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Chantal, Chandra, Harper & Dillon Carlson
By Jenny Kirk It’s been a year since Chandra and Dillon Carlson purchased 507 Designs and they are celebrating the milestone with an open house from 3-9 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 7.
With the annual sports meeting for Murray County Central students and their parents taking place on the same date, the Carlsons thought it would also be the perfect opportunity to showcase the one-stop-shop “Pressroom” that includes a large collection of apparel and designs in Rebels colors. “You pick the shirt and the design and we press it right here,” Chandra Carlson said. “Customers can walk out the door within 10 minutes of picking the shirt they want in the size and design they want. We’re launching that on the same day as the sports meeting, so we invite parents and students to stop in and look around.”
A few months after purchasing the custom apparel business, the Carlsons were left with empty space when the Murray County Wheel Herald moved to a new location. Chandra said that’s when she started brainstorming ideas on what she wanted to do. “We were sad their office was empty, so we decided to turn that space into a one stop shop,” she said. “We now have ready-to-wear Rebel clothing options in stock, from youth small all the way up to 3X, in all the main Rebels colors.”
Carlson said the “Pressroom” theme tied in nicely since 507 Designs does screen printing on a press and the Wheel Herald newspaper also had a press. “We put up wallpaper that looks like newspapers and the pressroom includes presses of what we do,” she said. We have T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, crew-neck sweatshirts and hoodies — whatever they’re looking for, they should be able to find it here. People can stop in, but we also sell on-line. We do ship out as well.”
While Carlson anticipates that the Rebels apparel will be extremely popular, there are a lot of other fun types of apparel to choose from, too. “We have a lake shirt and we can put the name of their lake on it,” Carlson said. “We also have Buttermaker’s stuff in stock. We press it right here. It’s not just Rebels. It’s Slayton softball and all kinds of different things.”
There are hundreds of shirts and designs in stock. Along with screen printing, embroidery work is also done at 507 Designs. “Jodi Beckmann is our rockstar,” Carlson said. “She’s a wiz at embroidery. She’s been here through three owners and embroiders anything from casual wear to professional wear, including jackets, hats, shirts and backpacks. She’s amazing.”
Carlson is passionate about the creative process and enjoys helping local businesses and organizations with their needs. Giving back to area schools and communities through their fundraising program is also important. “We like to supply local, support local and shop local,” Carlson said. “We’re right here for what people need.”
Chandra and Dillon have two daughters, Chantel and Harper, who oftentimes help out at the shop. The family is also working on the renovation of another part of the building. “We just love making what we buy better than it was,” Chandra said. “This building was an old movie theater originally, and upstairs, there was a lounge and an office. We are converting it into two apartments.”
The plan is to keep the movie theater theme, so the original doors, sconces and some other items will likely remain. “That’s our winter project,” Carlson said. “It’s fun to bring new life to buildings. We hate to see them just sitting there, so we’re starting to remodel.”
507 Designs is located at 2734 Broadway Avenue in Slayton.
