From a One-Man Operation to a Melbourne Print & Embroidery Studio
The Colour Cartel started in 2019 with Dan, a laptop, a lot of long days and a pretty big idea.
What began as a one-man operation has grown into a full-service custom apparel and merchandise business, with a growing team, commercial production setup and clients ranging from small businesses and community groups through to larger organisations and enterprise clients.
The business has changed a lot since those early days, but the original goal has stayed the same: make custom merch easier to order, easier to understand and genuinely enjoyable to be part of.
2019: The Beginning
The Colour Cartel started as a one-man operation, with Dan taking the leap and turning a pipe dream into a business.
The early days meant early mornings, late nights and doing just about everything himself. Sales, artwork, production, packing, deliveries and everything in between.
From the start, the focus was on combining good quality with a straightforward customer experience. That became the foundation for everything that followed.
2020: Building The Team
As the client list grew, so did the team.
New people joined the business and we continued expanding our production capabilities, adding new decoration methods and equipment along the way.
What started with Dan doing everything himself was becoming a proper operation, with a team that could take on more work while keeping the personal service that had helped the business grow in the first place.
2021: Finding Our Feet
Growth meant it was time for The Colour Cartel to move into its first dedicated business premises.
Working remotely was no longer practical for the volume of orders coming through, so having a proper space gave the team room to produce, pack and manage orders in one place.
It also marked the beginning of a new stage for the business, with more room to grow and more production happening under one roof.
2022: A Bigger Operation
It didn't take long for that space to start feeling a little less spacious.
With demand continuing to grow, particularly for larger volumes and shorter turnaround times, we expanded our production setup and continued investing in equipment and the team behind it.
The goal wasn't simply to take on more orders. It was to build the capacity to handle them without losing the level of service that had become a big part of the business.
2025: Expanding Beyond the Print Floor
By 2025, The Colour Cartel had grown well beyond its original setup.
We opened a second factory dedicated to warehousing and fulfilment, allowing us to offer services that hadn't previously been part of the business.
We also continued investing in new machinery, production capabilities and the team behind it, while taking on larger projects and working with bigger organisations.
2025: Our Biggest Machine Yet
2025 also saw one of our biggest investments in production to date: the arrival of our ROQ Next P16 XL automatic screen printing press.
It was the biggest piece of machinery we'd brought into the business, giving the team more production capacity and helping us take on larger screen printing runs.
It was another sign of how much the business had changed since those early days, and another step towards building the production setup we have today.
2025: AS Colour × Ate Miles
In 2025, we had the opportunity to print for Ate Miles as part of a collaboration with AS Colour.
The project brought together three parts of the apparel industry, with our team handling the printing while AS Colour and Ate Miles brought the creative direction and garments to the table.
The project was documented with a full photoshoot and case study, giving us the chance to showcase the finished pieces and a little more of what happens behind the scenes at The Colour Cartel.
It was a great project to be part of and another reminder of how much the business has grown since those early days.
2025: In The Spotlight
We launched our YouTube channel in 2025, giving us a new place to share the people, projects and stories behind the print.
From production walkthroughs and machinery to conversations with the people we work with, the channel gives us a chance to show more of what actually happens behind the scenes at TCC.
It’s become another way for us to talk about the industry, the work we do and the people who make it happen.
2026: A New Home
2026 brought another big move.
We relocated into a much larger space, giving the team more room for production, machinery, storage and everything that happens behind the scenes.
The new space has allowed us to expand our commercial production setup even further, with new equipment across screen printing, embroidery, DTF and finishing.
And while there's a lot more machinery, more space and more happening behind the scenes these days, the goal hasn't really changed.
Make good merch. Make the process easy. Keep moving forward.
Made With Purpose
The Colour Cartel was born out of a love for cool s**t.
Everyone has thought about starting their own clothing line at some point or another, and we figured what better way to do that than to be the ones to make the garments. It quickly became apparent that that's not as easy as you think it would be, so we've made a pact to ensure we're the easiest to use, high-quality print, embroidery and design company in Australia. We're great at thinking outside the box and adapting to the needs of a business, big or small. Customer service and effective communication is super important to us, and that's why we aim to service every customer the same way we would treat a mate.
Reach out to The Colour Cartel and experience the difference for yourself.