Custom Tees is a custom apparel retail store located in both the Poughkeepsie and Middletown Galleria Malls. We build and personalized merchandise for retail fun and for local businesses; specializing in custom T-shirts, sweatshirts, team apparel, family designs, business apparel, events, and specialty orders.
We are looking for a Graphic Artist who combines creativity with organization, customer relationship skills, and an understanding of marketing. This position will play an important role in both the creative side of our business and our continued growth.
The ideal candidate enjoys designing, spotting trends, developing new ideas, connecting with businesses and organizations, and turning creative concepts into opportunities for the store.
What You’ll Do
Graphic Design & Production
- Create custom graphics and designs for T-shirts, sweatshirts, jerseys, bags, signs, displays, and other personalized products
- Work with customers to understand their ideas and turn them into polished designs
- Edit and clean up customer-provided artwork, logos, photographs, and graphics
- Remove backgrounds, clean up images, vectorize artwork, and prepare files for production
- Prepare artwork for DTF, vinyl, sublimation, and other printing methods
- Resize and format artwork according to product and production requirements
- Create customer proofs and make revisions as needed
- Recreate or modify existing artwork when necessary
- Maintain organized digital artwork and customer files
- Communicate with the production team to ensure artwork is prepared correctly
Marketing & Store Promotion
- Develop creative marketing concepts to promote Custom Tees and its products
- Monitor apparel, design, seasonal, and social media trends for new ideas
- Develop concepts for in-store displays, window displays, promotional areas, and seasonal merchandising
- Create displays and promotional materials around holidays, events, community activities, and current trends
- Help keep the store visually fresh and give customers new reasons to stop, look, and shop
- Develop creative concepts for new products, collections, promotions, and specialty merchandise
- Assist with social media content and other marketing initiatives
- Help identify opportunities to showcase Custom Tees within the local community
- Develop relationships with local businesses, organizations, teams, schools, event planners, and other potential partners
Business Development & Client Relationships
This position will also have an opportunity to contribute directly to the growth of Custom Tees.
- Build and maintain relationships with businesses, organizations, teams, schools, events, and other potential clients
- Follow up with prospective clients and maintain professional communication throughout the sales process
- Help develop custom apparel and promotional solutions based on a client’s needs
- Maintain accurate records of outreach, prospects, follow-ups, and client activity
- Document business development activity in Trello and the company’s CRM
- Keep client information, notes, follow-up dates, and project details organized and current
- Communicate with internal team members regarding new opportunities and active accounts
Marketing-Based Commission Opportunity
Employees in this role may be eligible for commission on qualifying new business they personally develop and bring to Custom Tees. Commission eligibility is based on the origin and development of the business opportunity and does not apply to standard incoming store inquiries or existing business.
Organization & Creative Asset Management
Our creative library is an important part of the business. This position will help keep our design resources organized and current.
Responsibilities include:
- Maintain and update the Custom Tees font book
- Organize current graphics created by yourself, logos from new clients, templates, and other creative resources
- Maintain organized digital folders for marketing materials and displays
- Properly name and file newly clients and their downloaded graphics
- Keep files easy for the team from both stores to locate
- Archive outdated materials while preserving useful artwork and templates
Store Displays & Creative Development
We want our stores to constantly feel fresh and relevant.
You will be encouraged to:
- Watch current apparel and design trends
- Identify upcoming holidays, events, seasons, and community activities
- Develop display themes and concepts
- Create mockup sample apparel specifically for displays
- Develop coordinated display graphics and signage
- Refresh displays throughout the year
- Experiment with new product combinations and visual merchandising ideas
- Bring creative ideas to management for consideration and implementation
If you see a trend and think, “We should put that on a shirt,” we want to hear it.
What We’re Looking For
The ideal candidate is:
- Creative and highly detail-oriented
- Comfortable working directly with customers and clients
- Confident communicating with businesses and organizations
- Naturally curious about design, fashion, apparel, and marketing trends
- Able to turn an idea into a finished visual concept
- Organized and comfortable maintaining digital records
- Comfortable learning and using CRM and project-management systems
- Self-motivated and willing to seek out new opportunities
- Able to manage multiple projects and deadlines
- Professional, friendly, and relationship-focused
- Comfortable working independently while also being part of a team
Required Skills
- Graphic design experience
- Strong understanding of typography, layout, spacing, and composition
- Ability to work with PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF, and other common artwork formats
- Understanding of image resolution and print-quality requirements
- Ability to remove backgrounds and clean up artwork
- Basic understanding of vector artwork
- Strong computer skills
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Excellent organization and follow-through
Preferred Experience
Experience with any of the following is a plus:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Canva
- CorelDRAW
- DTF printing
- Vinyl cutting
- Sublimation
- Heat pressing
- Screen printing
- Vectorizing artwork
- Apparel design
- Social media marketing
- Digital marketing
- CRM systems
- Trello or similar project-management software
- Retail merchandising
- Business-to-business relationship building
Experience with apparel printing and production is preferred, but we are willing to train the right candidate who has strong graphic design and marketing skills.
What Makes Someone Successful in This Position?
The right person will be able to move comfortably between creative work, marketing, organization, and relationship building.
You’ll be expected to:
CREATE IT → MARKET IT → ORGANIZE IT → BUILD RELATIONSHIPS → GROW THE BUSINESS
This is a great opportunity for someone who doesn’t want to sit behind a computer designing all day and would rather have a position where their creativity can directly contribute to the growth of a business.
Physical & Work Requirements
- Ability to sit and work at a computer for extended periods
- Ability to stand and move around the retail and production environment
- Ability to occasionally lift and move boxes or supplies
- Ability to work evenings, weekends, and during busy seasonal periods as needed
- Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced retail environment
Why Work With Custom Tees?
- Creative, hands-on work
- Opportunity to build your graphic design and marketing portfolio
- Learn apparel decoration and production
- Work on a wide variety of custom projects
- Develop real-world marketing and business-development experience
- Opportunity to earn additional income through qualifying new business
- Work with local businesses, organizations, teams, events, and community groups
- Opportunity to develop your own creative ideas and see them become products
- Room for growth as Custom Tees continues to expand
How to Apply
Please submit a resume and, if available, a portfolio or examples of your graphic design, marketing, apparel, or creative work.
Applicants with experience in graphic design, apparel decoration, marketing, retail merchandising, social media, or business development are encouraged to apply.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: $16.00 - $18.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
Shift:
- 4 hour shift
- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Evening shift
Ability to Commute:
- Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (Required)
Work Location: In person
