Northwest Custom Apparel in Milton, WA, has been in the apparel decoration business for more than 40 years. Owner Jim Mickelson started his shop in 1977 after getting the idea to sell embroidered caps to fellow employees of the Alaska Pipeline, where he was an administration manager at the time. The company has grown by leaps and bounds since then.

In the latest edition of Wearables’ Instagram Takeover, Erik Mickelson, operations manager, takes us on a tour of Northwest Custom Apparel, as well as a walk down memory lane. (See previous installments of the ongoing series here, here and here.)

Welcome to Northwest Custom Apparel’s Wearables Instagram takeover. We will be showing you some awesome marketing and production ideas we have learned since 1977. Owner Jim Mickelson and son Erik will be pulling back the curtains so sit back and enjoy. #nwcustomapparel#marketingideas#embroidery #directtogarment

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 8:07am PDT

Below, Erik shows off some old-school embroidery digitizing equipment. Who else remembers “punch tapes”?

These are our old embroidery punch tapes. They now fit on my iPhone. They are completely obsolete, but owner Jim Mickelson keeps them because they represent 10’s of thousands of programming hours. To digitize an 8,000 stitch logo back in the day could take 8 hours.

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 8:31am PDT

Another blast from the past shows how artwork was blown up much larger than actual size to be digitized on a board, rather than via computer, as it’s done today.

Artwork blown up 6x to be digitized on a digitizing board. An artist would have to hand draw the stitching pattern. We would charge $25 per thousand stitches. Not bad when your digitizer was making $5.00 per hour in the early 80’s. #nwcustomapparel #digitizing

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 8:39am PDT

Who wouldn’t want to wear jeans with the Van Halen logo embroidered on the back pockets?

Van Halen original artwork to be stitched on the back of jeans pockets. The work order says 1979. #vanhalen #nwcustomapparel

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 8:48am PDT

Flash forward to modern day. Northwest Custom Apparel has a strong grasp of smart self-promotion.

Idea. Have goodies at your front counter branded with your logo. Also have flyers on product. We have flyers on artwork, safety gear and digital print. Make sure you load your customer up with promo goodies before they leave. Pens, koozies, tape measures and screen wipes. #nwcustomapparel #promoitems.

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 9:26am PDT

Owner Jim Mickelson and two key employees show off Northwest Custom Apparel’s work.

Owner Jim Mickelson stands with production management Ruthie and Lead Operator, Sarann.

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 2:43pm PDT

And, because this is the internet, it’s almost obligatory that we finish with a photo of an adorable animal.

Meet our Shop Dog, Tinsley. #nwcustomapparel #cutedogs

A post shared by Wearables Magazine (@wearablesmag) on Apr 3, 2018 at 2:45pm PDT

If you think your shop deserves some Insta-love, email me at thegel@asicentral.com to schedule your own Instagram Takeover.