I have to do a lot of research in order to produce regular blog posts for The Cheap Place and other websites. So when it comes to embroidered patches I'm regularly scouring the news looking for ideas. I must say that I am amazed at the ingenuity and creativity people demonstrate in finding new ways to use embroidered patches. My latest discovery is a pair of brothers from North Dakota who are also coaches for their local youth sports teams. One brother coaches football while the other is involved in baseball and soccer.
For a long time both of these brothers were purchasing T-shirts for their team members to give out at the end of the season. The shirts were to commemorate each of the kid's participation for that year. But two summers ago they ran into one of their former players who was leaving for college. In talking about T-shirts they discovered the young man had discarded his shirts when they no longer fit. The brothers thought this was a shame and set out to find a substitute that would be more likely to be saved by the players.
They hit on the idea of embroidered patches with the team name, the year, and the team's record for that season. In doing so they wanted to give the boys something they could remember the team by while also serving as a motivation to come back for every year of eligibility. That way they could collect a whole series of patches which could be saved for posterity sake. The idea ended up being a hit. The kids loved it, their parents loved it, and the brothers are fairly comfortable the patches won't go the same way as the T-shirts. Sounds like a winner to me.
