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December 15, 2022

Choice Ink screen printing shop opens in Berlin

Hanna Snyder Gambini Jay Thaxter in his Choice Ink custom screen printing shop at 112 Mill St., Berlin.
By Hanna Snyder Gambini

Owners of a Berlin custom screen printing business now have a storefront to call home.

Jay and Chelsea Thaxter held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their shop, Choice Ink, at 112 Mill St., in a plaza near the corner of Seymour Road.

The company does custom screen printing and embroidery on T-shirts, sweatshirts and banners, along with caps and sports uniforms.

The two started the business in 2019 out of their home basement after Jay Thaxter lost his corporate job just before the pandemic.

Chelsea Thaxter was working toward her nursing degree.

“I went full time, jumped right in, and we pushed through COVID years,” Jay Thaxter said. 

After one more year working out of the home basement, they found a vacant storefront on Mill Street and started on a complete renovation, opening for business in August.

They are now taking orders of all sizes, from 10 or 15 items to 1,000. The bulk of their orders are placed online, and they serve customers around the country and around the corner.

They design many uniforms for local sports teams, like little league, Jay Thaxter said.

Choice Ink supplies the shirts, hats or banners for the logos or designs. 

They have artists who can work with customers on a custom logo, or a customer can bring an existing logo.

The 1,000-square-foot space features screen printing and embroidery machines, as well as a dark room for the custom screens.

Most of the orders, even when local, are placed online as opposed to walk-ins, because “prior to the last few months, there was no storefront to walk into,” Thaxter said.

Berlin Economic Development Director Chris Edge said he’s happy to see the plaza “getting some great new energy,” since a year ago there were a number of vacancies. 

The Berlin Central Plaza also features a liquor store, bridal shop, dental office and therapy facility and others, and located next to Central Pizza.

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