Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions found its niche designing top-of-the-line apparel and accessories in Northern California’s wine country using state-of-the-art engineering techniques.
The Santa Rosa, Calif.-based company was founded by Eddie Brascia and Tim Keehn in 2003 and is located in Sonoma County. Brascia started his career at North Coast Clothing in 2003 and prides himself on customer relations and a “do whatever it takes to get the job done” attitude. Keehn founded Sew Be It Embroidery, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., in 1996 and has built his businesses around product quality and a commitment to meet deadlines.
Today, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions offers embroidery, screen-printing, paper printing and an in-house art department to design apparel and accessories for a variety of customers. The company works mainly with wineries, but has also designed apparel for school districts, small and large companies, hospitals, fire departments, sports teams and municipalities.
“We perform our work for a wide variety of industries, however about 60 percent of our business is from the wineries,” Brascia says. “The wineries are in our backyard. We maintain a solid business relationship with the wineries, allowing the owners to call me personally to place their orders.”
Quality Design
A professional, full-service apparel decorator, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions sets itself apart in the industry by offering an art department for design collaboration, two showrooms so customers can get a feel for what their products will look like and in-house production with state-of-the-art technology. “In our industry there are a lot of garage operations, but the print applications we are using are more retail-oriented and professional,” Brascia explains. “It doesn’t look like a t-shirt with the name stamped on it.”
To ensure the client receives the look it wants on its apparel or accessories, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions’ artists receive approval on every design – whether it be new or a replica of the brand’s logo. “Most wineries have their own art work; what we try to do is then give them something that will look good on wearables,” Brascia says. “Our art department can design anything around their branding so it works on apparel.”
After the design is complete, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions’ staff helps the client choose from a variety of quality garments. If a design will be embroidered, the customer is able to choose from more than 500 different thread colors in stock.
Finalizing Details
Prior to production, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions ensures customer satisfaction by sending its clients the design sewn on the fabric chosen, if embroidered and a digital version of the design on the color of garments ordered, if screen printing was used.
As the largest embroidery and screen-printing company in the North Bay, Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions offers multiple specialty services. Its embroidery options include tackle twill, applique and 3-D, and its screen-printing specialty inks include gels, glitter, shimmer, a simulated four color process and foil. The company also utilizes two of the latest engineering techniques in the apparel industry: in-line foil stamping and Flextran. “We run the most state-of-the-art equipment in the industry,” Brascia adds.
In-line foil printing is the process of printing designs on garments using plastisol inks in combination with foil stamping. Flextran is one of the newest technologies for applying a logo to a garment, the company explains. Using molds, it adheres single and multicolor logos with a depth of a quarter-inch.
Niche Market
Sonoma Design, Apparel and Promotions will continue to focus its efforts in Northern California and does not plan to expand its operation outside its niche market, Brascia says.
“If we have some national accounts, it just happened,” he explains. “We are not searching for them and we have no plans to expand nationally.”
The company has a showroom in neighboring Napa County that it plans to renovate into an additional production facility to be closer to its customers in that area. “We want to see our growth at around 10 percent per year and maintain that,” Brascia adds.