‘Print It Forward’

Atomic Threads helps itself — and other businesses

Andrew Willis has owned and operated Atomic Threads for 11 years.

After surviving the slowdown that followed the 2008 recession, he steadily built the business, increasing his staff to seven. Orders were coming in for shirts, jackets, hats and hoodies — pretty much all things wearable — all with special designs.

“We were doing great, holding our own,” he said.

Then came the coronavirus.

As Willis put it, “all the event orders, school orders, small business orders, fell to zero. Absolutely nothing.”

His crew was reduced to two. Wife Jami Daugherty stepped in to help — as a volunteer.

“We can’t afford to pay me,” she said, smiling.

Like many small businesses, Atomic Threads went into survival mode, laying off workers, scrambling to pay bills on incomes that no longer existed. They face the possibility of losing their savings and seeing their dreams shattered.

“We’re trying to make it through this thing,” Willis said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t last too long.”

Meantime, they pondered their next move. Not just to save themselves, but their neighbors, too.

“The idea was to have a way to help ourselves through this thing, help others through this thing, by doing a T-shirt fundraiser,” he said.

They decided to do what they do best: print T-shirts.

“Print It Forward” was born, inspired by #HereForGood_COVID19 Relief Concept developed by the team at Tiny Little Monster.

Willis explains it:

“We offer the softest, comfiest tees plus print our local businesses’ logos on them. Their fans (you!) have a chance to support the businesses you love in new way and you get a great limited edition shirt out of the deal. We’ve launched this fundraiser site, www.atomicthreads.com/about/community, in an attempt to not only keep our own doors open, but with the sincere hope that we can lend a helping hand to the many wonderful local businesses we have partnered with in the last 11 years.”

The shirts sell for $20, with $10 to Atomic Threads and $10 to the business of that shirt.

“Like these local spots?” Willis wrote. “This is your chance to work together to do our best to make sure your favorite local spots are still around to enjoy after this is all over.”

Business owners, groups, individuals, can submit a design (one color, white) and select from five T-shirt colors — raspberry, gray, black, teal and mustard — and more may be added.

Atomic Threads will post the shirt on its website for viewers to check out and purchase. There’s zero risk to the person putting in the design, Willis said, with no money needed up front.

“This takes all the normal hurdles out of the deal,” he said.

It’s been “overwhelmingly successful,” Willis said.

More than $8,000 worth of shirts had been sold by mid-April, which means $4,000 went back to those businesses. More than 150 orders were placed for one shirt.

About 40 businesses, like Crown & Thistle, Roger’s Ice Cream and Burgers, Art Spirit Gallery, Calypsos Coffee, Cosmic Cowboy, and Nadine’s Mexican Kitchen, have T-shirts on the site.

Jamie was wearing a shirt with the design for Bent Tree Brewing in Athol, which showed a beer in the woods.

“They have a great little place,” she said.

So, buying a shirt supports Atomic Threads, the businesses and follows social distancing guidelines.

“It’s been a pretty cool thing,” Willis said. “This is the bulk of what we’ve been doing. All of our orders have basically stopped because there’s no events, nobody’s in school.”

Willis is urging each business to promote the venture via their own websites, emails and social media outlets.

He believes it could keep doors open and finances flowing until the government-ordered shutdown of nonessential business is lifted and people can leave their homes and return to work.

He recalled that he took over Atomic Threads shortly after the 2008 recession.

“From the beginning, it was a challenge,” he said. “The last couple years it’s been pretty good. This is definitely the biggest hurdle so far, but we’re making it through.”

The Willlis family is tight-knit. Son Cullen and daughter Katelyn were at the shop on Dakota Avenue recently, doing school work. Both attend Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

Yogurt, an imposing but friendly 98-pound Siberian Husky, wanders and lounges and patrols the place.

Despite their pressures, Andrew and Jami are relaxed and joke.

There’s a reason.

They shared a story from a trip to Cambodia, where they went to visit friends in January.

There, they saw people living on a few dollars a day, working from dawn to dusk.

“They’re hustling it,” Willis said. “Those guys work hard and they still have a smile on their face. They’re the friendliest people you can ever imagine.”

So when they returned to North Idaho, it gave them a new perspective on life.

“We have it so good here,” he said. “We have it so unbelievably so good here.”

If people in Cambodia can get by with little or nothing, Jami said, “we can do this. If those people can do it and be happy, then true happiness isn’t things.”

“We have a great community,” she continued. “I’ve seen it come together so many times.”

Willis said in speaking with many small business owners and employees, he has found that many are “terrified.”

So Print It Forward, he hopes, can help them, in a way, overcome that fear and at least have a sense of peace.

“It’s nice to have some small way to spread some positivity,” he said.

Jami nodded in agreement.

“It’s like a helpless-feeling situation,” she said. “Being able to help in some way makes you feel better — it makes you feel so much better.”