One Hour Tees

What One Hour Tees does

One Hour Tees is a Chicago-based custom apparel printing company founded in 2008 by Ryan Barkan, operating under the legal entity Creative Ventures, Inc. The company's core capability is Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing using Brother DTG printers, which applies full-color designs (up to 16 million colors) directly onto garments without setup fees and without minimum order quantities. Beyond DTG, One Hour Tees offers screen printing (25-piece minimum), embroidery (25-piece minimum), and screened heat transfer services, producing on a catalog of over 80,000 products spanning unisex, ladies, youth, toddler, tank, long-sleeve, V-neck, tri-blend, raglan, crewneck, hoodie, and ringer apparel from brands such as Gildan, Hanes, Bella + Canvas, Next Level, and Champion.

The business runs a self-serve e-commerce platform (onehourtees.com) with a browser-based design tool that supports real-time previews, text, clipart, and artwork uploads, paired with a 10,000+ sq ft retail and production facility at 2348 N Damen Ave in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood for in-store one-hour pickup. Nationwide fulfillment is provided via UPS/FedEx shipping. In February 2026 the company launched NextDayTees.com — a separate e-commerce platform offering guaranteed next-business-day production, advanced design tools, and a simplified Good/Better/Best pricing model — explicitly targeting nationwide digital expansion beyond the Chicago physical footprint.

One Hour Tees generates transaction-based revenue from a diversified customer base: over 600 Chicago-area schools (uniforms, spirit wear, events), bands and musicians (touring merchandise), corporate and enterprise accounts (promotional apparel — named logos include Star Wars, Vienna Beef, Captain Morgan, Tostitos, Gatorade, Verizon, Uber, WWE, Bacardi, Comcast, Kraft, Sprint, March of Dimes, 7-Eleven, Skittles), sports teams, and individual consumers (graduations, reunions, celebrations). Pricing is unit-based, ranging from $7.99 for a basic white tee at 7+ business days to $24.99 for one-hour service (light garments) and $15.99–$29.99 for dark garments, with bulk discounts from 5% (25–99 pieces) to 20% (500–1000 pieces). The company is affiliated with sister brands ProWrestlingTees.com (launched 2013, wrestler marketplace) and ProWrestlingCrate.com (subscription crate), and operates with 11–50 employees and no disclosed external funding.

Name

One Hour Tees

Legal name

Creative Ventures, Inc.

Website

https://onehourtees.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

One Hour Tees is a Chicago-based custom apparel printing company using Direct-to-Garment (DTG) technology to deliver no-minimum, full-color, same-day custom t-shirts to schools, businesses, bands, and consumers via e-commerce and retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Printing

NAICS

Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Apparel Manufacturing (315), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (31599)

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Printing Operations (Rotary/Flat/Digital/Sublimation) (IMAOACAC)

Keywords

• Custom t-shirt printing
• Direct to garment printing
• Screen printing services
• Custom apparel printing
• Embroidery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Apparel Printing Services: Transaction-based revenue from printing custom designs on customer-selected garments. Pricing varies by turnaround time, garment color (light vs dark), quantity, and print specifications. No minimum order for DTG printing; 25-piece minimum for screen printing and embroidery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

One Hour Tees operates an on-demand custom apparel printing business using Direct to Garment (DTG) printers, supplemented by screen printing, embroidery, and screened heat transfer methods. Customers submit designs through a browser-based online design tool, select from over 80,000 garment styles, choose a turnaround tier (one-hour to 7+ business days), and pick up orders in Chicago or receive nationwide UPS/FedEx shipping.

Product overview

One Hour Tees is a Chicago-based custom apparel printing company founded in 2008 that operates as a single unified on-demand printing service with multiple production methods and affiliated sub-brands. Its core product is Direct to Garment (DTG) printing using Brother DTG printers, supplemented by screen printing, embroidery, and screened heat transfer services — each with different minimum order requirements and use cases. The company offers an online design tool for customers to create custom designs, and distributes a broad catalog of printable apparel spanning over 80,000 products including t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, hoodies, long sleeves, V-necks, tri-blend tees, raglan shirts, and ringer tees across adult, youth, and toddler sizes from brands such as Gildan, Hanes, Bella + Canvas, Next Level, and Champion. Turnaround options range from one-hour same-day pickup to standard 7+ business days, with bulk discount pricing tiers. The company is affiliated with ProWrestlingTees.com (a wrestling merchandise e-commerce platform) and NextDayTees.com (a separate e-commerce platform launched in 2026 with guaranteed next-business-day production). Customers can order online for Chicago-area pickup or nationwide UPS/FedEx shipping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct to Garment (DTG) Printing On-demand digital printing technology that applies full-color designs directly onto garments using specialized inkjet-style printers, producing smooth prints that integrate into the fabric without cracking or peeling. Available with no minimum order quantity for individual consumers and businesses.
• Screen Printing Traditional printing method using thick ink pressed through a stencil onto garments, producing slightly raised designs. Requires vector artwork, limited to 8 maximum colors, with a 25-piece minimum order and no setup fees. Takes 10 business days to produce.
• Embroidery Professional stitching service using colored threads to embed designs directly into fabric, recommended for polo shirts, hats, dress shirts, and jackets. Requires a 25-piece minimum order.
• Screened Heat Transfer Heat-transfer service using screen-printed plastisol ink heated directly onto garments for customizing names, numbers, and jersey-style designs on mesh or poly-based materials.
• Unisex T-Shirts Basic and premium unisex t-shirts available in brands including Gildan Heavy Cotton, Gildan Hammer, Hanes Perfect-T, Bella + Canvas Unisex Jersey Tee, and Next Level Premium Short Sleeve Crew, with various color and upgrade options.
• Ladies T-Shirts Women's-specific t-shirt styles including Gildan Heavy Cotton Women's, Hanes Nano-T Women's, Bella + Canvas Women's Favorite Tee, Women's Relaxed Jersey Tee, and Next Level Women's Boyfriend Tee.
• Youth & Toddler T-Shirts

Quantifiable outcome

• 600+ schools served in Chicago-land area
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Urban Imaging GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated Chicago graphic design shop for customers needing custom logo and design creation. One Hour Tees refers customers who need artwork created from scratch rather than using existing designs or clipart.
• ProWrestlingTees.comcoreOthersRelated company under same ownership (Creative Ventures Inc.) launched in 2013 by Ryan Barkan. Allows professional wrestlers to create their own online stores and sell merchandise worldwide. Connected brick-and-mortar wrestling t-shirt store opened in 2017 adjacent to One Hour Tees retail location.
• ProWrestlingCrate.comminorOthersRelated subscription/merchandise company under same ownership for wrestling fans. Part of company's network of entertainment merchandise brands.
• NextDayTees.comcoreOthersNew platform launched by One Hour Tees in 2026 for nationwide expansion. Features advanced design tools and 'Good, Better, Best' pricing model. Represents strategic expansion beyond Chicago market.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/onehourtees
• Facebookfacebook.com/onehourtees
• Instagraminstagram.com/onehourtees

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

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 One Hour Tees