Ashleigh Thomas Owner/Founder Ashleigh (Kiester) Thomas is the owner and founder of The Graphic Brand. She has been working in the apparel decorating industry for over five years and been designing her whole life. She has been blessed with an identical twin sister, Meghann, to have by her side as they shared all the same interests and went through everything together, including USF. Ashleigh's role model for starting her own business has been her mom, Linda, who started her own billing business the year "the girls" were born.
Olivia Dale Intern/Brand Marketing Manager Olivia started out as a high school intern from Manchester and has been working dilligently at the Graphic Brand, using he expertise in marketing to better the business. She currently manages all of TGB social media platforms the website, and the storefront! She will be attending Butler University in the Fall of 2023 to study marketing with a minor in pre-law, aspiring to become a marketing specialist and a lawyer. This year, Olivia won the title of Miss Wabash County Fair Queen and has shown horses, swine, turkeys, chickens, and rabbits in 4-H for 10 years. She loves spending time with friends, riding her horse, and tackling/organizing anythugn that comes her way. She is looking forward to what the future holds!
Meghann Volk Subcontractor Meghann (Kiester) Volk has been with The Graphic Brand since the beginning playing a variety of roles when needed. Her main focus is producing all of the embroidery work as our premier subcontractor, which she has over 12 years of experience doing. Meghann also creates many of the designs and logos that you see on our apparel, in our team stores, and for local businesses and organizations. Whenever things get crazy, she is happy to step in doing any production work to help orders get out smoothly. She also enjoys her small-scale farm life, raising cows, gardening and being a mom to two great littles, while helping her husband, Brandon, run his new business.
How THe Graphic Brand Started:
In April 2013, Ashleigh decided to take a leap of faith and start her own business, The Graphic Brand. She invested in what she knew best: printing t-shirts, purchasing a DTG M2 printer and all the equipment necessary to get into production. She started off with a bang and had orders lined up, and hasn't slowed down one bit! TGB happily serves many businesses, organization, and schools in the Wabash County area, and is the go to for Manchester Squire Apparel! What started out as a 12x12 room in her first home, has evolved into a beautiful shop with a newly added storefront. The Graphic Brand now offers everything from all brand design needs to custom apparel!
Ashleigh making her first shirts on the original DTG Shirt Printer!
Ashleigh began her career in graphic design during high school through various art classes, but mostly through leadership roles on the yearbook staff. Ashleigh earned many honors for her leadership, drive, and commitment to the award-winning production. By the time her senior year rolled around, she knew her passion was graphic design. Ashleigh and her twin sister, Meghann, graduated as Co-Valedictorians from Manchester High School in June 2009.
The following fall, Ashleigh began her journey towards a Communication Arts and Graphic Design degree at the University of Saint Francis. She also kept her interest in starting her own business, leading to a minor in Business Administration. By the end of her career at USF, Ashleigh was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Communication Arts and Graphic Design, Judge's Choice in the Fort Wayne Advertising Federation Addy Awards, and a Gold Award at the AdFed District Level. She graduated in May 2012 with Highest Honors! She then set off on her first business venture as an entrepreneur, creating... The Graphic Brand!
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