What The Cubby Hole does

The Cubby Hole is a privately held, family-owned custom apparel decoration business founded in 1985 and operating from a single production facility at 12472 Route 108, Carlinville, Illinois. The company's core services are screen printing and embroidery on apparel and accessories, supplemented by full-color sublimation, laser engraving for awards and trophies, graphic design, paper products, and promotional merchandise sourced through a partnership with SAGE. Production relies on multiple automatic screen-printing presses, state-of-the-art embroidery machines, sublimation printers, and laser engraving equipment; a web-based Custom Sublimation Builder enables customer self-design of sublimated products.

The firm serves four primary segments: school sports teams and athletic programs (its largest segment, anchored by exclusive provider status with the Illinois Elementary School Association and licensed supplier status with the Illinois High School Association), regional businesses and corporations requiring branded merchandise, local organizations and clubs, and individuals seeking personalized apparel for events. Distribution is predominantly regional across Illinois and the Metro St. Louis area, executed through phone-based direct sales, walk-in consultations at the Carlinville facility, an e-commerce presence for IESA event stores, and a quote-based website funnel.

Revenue is generated primarily on a transaction-fee basis per job (priced by quantity, colors, stitch count, complexity, and garment type), with graphic design billed as a professional service that can be bundled with printing. Quote-based pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company carries no external funding and operates without disclosed parent, subsidiary, or investor relationships.

Name

The Cubby Hole

Legal name

The Cubby Hole

Website

https://cubbyholeonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cubby Hole is a family-owned custom apparel decorator founded in 1985 in Carlinville, Illinois, providing screen printing, embroidery, sublimation, laser engraving, and graphic design to schools, sports teams, regional businesses, and individuals across Illinois and the Metro St. Louis area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Decoration Services

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Printing & Decoration Services (Screen Print, Embroidery, Laser) (BPAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Custom screen printing
• Custom embroidery services
• Promotional products
• Sublimation printing
• Custom apparel decoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlinville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Screen Printing Services: Custom screen printing on t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, jerseys, and other apparel for sports teams, businesses, and events. Revenue generated per job based on quantity and complexity.
2. Embroidery Services: Custom embroidery on apparel, hats, bags, blankets, and accessories. Charges based on stitch count and garment quantity.
3. Promotional Products: Custom promotional merchandise including stadium cups, car flags, pens, mugs, tote bags, and other branded items through partnership with SAGE.
4. Custom Awards and Trophies: Laser-engraved awards, trophies, plaques, medals, and ribbons for corporate events, sports tournaments, and academic achievements.
5. Graphic Design Services: Logo design, brand development, and print/web design services. May be bundled with printing services or offered separately.
6. Paper Products: Custom printed business cards, stationery, flyers, and other paper materials for branding needs.
7. Sublimation Products: Full-color sublimated uniforms, shirts, hoodies, flags, and tents printed directly into fabric.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Cubby Hole is a custom apparel decoration provider that produces screen-printed, embroidered, and sublimated garments, along with complementary offerings such as promotional products, laser-engraved awards and trophies, graphic design services, and printed paper products. Its work is sold primarily to schools, sports teams, regional businesses, organizations, and individuals across Illinois and the Metro St. Louis area, with an exclusive arrangement as the official apparel supplier for IESA State and Sectional events.

Product overview

The Cubby Hole is a custom apparel and printing services provider offering a portfolio of interrelated services centered around custom apparel decoration. The core offerings are screen printing (the founding service established in 1985) and embroidery, supported by complementary services including custom jerseys, promotional products, custom awards, graphic design, paper products, and sublimation printing. The company also holds an exclusive distribution agreement for IESA State and Sectional Athletic Apparel and operates online stores for schools and businesses. A custom sublimation builder web tool enables customers to design their own sublimated products. The company sources blank apparel from suppliers including SanMar, Heritage, Alpha Broder, and S&S Activewear, and partners with SAGE for promotional products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Screen Printing Custom screen printing services for apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, jerseys, and other garments, using multiple automatic presses to handle jobs of any size with low minimums and quick turnaround.
• Embroidery Custom embroidery on hats, polos, bags, blankets, jackets, and other apparel and accessories, with pricing based on stitch count and garment quantity.
• Sublimation Printing Full-color sublimation printing for uniforms, shirts, hoodies, flags, and tents, applying designs directly into fabric for long-lasting, vibrant color.
• Custom Jerseys Custom athletic jerseys offered in breathable performance fabrics for sports teams and comfortable cotton styles for everyday wear, produced through the company's apparel decoration services.
• Promotional Products Custom-branded promotional merchandise including stadium cups, car flags, pens, mugs, tote bags, USB drives, phone accessories, and other customizable giveaway items, sourced through a partnership with SAGE.
• Custom Awards and Trophies Laser-engraved custom awards, trophies, plaques, medals, ribbons, and acrylic and crystal awards with personalized engravings of names, dates, and logos for corporate events, sports tournaments, and academic milestones.
• Graphic Design Services In-house logo design, brand development, print and web design, and custom graphic design services for clients who need artwork prepared for printing or broader brand identity work, often bundled with apparel orders.
• Paper Products Custom printed paper materials including business cards, stationery, flyers, brochures, and posters for branding and marketing needs.
• IESA State and Sectional Athletic Apparel Exclusive provider of Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State and Sectional athletic apparel for member schools, including post-event online stores and custom apparel for IESA athletic events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Quick turnaround time without sacrificing quality
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Cubby Hole is the exclusive provider of IESA State and Sectional athletic apparel. They operate online stores for IESA events and provide custom apparel for all IESA member schools.
• Illinois High School Association (IHSA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed supplier for IHSA schools, teams, and clubs throughout Illinois, providing official custom sports apparel.
• SAGE (Promotional Products)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with SAGE to offer a huge inventory of promotional products including stadium cups, car flags, pens, mugs, bags, and other branded merchandise.
• SanMarminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApparel catalog partner providing blank garments for customization including t-shirts, polos, and outerwear.
• S&S ActivewearminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorActivewear catalog partner supplying sports apparel and garments for customization.
• Alpha BroderminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSportswear catalog partner providing apparel options for customization projects.
• HeritageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApparel catalog partner offering heritage-style garments for customization.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cimpress (Vistaprint): Parent of Vistaprint and several custom apparel/promotional product brands. Overlaps with Cubby Hole on custom printed apparel, signage, and promotional items as a large diversified incumbent, but with vastly broader product breadth and digital scale.
• 4imprint: Large national promotional products distributor offering branded merchandise including apparel, bags, drinkware, and awards. Directly overlaps with Cubby Hole's promotional products and awards lines, but operates at much larger scale as a catalog-driven broad incumbent.

Emerging players

• Printful: Print-on-demand and fulfillment platform for custom apparel and accessories. Adjacent competitor in custom decoration services with no minimums, putting pressure on Cubby Hole's low-MOQ positioning via a national digital channel.
• Sport Thread: Custom team apparel and fan gear platform focused on school and youth athletics — overlapping directly with Cubby Hole's school sports team vertical, but competing via online team stores and digital fan-merch storefronts.

Direct peers

• Rush Order Tees: Online custom screen printing and embroidery company focused on fast-turnaround orders for groups, teams, and businesses. Overlaps directly with Cubby Hole on screen printing, embroidery, and turnaround-time-driven sales, but competes nationally with a stronger e-commerce front-end.
• CustomInk: National custom apparel and screen printing platform serving schools, teams, businesses, and groups. Direct competitor to The Cubby Hole on custom t-shirts and team apparel, but operates at national scale with a sophisticated online design tool versus Cubby Hole's regional, quote-based model.
• Underground Printing: Midwest-based custom apparel and screen printing company with a strong collegiate and school-sports footprint. Closely comparable in customer vertical (schools and colleges) and service mix, but operates across multiple states rather than a single Illinois-region base.

Regional players

• Mid-America Awards: Regional provider of custom awards, trophies, plaques, and recognition products. Directly overlaps with Cubby Hole's laser-engraved awards and trophies line for schools, sports tournaments, and corporate events, but specializes rather than offering a full apparel platform.
• Edwards Garment / Edwards Sportswear: Midwest-focused supplier and decorator of corporate, hospitality, and team apparel. Comparable to Cubby Hole in the apparel decoration and corporate/school uniform verticals, but with broader regional coverage and a stronger uniform-program focus.

Others

• SanMar: Wholesale apparel and accessories supplier (and parent of decorators/services). A key blank-apparel supplier to Cubby Hole; included as an ecosystem/ecosystem-adjacent participant that shapes pricing, inventory, and product availability for the company.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TCHbear
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheCubbyHole1985
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_cubby_hole
• Pinterestpinterest.com/t_cubby

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Cubby Hole