R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Rachel Larsen, co-owner and operator of North Coast Apparel, mixes a custom ink color that they call “Adventurer” in the back room of the shop on Ludington Street in Escanaba.

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — In their store at 909 Ludington in Escanaba and online, North Coast Apparel offers tasteful designs with a northern, outdoor theme. Business partners Rachel Larsen and Tyler Johnson started heat-pressing vinyl in a kitchen and advertising on Facebook in 2016, but Larsen said that what had been a “very small operation” in its early days “grew really fast.”

Larsen, the graphic designer behind North Coast’s unique artwork, started creating things she liked.

“I had a few designs that were just kind of inspired by where we live, but not inherently Yooper,” she said. “I would design, and then we would use vinyl and heat press right in the kitchen. We did that for like a couple months.”

Early in 2017, North Coast Apparel moved into the storefront downtown. It may be recognized by its modern signage, window displays and repurposed pallets, or Sophie, the white-and-brown mutt wagging by the door, imploring passersby to enter.

With a new, larger space, Larsen and Johnson were able to utilize the rear portion of the building as a workshop to accommodate a wider range of printing methods. Screen printing is a far more involved process than vinyl and requires several specialized materials, but the results are longer-lasting, and many people prefer the look of ink.

For vinyl printing, a design is cut out of a sheet of material that is stickier on one side and comes in rolls; the negative space is “weeded” away and the design is pressed onto fabric with heat to make it stick.

Screen printing involves dividing a design into layers, one for each color; printing each layer in black onto transparency sheets one at a time; dipping screens in emulsion, a photo-sensitive liquid; exposing the transparency-covered screens to light to harden the emulsion only in the negative space; washing the screens and then preparing them to be used as stencils to apply ink on fabric.

Larsen had learned screen printing at a previous job and brought the skills with her to the new company.

They also have an embroidery machine, which takes the work out of stitching, but to digitize an artwork again takes time from Larsen at a computer. She described the process as a pain and really hard to learn.

“It is an art form. It’s fun, but it is a nightmare,” she said of digitizing.

The product line has expanded, and while Larsen has kept her vow to herself to avoid the “kitschy, gas-station stuff,” there have been some Upper Peninsula designs added, and people love them. They began embroidering hats as well as making stickers. The clothing offers have grown somewhat, but shirts and hoodies remain big sellers.

Most of the things sold in the store are made in-house, and Larsen said that it hurts her pride anytime they have to send anything out. “And when we do order stuff — that we can’t do — we like, 99% of the time get it from a Michigan business,” she said. She said that North Coast holds themselves to a high standard and they don’t let subpar products out the door.

During the Daily Press interview at the store, a few customers came and went, none of them left empty-handed.

“These guys are the best,” said Bob Stasewich, who had come in to buy a gift for his daughter. “And you can quote me on that.”

Patrons of North Coast will probably see Larsen behind the counter — or maybe their one employee. Johnson has a full-time job elsewhere, but he keeps the books and also practices some art of his own.

Adorning the walls of North Coast are framed posters of attractive people in scenic settings wearing North Coast Apparel. The models are friends, family and real customers. All but one of the shots — which Johnson says was sent to them by someone who lives out west — were taken by Johnson.

More of Larsen’s art can be seen around town in unexpected places. Her skills have been put to use when businesses want to breathe new life into an old logo and when start-ups or individuals need help creating a design from the ground.

One of Larsen’s designs portraying select buildings from Escanaba — Harbor Tower on the left, the marketplace on the right, and a couple storefronts in between — was bought by the Downtown Development Authority and may be seen on materials around town.

They hadn’t initially intended to take custom orders, but the requests began rolling in early on, and now a good portion of North Coast’s business comes from organizations who rely on having their workwear and event apparel printed at the main street business founded, owned and operated by two Escanaba natives.