Meet Randy & Monica Gaspar: Bling n Ink- Designers & Memory Makers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Randy & Monica Gaspar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Randy & Monica, can you talk us a bit about why you love what you do?
We started our business looking for any and every job there was. If you needed shirts, we would find a way to design and create them. We did shirts for industries we knew nothing about and we struggled. We felt that there was something missing. However, we soon learned that it is best to focus on who and what we know. We started to work with individuals and celebrating their life events; from football moms, to the bride to be, to birthday celebrations and cancer fighters! People we knew or friends of friends became our clients that meant the most to us. We are not just an apparel company, we have become a part of their story. We are able to create designs that commemorate their life moments and give them a tangible memory that they can save or frame or wear as their favorite tee. THIS is what we wanted to do! We found our passion. We design for a reason. We design a memory. We design a celebration. We design to make someone laugh. We design to make someone feel good. And doing what we love with a personal connection is how we grew. When we make a shirt for a bridal party- we get to know the personality of the group and begin to enjoy their story. Or we do shirts for a wedding anniversary and get to hear stories about how they met, what they’ve been through and how they will celebrate. We do shirts for a cause that tugs at our heartstrings and reminds us that sometimes there are ways for us to make a difference or raise funds to help a family out. Making shirts is our job….but creating memories is our passion.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always loved art. I grew up taking art classes in high school and always thought of it as a hobby. When we started our business, I loved the idea of design but didn’t have the experience of design on a computer. Working with programs such as CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator were overwhelming to me. However, I took classes, attended conferences, watched webinars and YouTube videos to teach myself what I needed to know to do artwork for apparel. It wasn’t always easy but because design is something I love, it was more of a challenge that I enjoyed than an obstacle to overcome. I am still learning and trying to mix medias in apparel (glitter, screen print, embroidery,etc) and I will continue to do so as long as we are in business. I strongly feel that education is the best way to reach your potential so we plan to continue to learn!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love living in Phoenix and enjoy all it has to offer! Randy is a golfer and enjoys our many golf courses. I enjoy food! There are so many restaurants in Phoenix and Scottsdale that are more than just food but also an experience. We love the Vig for their food and ambiance, Babbo for a local feel with great food, Majerle’s sports bar, for a fun atmosphere to watch sports, Culinary Dropout for a fun night out and Flower Child for a healthy quick and casual meal. We love sports and enjoy attending Suns and Cardinal games. And both of us are avid concert goers. We love live music and enjoy places like The VanBuren and Crescent Ballroom to relax with amazing music.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
While, our family and friends were instrumental in helping us build our business, our biggest groups that trust us with their jobs are cheerleading teams who know how to encourage and support better than anyone. I have been a competitive high school cheer coach at Xavier College Prep for the past 26 years and know many people in the industry. It has been other cheer and dance coaches and parents who have trusted us because of our experience in the industry, experience with booster clubs and knowing what the athletes and parents want. Not only have we worked with local high school teams like Arcadia, Desert Mountain, Liberty, St. Mary’s, Northwest Christian, Agua Fria, Peoria and more, but we have also worked with out of state teams and local professional teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Rattlers. The spirit industry has been our biggest “cheerleaders” along the way and for that we are forever grateful!