Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Shipley.
Hi Christine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our business ProHouse Designs LLC. began in July 2013. We started out in a garage space initially until we found a brick and mortar space in Wayne, MI. which is actually where my printing career began over 45 years ago.
I took a graphic arts class in high school where they touched on printing and immediately fell in love with textile printing. After that class I started hand painting jackets for my friends and printing on anything I possibly could. It was at that moment I had found my passion.
I have printed for most of the screen printing companies in southeast Michigan. The first company I worked for was Lots O’ Nichols on Michigan Avenue in Wayne, MI in 1981. I floated around to several other screen printing companies for better opportunities but as time went on I was unhappy with how most companies were being run. Most of the owners were only concerned with profit and had zero experience with knowledge regarding printing. Their passion was just making more money and my passion was producing quality textiles and prioritizing relationships with my clients.
As I moved from one printing company to another, I had accumulated a clientele that followed me. I never asked them to, I firmly believe caring for my clients success first and foremost is probably why they followed me.
In 2013, my friend (now co-founder, Theresa Pumphrey) proposed the question why I had never started my own business, to which I responded; I love what I do but I’ve never wanted to be involved with the business aspect of it. Accounting, marketing, etc. She told me she had been involved with small business since the age of five and she wasn’t exaggerating. Her parents started a business when she was five and pretty much everyone they knew had a small business as well. She would start out working at her parents’ business-answering phones, taking orders and then they would allow her to go to their friends’ business and work in other industries. Her great-grandparents were in the textile industry in Austria-Hungary, though she was never able to meet them, this would be a way to continue a legacy in their honor.
Theresa finally said it was time to take a leap of faith and she pushed me off the ledge. She said she would handle the “business aspect,” and I could follow my passion.Turns out it would be the best decision of my life and I wish I would have met her sooner because I would have started our venture sooner. It was also imperative for us to be Union because we have always valued ethical working conditions, equal pay, and rights of a worker. My father was in a Union his entire career and my co-founder, Theresa has been a friend of a Civil rights lawyer in NYC for many, many years that represented Asian workers who had worked in sweat shops. It was very important our business operate with ethical standards in mind, sourcing ethical products. We pride ourselves on doing everything by hand to increase the longevity of our textiles.
We’ve been successfully running our own operation for 13 years as of July 1st, 2026. It is our firm belief that following our passion and keeping our clients success at the forefront is what has kept us so successful.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a few bumps along the way ie: covid which required us to pivot but we’ve always been able to overcome any challenge thrown our way.
As you know, we’re big fans of Production House Designs LLC.. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We specialize in sourcing ethical textiles, American made, and Union made products such as shirts and totes. We provide screen printing and embroidery on most textiles. Every step of our production process is carried out with consideration for our clients.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson we have learned along our journey is the importance of maintaining client relationships. As stated before, we never intended for my clients to follow me for 45 years. No one ever had a personal contract, they followed because we always prioritized giving them an ethically sourced textile that would last for years. We didn’t just stop there, we also celebrated their successes, because if our clients succeed then we succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Prohousedesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prohousedesigns/
