Monogram Mania

As someone who has been in the “lettering” business (and before that, the jewelry business) for many, many years, I can personally vouch for the continuing popularity of monograms. However we’ve been noticing a resurgence in monograms, similar to what we saw back in the late 70’s, early 80’s when it was extremely popular to have embroidered monograms on women’s purses and sweaters. For men, remember the monogrammed shirt cuff?  Just as Brian Sukarukoff and I noticed when we visited Jessica at Heads Up Boutique a few weeks back, monograms are once again trending. Baby gifts and wedding gifts lend themselves naturally to monogramming. One of our summer interns, Kaitlyn, also took the time to send me some photos from the personalization store near her college, where she works part time. Like they do at Heads Up Boutique, this store also uses a vinyl cutter to offer on-demand personalization on just about any item. Since the store is on a campus with a strong Greek (the sorority and fraternity kind of Greek) presence, in addition to monograms they also do a lot of Greek lettering. Since monograms that are cut with a vinyl cutter need to be weeded before applying, Kaitlyn has become very experienced with weeding intricate logos. She also offered a few tips on weeding vinyl and heat transfer materials. Here’s what she says: 1) Pressure sensitive vinyl is easier to weed if you work on a warm surface. 2) Start with the smallest pieces, like the insides of letters, first, and work outward. Kaitlyn also remarked that in addition to hot pink, teal is one of the most popular colors in the store. “It just seems to go with everything and is the 1st choice for people who don’t want pink.”  Thanks for sharing the photos and tips.

This is another popular monogram style that has a more modern, less feminine look. However it is still popular with men and women.

This is another popular monogram style that has a more modern, less feminine look. However it is still popular with men and women.

This is the front of a mirror that has a monogram on the back. Notice the rolls of material in the mirror!

This is the front of a mirror that has a monogram on the back. Notice the rolls of material in the mirror!

This is the back of the mirror that has been customized with a monogram of Greek letters.

This is the back of the mirror that has been customized with a monogram of Greek letters.

Sigma Sigma Sigma. After joining a house, members are assigned a "Big" sister to help welcome them to the sorority. This is most likely a gift from "Big" sister Elizabeth to "Little" sister Julia. Nice use of glitter.

Sigma Sigma Sigma. After joining a house, members are assigned a “Big” sister to help welcome them to the sorority. This is most likely a gift from “Big” sister Elizabeth to “Little” sister Julia. Nice use of glitter.

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Cut, weeded and ready to be heat printed.

Cut, weeded and ready to be heat printed.

A monogrammed decanter makes a nice gift. Kaitlyn, are those YOUR initials?

A monogrammed decanter makes a nice gift. Kaitlyn, are those YOUR initials?

This straightforward monogram of Greek letters is done with sign vinyl on a picture frame.

This straightforward monogram of Greek letters is done with sign vinyl on a picture frame.

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3 comments

  1. Blinged Up says:

    Just went to a college football game this past weekend and noticed for the first time how many college girls were wearing monogrammed headbands, necklaces, jackets, etc. I am looking for wholesale jersey headbands right now.
    As someone who only knows how to heat press vinyl material, I have to ask…..how are the monograms applied in the photos above to hard surfaces like the picture frame and decanter? Does this need something beyond the vinyl and heat press?
    I get a lot of great information from your blog — thank you!

  2. Ted says:

    Thanks for reading! Yes monograms are really popular at colleges right now. In order to print on hard items, you need to use sign vinyl, which is also known as pressure sensitive vinyl. There is usually no heat printing involved.

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