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PROFILING LOCAL BUSINESS WOMEN Story And Photo By Julianna Bonnett
Diana Giorgi
Always Making A Great Impression
T
he mission of business owner Diana Giorgi of Game Gear Attire, is to be a one-stop shop for all her customers. With only a single-head embroidery machine that she had in her house, being used regularly, Giorgi ended up making her love for embroidery a business. Raised in Michigan, she went to secondary school for Fashion Merchandising and in her younger years, she opened a few clothing stores. “I always had a passion for wedding and bridal,” Giorgi recalls. “My sister in law, at the time, had a bridal salon, so I would help her make dresses, but the business ended up failing because too much money was going out and not enough was coming in.” In 1980, Giorgi moved to Windsor and in 1996, she opened Game Gear Attire located on 6909 Concession Rd 6 N in Amherstburg. Since 2010, she's expanded her business, to not only include embroidery services, but also silk-screen printing. “When we added the silk-screen printing, the business became busier,” Giorgi mentions. “All of the women I work with daily are local residents. Some live in Amherstburg, others in LaSalle or Leamington. I’ve always believed in a locally owned and operated service.” Each work day, Giorgi wakes up at 7:30 a.m. to start checking emails immediately with most of her customers getting their quote within the first 24 to 48 hours after asking. Afterwards, she gets right down to work with her employees with her days ending around 6 p.m. “There is so much prep time and clean up that goes into this work,” she says. “The embroidery machine only goes so fast and we're determined to get as much done in the day as we can.”
Diana Giorgi, Owner and Operator of Game Gear Attire (a division of Dimensional Embroidery) in Amherstburg, is all smiles after investing in a new Sabre fully automatic Workhorse silk screen machine, which can print up to six colours per design or logo.
Back in March, Game Gear was closed for two months due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, but Giorgi still feels like business has been good, regardless of the small set back. “To recoup those two months is probably not going to happen and that is two months out of my life that I won’t get back,” she comments. “For right now, sales are good, but what will happen in the next few months is hard to say because every year we’re used to doing stuff for school teams and clothes for events, so we’re unsure at this time.” Offering garments and gear that are embroidered or screened on-site, Giorgi ensures the highest quality work is maintained with most orders completed within a few business days. “We work so hard every day to get done all the things that are needed to get done,” she shares. “Even if I have to work more than I usually would in my day, I’m OK with doing that because it’s what I love to do.” According to Giorgi one of the most important things she learned being a businesswoman is to always listen to what your customers want. “How do I put this?” she asks.
She continues: “If you make a mistake, they will not want to eat it (the cost). One of my girls always says ‘you’re only as good as the mistakes you can fix’ and I believe that to be true.” Regarding advice for other entrepreneurs, Giorgi believes the best thing to do when starting any business is to learn what you are doing before jumping in cold turkey. “I’ve seen a lot of people try to start a business like this and what they do is just buy a machine and think: ‘OK I know how to do this’ without even allowing themselves time to learn all aspects of the business first,” Giorgi indicates. Of course, she now has a proven track record in business and her company welcomes all customers, including large corporations, small businesses, schools, organizations, clubs, and teams. They also accept personal orders for showers, weddings, baptisms, graduations and other events. As for her personal life, Giorgi has two older children — one living in another city and one at home with her. She is able to balance her work life and personal life well. For more information on her company and to see catalogues, check: GameGearAttire.com.
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