MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW)— “Crafted with purpose. Worn with pride.”
That’s much more than just a catchphrase for the reMARCAbly Made brand of apparel and other items; it reflects the commitment by MARCA Industries, Inc. to help people with developmental disabilities cultivate skills that they can use in a workplace environment.
MARCA Industries CEO Michelle Albertini said the brand was created to generate more work opportunities for the people served by the private, nonprofit corporation and to provide merchandise for the reMARCAble retail store the company opened in August 2021. The retail store is located inside The Explore-It-Torium Children’s Museum at 244 S. Main St. in downtown Marion.
Albertini said she and Business Development Director Jamie Hawkins began researching the apparel print industry and attended industry trade shows to determine if that was something that could work for MARCA Industries. The Marion Community Foundation provided grant funding for MARCA Industries to conduct research and development for reMARCAbly Made.
“After (the COVID-19 pandemic), we struggled to have enough work for our people,” said Albertini. “We wanted to find a type of work that we could offer that would generate clients. And we were looking something that would provide the people we serve with another avenue to learn valuable job skills.
“Since reMARCAble (retail store) opened, apparel had always been a big seller, but we were buying apparel from vendors to sell in the store. Creating reMARCAbly Made allowed us to have our own brand, made locally by local people, to sell in the store.”
MARCA Industries operates two production facilities at its locations in Marion and Morrow counties, where staff use a variety of manufacturing processes to create t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, caps, koozies, and other items. Training in the use of equipment is provided at both locations.
reMARCAbly Made Coordinator Austin Tuttle said he believes that the true value of the brand is found in helping people develop confidence and pride in their newfound knowledge and abilities and the products they create.
“It’s employment training, but it’s also community participation,” Tuttle said. “That’s the one thing I think means the most to the people that we serve. We have made shirts for local school systems, for the United Way, and in doing that, those things stay in Marion. In turn, the people that we serve can, for instance, go to Meijer and see someone wearing a United Way service day shirt that they made. And they come and tell me about it.
“There is value to labor and the people we serve have value and appreciate the fact that there is value in the products they make. It means something to them.”
Nick Freshwater, 37, Marion, who has been attending MARCA Industries since 2019, echoed Tuttle’s thoughts.
“I saw someone wearing one of the shirts we made (for a state park) that says ‘Take a Hike’ on it and I thought that was pretty cool,” said Freshwater, who is in his second year studying information technology at Marion Technical College. “It’s helped me learn how to stay on task and understand how a work environment might be.”
In addition to selling its own brand of apparel in the reMARCAble retail store, reMARCAbly Made has contracted with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources state park system, local schools, businesses, churches, civic groups, municipalities, government agencies, and other organizations to produce logo apparel and other items. Tuttle said that the brand has provided apparel for more than 20 of Ohio’s 76 state parks.
reMARCAbly Made has also produced t-shirts to promote the annual observance of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM). Celebrated in March, the purpose of DDAM is to increase awareness about people with developmental disabilities, promote their inclusion in all aspects of society, and highlight their contributions to communities.
For information about the reMARCAbly Made brand, contact MARCA Industries Business Development Director Jamie Hawkins at 740-375-6144, or email jamie.hawkins@marcaindustries.org.