Rising Stars: Meet Melissa De Leon of Ionia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa De Leon

Hi Melissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
So this all started when I decided to go to the career prep school that was offered when I was a junior in high school. I took a Graphic Communication Technology course at the Calhoun Area Career Center in Battle Creek, MI. We everything from Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc. I was taught how to screen print, make my own business cards, large format print and many other things. So since then I have just fallen in love with making shirts and now making tumblers. I do this because its my passion and what I love to do and I love even more now than I did before because my dad recently passed away and he was the number one person I would make things for so now I feel like not only am I doing this for my family an I, I feel like I am doing this for him too because I know he always told to me never give up and to keep doing what I was doing.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. When I first started my business back in 2020 making shirts on my own after I graduated I realized the iron on sheets that you could print designs on to with an ink jet printer were not very good quality and definitely not something I wanted yo promote (even thought there for a while I did promote it because I thought it looked good lol) so then I got a cricut which there is nothing wrong with using a cricut and I even still have mine, but the problem I ran into was that if I was something to have details it took more than one color and if I got too detailed it just didn’t look right or adhere to the shirt very well with so many layers and it still didn’t have the look I wanted so i ended up just not doing it much anymore and kind of stopped promoting my business, but this year I started seeing DTF all over my TikTok for you page so I did my research and got my own DTF printer and so far I love the way those prints are turning out so I have brought back my business and this time I won’t give up.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in t-shirts and tumblers. I am most proud of my tumblers because I love the rhinestone lids I make for them as an option and some designs I have starts to rhinestone the whole tumbler. I think what sets me apart from others is I am a go getter and wont give up no matter what lifes obstacles throw at me. I am a female and military owned business as well.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as achieving a goal that you have set for yourself. Success is not about money or possessions; it is about achieving your goals and living the life you want.

Pricing:

• Tumblers range from $25-$30
• Shirts are $20

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.designsbymelshop.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designsbymelshop