designs) | Me (Vivere Colorado and Vivere Web) | |
|---|---|---|
| Owns | Production, materials, quality, the craft | Website, store, digitizer, photos, social media, automation, admin |
| Paid for | Per-piece production | Store build, monthly care, digitizing |
| Credit | Named as the maker on every line | Credited as the builder, in the footer |
We each bill the client for our own work. No shared money, least risk. This is what I suggest for the first run.
One quote to the client. You get production cost plus [ ]% of the sale. I keep the rest and cover card fees and shipping.
After production cost, we split the profit [ ] / [ ]. Only once we both know real costs.
7 · Forecast model
The prices are my real Vivere Colorado list prices. The cost side is my assumption until I see your price sheet, and I show my evidence further down. Move a slider and every number recomputes.
| Line | Amount | How |
|---|
| Option | You | Me | What it means |
|---|
Annual profit before any split, by pieces per client run and clients per year, at the settings above. This is arithmetic on stated volumes, not a prediction of demand.
| Pieces per run | 1 client | 2 clients | 4 clients | 8 clients |
|---|
8 · Growth model
I start with one client. Each active client does one run per quarter. The number of clients then grows by a fixed rate each quarter, as happy clients refer others. I chose the growth rate only to show the shape. I have no sales data yet.
Profit per piece comes from the forecast above, so changing cost share changes this too.
| Quarter | Active clients | Pieces a month wanted | Made (limited) | Profit, no limit | Profit, limited |
|---|
9 · Evidence and sources
I do not have your prices yet. The nearest public benchmark is what a print-on-demand provider charges for embroidered blanks. It is not your cost. It shows where my 50% setting comes from.
| Piece (our list price) | Benchmark cost | Implied cost share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Trucker ($34), 24 hats | $23.00 | 68% | Printful embroidered hats |
| Paradise Trucker ($34), 50 hats | $19.25 | 57% | Printful embroidered hats |
| Paradise Trucker ($34), 100 hats | $17.00 | 50% | Printful embroidered hats |
| COLORADO Crew ($55), crewneck | $18.79 to $19.39 | 34% to 35% | Style Factory guide (2025) |
| Motto Hoodie ($60), hoodie | $22.19 to $26.00 | 37% to 43% | Podvector breakdown (2026) |
| Tonal Zip ($75) | No benchmark found | Unknown | I need your quote |
| Input | Status | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| List prices ($34, $55, $60, $75 Field; $32 to $64 Essentials) | Real | Set in the live Vivere Colorado store data, 1 Nov 2026 |
| Run of 48, 93 pieces, 12 lines | Real | The store's own counts. Run size is a plan, not sales. |
| Home page speed 99 phone, 100 desktop; accessibility 100 and 98 | Measured | PageSpeed Insights, 1 Nov 2026 |
| Card fees 2.9% + $0.30 per charge | Sourced | Stripe's US standard rate as reported by NerdWallet. Confirm on Stripe's site. |
| Printify Premium $39 a month or $299 a year | Sourced | Printify help center, Feb 2026 |
| Production cost share of 50% | Assumption | Midpoint of the benchmark range. Replace with R&K's price sheet. |
| Shipping, returns, rework, sales tax | Assumption | Set to zero until there is a real run to measure |
| Client growth rate, clients per year, machine capacity | Assumption | Chosen to show scale. No demand data exists yet. |
10 · Print-on-demand and dropshipping
Printful, Printify and Gelato can make and ship an order with no stock held. That is useful for overflow, extra sizes and printed pieces such as my all-over snow-burst jerseys. You stay the maker for the embroidered hero pieces.
| Provider | Good for | Facts found (third-party, as of 1 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Printful | Widest embroidery options, in-house production | Hats $23 at 24, $19.25 at 50, $17 at 100. No minimum order. Shipping billed separately. |
| Printify | Cheaper basic embroidery, many print partners | Premium $39 a month or $299 a year, up to 20% off most of the catalog. Quality varies by partner. |
| Gelato | Local production, strong for international shipping | Embroidery through its partner network. For US-only orders one comparison finds it roughly equal. |
Best quality and a real local maker, but a numbered run needs cash for blanks and R&K's time.
R&K makes the embroidered hero pieces. A partner handles overflow and printed pieces. One store, two ways to fulfil.
Test demand on a new design cheaply with a partner, then move the winners to an R&K numbered run.
11 · Game plan
You stitch three sew-outs. I photograph them and replace my concept renders. I open the run of 48 for pre-order and you make it. We learn real stitch times, rework and costs.
We write down your price sheet and lead times. I finish the digitizer and make a setup checklist for a new brand, one sales page and a sample lookbook.
One friendly local client, built end to end with you as the maker, and a small numbered pre-order. We measure my build time, your production hours and what is left over.
Only if the pilot works, a few more businesses at a time, so your production never gets ahead of your capacity.
12 · Risks
| Risk | What we do |
|---|---|
| Capacity: one machine | Small numbered runs, a stated lead time, a cap on clients at once |
| Quality drift across brands | Written sew-out approval before each run; you keep the final say |
| Trademark or copyright on client art | Ask for proof of rights; your TO LIVE CO banner needs your written terms |
| Promises we cannot meet | I post real counts only, and dates only when you confirm capacity |
| Cash tied up in blanks | Client deposit or pre-order payment before buying a run |
| Two businesses depending on each other | A short written agreement, even for option A: who does what, who is paid when, how to step away |
13 · What we do not know yet
| Unknown | How we find out |
|---|---|
| Your real cost per piece, minimums, lead time | Your price sheet, then three sew-out samples |
| Whether anyone will buy: real demand | The first numbered pre-order. Real counts only |
| Hours to build and photograph a new client | I time the first outside pilot |
| Rework and defect rate on embroidery | Track it on the first run |
| Shipping and packaging cost | Quote from the chosen carrier |
| My prices: store build, monthly care, digitizing | I set them after we agree the offer |
| Sales tax licence and trademark checks | My open items |
14 · Decisions needed
15 · Links and files
I attached to my email: the forecast spreadsheet (every assumption in a yellow cell), the line-sheet PDF of every piece, and the logo files you would stitch.