On April 16, a distributor in the Windy City celebrates a milestone anniversary.

That day marks 30 years since Mitch Silver officially combined his DJ business, Music Madness, with his brother Scott’s ad specialty company, Party Madness, and set out to conquer the college party scene in Chicago. They named the company Printables Inc., and it became their part-time gig on the weekends – while Mitch spun records, Scott sold items branded with the host’s name, like T-shirts and shot glasses.

Mitch (left) and Scott Silver with their shared company van.

“I DJ’d for my own bar mitzvah,” says Mitch, now the vice president of marketing and sales at Printable (asi/299458). “I never played a musical instrument, but I liked being in control of people’s entertainment and picking songs that allowed people to have a good time.”

After Mitch spent almost 20 years as a disc jockey, moving from college parties to weddings, he and his brother went full-time with Printable in 1997. And it was a true family affair, with Mr. Silver in accounting and Mrs. Silver in reception and shipping.

Scott retired in 2016, and Mitch now leads a team of just over 10 people. The company recently underwent a year-long rebranding process, including a name change from Printable Promotions to simply “Printable” and a logo update for the first time in 30 years.

Since the pandemic, the group has leaned into kitting and fulfillment, which took off during stay-at-home orders. In fact, a Promo Insiders podcast featuring Mitch discussing fulfillment best practices was one of ASI Media’s most listened-to episodes of 2021.

Mitch Silver with sales assistant Jenny Trocki. Staff members recently sported Printable-branded baseball T-shirts for fun selfies next to the Chicago Riverwalk.

“We’re getting to know clients better,” says Liz McCaffrey, senior sales assistant, about how COVID changed the customer experience. “We had fewer client interactions during the pandemic, so things were more direct and transactional. Now, we do detailed presentations; we show examples of curated gift boxes. More thought is going into each project. How can we make our clients feel good and want to keep working for us? We’re experienced and fun to work with.”

It’s a softer sell these days, says Stacie Harshbarger Gass, marketing and operations manager and one of Printable’s first full-time staff members who joined in 1999. “We want to be engaging and make people feel good,” she says. “We don’t try to sell to people, and that’s worked better for us. We don’t show a lot of product. Clients say their salespeople love getting our marketing items because they’re fun and make them happy.”

Stacie Harshbarger Gass and graphic designer Anthony Herrera.

In honor of the milestone anniversary this month, the team is sending out mailers with Sofia’s Cookies and a playlist of songs from 1993. They’re also donating a portion of sales this month to a local organization called My Block, My Hood, My City; the group takes local underprivileged kids out for a day of fun in Chicago. They also do activities with the elderly, like gardening.

In addition to this “hyper-local” effort, says Mitch, Printable will be hosting a party in Chicago later this summer for staff and clients.

Liz McCaffrey, senior sales assistant

“I’m most proud of being recognized by Counselor multiple times as a Best Place to Work,” Mitch says. “It’s a testimonial to the fact that the team likes each other, and everyone has each other’s back.”