Custom Kent is a father-and-son print shop based in Waconia, Minnesota. We make custom t-shirts and hoodies for small businesses, sports teams, booster clubs, fundraisers, family reunions, and anyone in the state with an idea they want on a shirt. No order minimums. No runaround. Just two people who actually pick up the phone.
— Alexander & Edward Kent —
Why we started.
It started in 2025. Edward, the son, had just left for college. Alex, the dad, kept running into the same problem all over town — friends, coaches, neighbors, small business owners who wanted custom shirts but kept hitting a wall. The local print shops wanted minimums of 50. The online ones took two weeks and still got the design wrong. And nobody, anywhere, would just have a real conversation about what you actually needed.
So we figured: how hard could it be? Get a press, find good blanks, learn the craft, treat people the way we'd want to be treated. That's how Custom Kent got started — over coffee, with a list of people who'd already said they'd be our first customers.
What makes us different.
We're not trying to be the cheapest print shop in Minnesota — there's always someone overseas willing to charge less. We're trying to be the one that actually shows up. The one that prints 12 hoodies for the playoffs without making the team mom feel like a hassle. The one that helps a brand-new small business owner get their first run of shirts without forcing them to commit to a hundred.
To make that possible, we use every tool we can — including AI design tools that help customers without a graphic designer turn an idea into something printable. The tech does the heavy lifting on the mockup; we do the hand-finishing and the human conversations. Same outcome either way: your idea, on a shirt, done right.
The two
of us.
Edward Kent
Co-founder · Design & WebCollege student. Runs the website, handles design proofs, and replies to most of the customer emails. The one who'll probably write back to you.
Alexander Kent
Co-founder · Production & OperationsEdward's dad. Manages the press, sources garments, packs orders, and keeps everything moving on schedule. The one who'll probably pick up if you call.
What we
actually believe.
Yes to the small jobs.
One shirt, twelve shirts, a hundred shirts — all welcome. We're proud of being the print shop that doesn't gatekeep small orders. Volume pricing kicks in when you order multiples, but you'll never hear "we have a minimum."
Real proofs, real fast.
Every order gets a digital mockup before we touch a single shirt. Every proof comes back within 24 hours. If something's not right, we fix it before printing — never after.
Real humans answer.
Phone, text, email — whatever's easier for you. There's no chatbot, no support ticket queue. You message us, you get one of us. Usually within a few hours.
Based in Waconia.
Serving all of Minnesota.
Local pickup available in Waconia · Shipping anywhere in MN
Or just reach out: 952-228-1521 · customkentapparel@gmail.com