Who We Are

[Music] Hi everyone, it’s Melanie here from the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce and I am joined today by one of our newer members. So please everyone say hi to Matt. Matt Provost is with Hotline Apparel. Did I say that right? Matt Hotline Apparel. Okay, I wanted to make sure of that. So, um, you, um, do a lot of different things within the apparel space. So, maybe you can tell us a little bit about your company’s origins and what the main services that you, uh, that you offer. Absolutely. And, and thanks for, uh, talking to me today. So, uh, Hotline Apparel is an apparel company uh, and and what we do is uh, custom apparel. And so, we’ve been around for about 40 years. So, we’ve been based in Brantford, Ontario. So, just a short drive down the road. That’s where our factory is. So, a few benefits about uh us being there is your apparel, if you’re ordering from us, is not shipped in from China. It’s actually just down the road, made in Canada. That’s a really big thing right now. So, something that we always like to share. Um, and we do a lot of different types of apparel. So, if you’re looking for promotional things for an event that you’re going to and you need tote bags with your logos on it, we can go from there. And then we also go into more of the apparel like golf shirts like what I’ve got on here. Um, we can do hoodies, uh, crew necks, pretty much any type of clothing that you can think of. Uh, if there’s room to put a logo on it, we we can do so for you. So, that’s really what our specialty is and what we’ve been learning about over the last 40 years of being in business. I love that it’s been 40 years. that is uh uh amazing to see that kind of um legacy in a in a company and I really like that you touch on that your items are here in Canada because I know that we have found that before when we’ve ordered things sometimes you do need that tight turnaround because you’ve been asked to participate in a golf tournament or you know a women’s day event and you need to turn things around. Um so I know we’ve talked about this before. tell us a little bit about the company’s history in that you do a lot of supplying to larger organizations as well. So, universities, etc. So, so what I take from that is that you’re obviously super credible. You’re a trusted partner, uh, and that you have been you’ve proven that you can get the job done. Yeah, it and we we’ve been doing a lot of business. That’s kind of how everything started with Hotline Apparel. So, it’s a family business. You know, they started working in the garage in 1985. So, it’s actually the 40-year anniversary this year. Um, and so they started with universities and colleges and making, you know, those classic university and college hoodies and t-shirts that every student buys when they come in in first year. And so that’s how the business kind of grew. Uh, it went through universities and colleges all the way across Canada. So, it wasn’t just centralized in Ontario. And the business kind of got bigger and bigger and we built more relationships in the industry. And from there we started expanding into uh the corporate space as well. And so we’ve started being able to do more along uh with companies kind of like what you were saying you know you have an event that you have to go to in a tight turnaround and you can’t order something that’s going to take 6 to 8 weeks to come through. So that’s where we started helping other companies out because we have this foundation of having worked with some of the larger companies and larger uh organizations like universities and colleges. Yeah. So you don’t need to be scared off from talking to you if you’re a smaller company and you know you need you know so what what would be the smallest order you could do you know is it one hoodie or is it 10 yeah so the great question um so we tend to operate more in the space I would say our specialty is probably between let’s call it 30 and 100 okay right so that’s probably the special area we do uh you know in offseasons we do smaller orders as well there are some organizations where they only need 10 to And as long as we’re not in our busy season, that’s absolutely something that we can do. Um we do work with a number of different sized organizations. Um so giving a couple examples here, we’ve done uh work with a youth basketball league um called Briars. Um and we did the you know the tank top basketball jerseys for them with their logos. They were actually reversible. The kids thought it was really cool. Um, and then we’ve also done things like the Ottawa Fire Department, um, and the Halton Hills Police Department, actually. So, we have done some, um, I’d call them midsize organizations, some that are close to home here in Halton, um, and then kind of spreading out to all across Ontario. I love that. And so, um, touching on the companies, is it mainly swag you’re doing for them or is it more uniform based? Uh, I would say it’s closer to swag. It usually fits in one of two categories. I would say it’s either going to be more the corporate stuff, so things for staff, right? You know, a lot of companies do, hey, it’s Christmas. We’re going to get a nice, you know, jacket or a nice hoodie or something like that with the swag on it just for the staff. So, that’s one thing that a lot of companies like doing. Um, the other is that promotional item thing. You know, we’re going to events and whether it’s we’re going to deck out our staff or it’s we’re going to be having more promotional items to share with uh prospective customers and just kind of getting your marketing out there. I’d say it usually fits into one of those two buckets. Okay. Hey, and I’m sure anyone can reach out and talk to you about, you know, what’s in in your inventory and and you, I would imagine, can really provide a lot of solutions for people because of your depth of knowledge of of what is even out there. Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s one of those things where we’ve been doing it for so long that some people will come in with an idea and with one minor tweak from our art team, it turns into something that just absolutely pops. So, we’re really happy to provide feedback. We can do here’s just your logo or we can give some ideas in terms of ways to make it really just stand out a little differently. So, we’re always happy to talk about those ideas. I love that. And do people come to you with a budget, Matt? Is that typically where you start out with or is it with an idea? I think we can do both. I would say budget is usually the best way to go. And the reason why is even if you’re looking and you know exactly what you want, I want this type of, you know, golf shirt as an example. There’s such a wide range of options that are available. And we want to make sure that we’re not overspending your budget, but still getting you something of good quality. And so if you come in with an idea of what your budget is, we can give you a couple different options that are going to fit easily within your budget that are still going to be able to stand out rather than having some sort of surprise cost down the road or I’d say the worst case scenario where you ship off to something in China that comes back, you know, 2 months later and it’s just really not good quality and not something that you can use to showcase your brand. Well, and I like that you talk about what that process is because I think a lot of people, they’re a little gunshy. So, when you’re asked, “Oh, what is your budget?” You know, I think people are naturally nervous thinking, “Oh, you’re just going to give me some, you know, you’re you’re trying to find out, you know, what the max I can afford versus give me your best deal.” But it sounds like you’re really looking to provide that intersection of value and uh and marketing heft, right? 100%. At the end of the day, we don’t want to push people’s limits where they’re not comfortable. We’re trying to help other companies and other businesses showcase their brand and it doesn’t really help do that if you’re making them uncomfortable in the process. So if they know what number they’re looking to keep within, we make sure that we can stay within that and we can give multiple options no matter what the budget is. And so that way they still get some choice in the matter in terms of what it is that’s going to make them feel most comfortable. Okay. So what’s the craziest quote you’ve uh fulfilled in the past little while? What’s the mo What’s the most interesting thing on the market now? So, we know you do hoodies and totes and stuff like that. Is there anything that’s really unique coming up? Uh, I think it’s not so much the difference in the type of apparel, but it’s in the design itself is where a lot of the comes in. And so, some of the things that we’re starting to see that are really interesting is um more textured um designs on the fabric. So, everybody’s seen the standard screen print that goes, you know, you know, right here, left chest, or just the big one across, you know, the the front of a of a piece of apparel. But where things really start getting interesting is when you start putting a little bit of texture where you actually have like a puff design or you have a chenille applique where you have kind of almost a fuzzy feeling on your um apparel as well. And it really just makes whatever the design is pop a little bit more. And I think those are the ones that really start getting interesting. Well, and I would imagine the value for that for swag is people keep it then, right? Because that’s the whole point, right? You you know, if you’re if you are giving away something at a golf tournament, you don’t want it to end up in the in the pile of, you know, never to be visited again. You want it to be something that people wear and and that way your logo’s out there all the time. Yeah. So fun. Trinkets and Oh, go ahead. Oh, no. You say go ahead. So, the phrase trinkets and trash is something that I’ve heard for, you know, the better part of a decade. And and that’s something where I find, you know, you’re trying to get that item that’s, you know, 50 cents to a dollar and it’s got your logo on it, but no one’s really going to use it. And I find there’s a middle ground where you go just a step above that and now you’ve got something where people actually want to wear it out or that tote bag that’s not going to rip after one use that people will actually use it, going grocery shopping or to the beach or wherever it is. That’s what you want. You want an item that people are going to use. And I think that’s a good way to stay away from being trinkets and trash with your promotional items. I do love a good tote bag. I’m not going to lie. I often I often reach those are the ones I keep from conventions and whatnot. The ones that are interesting. Um so Matt, uh I want to say thank you so much for joining and actually painting. I kind of thought you guys were just, you know, hoodies and and uh and varsity jackets, but um it seems like you’re so much more. And so if people are looking to get in touch with you, what’s the best way? And then we’ll put all your contact information in the comments on the video. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, the best way to get in contact me with me is always by email, so can share that separately with the video, but it’s matt@hotlineapparel.ca. So, pretty simple. Um, I think the other thing is our website is actually just being redone right now. And so, by the end of June, we should have a brand new website, um, which again will be hotlineapparel.ca. And I think it’s really going to help give people a better idea of what some of the options are that are available to them. So, I think that’ll be another way for people to get a good feel for what’s out there for them. Yeah, I think that’s good, too. I think people would like to know what they can consider before maybe even reaching out. Uh, and of course you’ll be at our golf tournament on Monday. I know that won’t that won’t age very well when people are watching this video later, but we’ve got some great prizes that you’re giving away. So, thank you for that. Those look so fun. Um, so yeah. So, I’d say for anybody anyone who needs not trinkets and trash, but a good quality uh piece of swag uh or something for your staff. I love the Christmas idea. I think that’s really unique. Uh, please reach out to Matt. and Matt, thanks for joining us today. We’re happy that you’re a chamber member. Appreciate it. Thanks so much for having me today. [Music]