Isabella DiCecca has a super-tight deadline on an order to create a T-shirt for a fellow Taylor Swift fan.
The Greater Latrobe junior began her week using a laptop to piece together design elements for a shirt celebrating the Feb. 11 Super Bowl appearance of Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
It’s just one of the pending orders for customized apparel, signs and other items that demand the attention of DiCecca and nine other students enrolled in Cat’s Customs, an elective course that’s modeled as a student-run business.
Of one thing she’s fairly certain: the shirt design likely will include Chiefs’ red, white and gold highlights.
“I’ll try to think of something that would go with the theme,” said DiCecca, who also is taking an interior design class. “I can put something in with the team colors.
“I’ll try some ideas, and if (the customer) doesn’t like those ideas, then I can change them.”
In this case, the customer is Courtney Coss, a former family and consumer science teacher at the school who joined forces with business instructor Michele Butler to start Cat’s Customs last school year.
Butler, who now shares teaching duties with Brianna Donahue, wanted the Swift-Kelce shirt design to be finished in the next class period, two days later.
“Some days we have downtime, and some days we’re crushed,” said Butler.
In addition to individual orders — many from faculty members at Greater Latrobe and other area districts — the students have turned out larger orders for school-related organizations.
The class recently finished an order of close to 300 custom T-shirts for the Greater Latrobe teachers’ union and is expecting another shirt order for an upcoming National Honor Society induction ceremony.
“When we get large jobs it requires all hands on deck,” said Butler. That has sometimes meant having students spend part of their extended lunch period finishing products.
“We started by custom-designing things for customers and for our student store, and we’ve grown into doing stickers and posters,” she said.
Other items the Cat’s Customs students have created include holiday ornaments, key chains, earrings, dog scarves and yard signs graduating seniors have displayed to celebrate completion of their high school careers.
The district supplied or obtained funding for equipment to get the operation started — including a machine that prints designs directly onto garments, a larger printer/cutter that produces everything from posters to more durable vinyl appliques for shirts and a versatile machine that is capable of working with a number of materials, including vinyl and leather.
“We’re self-sustaining now,” Butler said. “Everything we buy comes out of our budget,” including the blank shirts for customizing, ink for color printing and hardware for completing jewelry.
“Our goal is to operate as a small business,” she said. “Our vision is to put half of the money we make back into the program and designate some to take the students on a small day trip or do something fun as a culminating activity.”
From a profit of about $500 in its first year, Cat’s Customs is sitting at about $2,000 in the black so far this school term.
The students have yet to try customizing hats using a special press or designing items with a glass-etching tool.
“We’d love to buy an embroidery machine,” Butler said.
After the teachers train the students to use the available equipment, Butler said, “We really like to have them take full ownership of everything. They’re kind of jacks-of-all-trades.”
But, as in any business, each of the students brings individual talents and interests to bear on the tasks at hand.
Senior Letizia Rossi hopes someday to start her own business. “It will probably be something to do with clothes,” she said. Through her experience with Cat’s Customs, she’s discovered, “It’s a lot of work.”
Fellow senior Gabby Cavallo is in her second year of participation in the class. She’s considering pursuing a career in business law. So, she said, “I thought this would be a good class for that.
“It’s really fun. I like being hands-on.”
Natural fit
Cat’s Customs is a natural fit for senior Rob Phillips, who studies digital media at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center and already operates his own photography business, including capturing images of his school’s sports teams.
“I like making designs and making products from designs or photos,” he said, noting he designed some advertising for a relative’s hair salon. “I enjoy it a lot.”
Jace Pedicone, now a senior, brought many skills into play when he participated in Cat’s Customs last year. He played a key role in setting up a website for the class — catscustoms.square.site — while managing associated Facebook and Instagram accounts and overseeing invoicing and processing of customer payments.
Motivated by his positive reports on the experience, his younger sister, Samara, a junior, is enrolled in the course this year.
“It’s just really fun,” she said. “I like the designing and the advertising aspects. I want to major in marketing, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to start getting some experience.”
In an effort to grow the operation, Butler has tasked the students with regularly making new social media posts and coming up with ideas for new products.
”We’re trying to get an Etsy shop up and running,” she said.
Mindful of online competition, Cat’s Customs has priced items reasonably, ranging from $4 for a key chain to $25 for a sweatshirt.
For more unique custom items, Butler said, the students must track the amount and costs of all materials used and mark up the price accordingly.
“It’s true project-based learning and it’s very much student-driven and student-led,” she said. “It’s neat when they see their designs come to fruition and see somebody walking down the hall wearing something they made.
“It’s really cool to see their ownership of it.”
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. . A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at [email protected].