Business Spotlight: Making an Imprint

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many businesses shuttered. But for Ashley and Travis Christiansen, the pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to start the business they’d always wanted.

“It was a difficult time for a lot of people, but we felt like it was a good time for us to go out on our own and do it the way we envisioned it be done, and how we wanted to do it,” Ashley Christiansen says. “It was a really wonderful launch – but we had a great support system.”

In 2021, the couple began Compass Apparel out of a garage with a few clients. The business was growing, but in September 2023, when local printshop Upward Promotions Plus Inc. was listed for sale, the couple saw an opportunity. They decided to purchase the promotional products and print shop and combine it with Compass Apparel. Purchasing the business for an undisclosed amount from Brad and Leah Garner, who founded Upward in 2006, they decided to keep the name Upward Promotions Plus.

Now, after years of focusing on screen-printing, creating branded items such as T-shirts, backpacks and school gear, the merging of Upward Promotions Plus and Compass Apparel creates a business that can also do embroidery, print products and promotional items. As the business grows, Ashley says the focus is on continuing to create strong relationships with the Springfield community and highlighting the value of local businesses producing quality print products.

A one-stop shop
Based in Ozark with a brick-and-mortar location in Springfield, the Christiansens say they have created strong ties to their community.

“We’re very active in our community,” Ashley says. “A lot of people that were used to working with us or we had done things for in the past – they were all very supportive, encouraging and helpful throughout that whole process.”

Ashley says her husband, Travis, has been in screen-printing for over 25 years, starting his career while he still lived in Iowa. When he moved to Ozark, he worked for a local printshop and used the skills he’d gained to create Compass Apparel.

His knowledge made it possible to make Upward a “one-stop shop” for clients, Ashley says, adding that the process begins with an hour of art time, which comes at no cost to the client. Christiansen said Upward uses vendors such as S&S Activewear and JDS Industries, printing on the items to create customized products. The company’s graphic designer can step in if a client needs help creating a design, Christiansen says, but the business also uses submitted designs. She says Upward digitizes art in-house, which allows them to turn the design into the file needed to start embroidery.

“It’s not only the design of a shirt,” she says. “We do the DTS transfers, which is an up-and-coming print method. We do live format printing, which is decals, stickers, yard signs, business cards. It makes it to where it’s just a one-stop shop. No matter what anyone is wanting to have printed, we can pretty much cover it under one roof.”

Community and quality
Tess Keller, head cheer coach for Ozark Youth Cheerleading and Ozark High School, lives near Ashley and Travis and has worked with Upward Promotions Plus to create branded T-shirts, sweatshirts, backpacks, keychains and Stanley cups for the Ozark School District, using the signature red and black of the district. Being part of the community plays a large role in Upward’s understanding of what clients need.

“She has kids in the school district I work for,” Keller says. “I love that, because I feel like she gets some of the Ozark things and understands what good Ozark colors would be. She has a tie to the school district, so I would rather use her as someone local than a big company.”

Nationally, the rise of digital and ongoing decline of print, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a drop in the overall print workforce. According to a 2022 report from Smithers, the number of people employed by print shops fell 14.8% from 2018 to 2022. However, Ashley says technology advancements have also benefitted screen-printing, such as offering eight new print methods using direct to film transfers, which allows unlimited colors in the print without extra costs, and direct to garment transfers, which print directly on the material.

“The digital aspect of it – we are always trying to stay ahead of it or stay in the times,” she says. “This business is not one where there’s one way to do things. It evolves and changes. As this digital era comes about and changes and forms, we need to change and form with it.” 

As the business continues to grow, Ashley says becoming more involved in the community through giving back is a big part of what she hopes for the future of Upward. With Compass Apparel having an apparel line, she hopes to one day donate proceeds of each garment to food banks and other organizations.

“We’ve almost got our first year of merging together, so I am excited to see what that looks like,” she said. “We want to get out into our community more and really see how we can give back. We want to see it grow.”

Ashley says the local aspect of Upward is a large part of why she cares so deeply. “It’s just the small business supporting small businesses situation,” she says. “That’s important to us. We take a lot of pride in that. We’re not just a print shop. We’re storytellers, we’re innovators, we’re community builders. We want to be involved.”