Photography by carol boone stewart
PURPLE TUNA TEES INC.
“Whether you need 12 shirts or 20,000, our service is the same and we’ll make sure our customer gets the highest quality through the entire process.” Purple Tuna Tees is surfing into another huge year! Don’t let the purple walls, surfboards, palm trees and laid-back mentality fool you. While the folks at Purple Tuna Tees like to get creative and have fun, they know their business: unique designs, quality products, order fulfillment, workflow management and unbeatable customer service. They know how to have fun, but more importantly, they know how to help their clients make a splash with off-the-hook embellished apparel and promotional products. Because of that commitment to quality, Purple Tuna Tees has grown by leaps and bounds since Cary Hinze founded it in 2007. A move in 2013 led to more than double the space, which the company needed as it took on larger corporate clients such as 9Round, Oobe, Upward Sports, Loggerhead Apparel and Carolina Elite Soccer Academy. Thanks to the efficiencies brought by a new scheduling system and equipment like a digital “direct-to-screen” machine, an automated folder bagger and a growing fulfillment center, Purple Tuna is ready to sail with more large corporate clients, but Hinze points out that no order is too big or small. “Each job is unique,” he said. “Whether you need 12 shirts or 20,000, our service is the same and we’ll make sure the customer gets the highest quality through the entire process.” Hinze, who has a dual degree in art and business, started out of college as a designer for Cryovac and designed t-shirts on the side. He started Purple Tuna Tees out of his home before moving to his first location on Garlington Road. It was soon a “packed tuna can,” so the company took a leap of faith to purchase and move to the expansive – and very purple – 20
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location on International Court, near Miller Road. When he isn’t working, Hinze loves to go – where else – to the beach, where he soaks up the good life and surfs “badly.” He even built a tiki room in his house, where he enjoys hanging out with daughter Kylie Odetta, a singer-songwriter; wife Lori, who is a manager for Kylie; and son Keaton, who attends college and plays soccer in Virginia. He says the Tuna team, now 20 employees strong, is like a second family, as many are trusted friends with decades of experience in the different facets of the business. Like Hinze’s beloved ocean and beach, things at Purple Tuna look smooth and relaxing on the surface. But you can rest assured that underneath, the Tuna team is swimming swift and strong to ensure their clients get the best product, the best service at the best price. It’s local embellishing and fulfillment with screenprinting, embroidery and dye sublimation, at its best, “packed fresh daily.”
16 International Ct., Greenville sales@purpletunatees.com | 864.254.6133
Behind The Counter
3/27/15 5:26 PM