Published: 10/6/2022 3:34:23 PM
Modified: 10/6/2022 3:30:07 PM
SOUTH DEERFIELD — While Dead Eye Prints, a company that produces customized T-shirts, posters and patches out of Alex Noonan’s basement, may look modest from the outside, Noonan went through a lot to get here.
Noonan started her company in 2017, making T-shirts out of her apartment’s kitchen in Hadley. She originally learned screen printing while in college at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and fell in love with the medium.
Tired of her tech job, Noonan dreamed of working on her printing business full-time. In September, she finally took the leap, quitting her full-time job to focus on her own company based out of her house in South Deerfield.
Part of Noonan’s career change involved saving up to buy an expensive piece of equipment called a direct-to-garment printer, or DTG.
“Buying this meant I could never turn down an order,” Noonan said, elaborating that her DTG can print infinite colors and on a variety of products including hats and shoes.
Noonan explained she loves screen printing, but the process takes a lot of time and has a large margin of error.
“Screen printing is time-consuming and frustrating,” she said.
Additionally, before Noonan opened Dead Eye Prints, she worked for other printing companies across New England, with most being run by men. Adding that she did not enjoy working under male bosses, she felt inspired to start her own business. She hopes to one day run a shop with employees where she may cultivate a less stressful work environment than the ones she’s experienced, and where she can offer classes to share her skills with others.
Western Massachusetts residents have embraced her “leap of faith,” Noonan said.
“There is excitement and appreciation to have a local artist doing this work,” she said. “When you order from large companies, you have no clue what the quality will be.”
She explained her equipment is extremely high-quality and she puts a lot of effort into each product she makes.
“I’m an artist,” she said. “I want stuff to look good.”
Noonan said her work is special because people can come to her with ideas, and she will work with customers collaboratively to come up with designs for T-shirts. There are no minimums for ordering, as is the case with some printing companies.
For more information, visit deadeyeprints.com.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.