What is Long Beach, California, known for? Sure, the Queen Mary is docked there. But it’s also where rapper, actor and producer Snoop Dogg hails from!
It should come as no surprise then that when brain storming ideas for the Ink Kitchen’s live poster printing station at this month’s 2025 Long Beach Impressions Expo, (Jan. 23-25) Ink Kitchen partner Pam Ikegami found herself blurting out “Snoop Dogg!” as a possible subject.
As it turns out Duke Givens, head of the charity Care Closet LBC, an organization dedicated to helping out the homeless in Long Beach (and one of a number of beneficiaries of the Ink Kitchen’s poster-printing efforts over the years) grew up with Snoop Dogg, is still in touch with him and has personally taken hundreds of photos of his long-time friend.
Going through Duke’s collection, the Ink Kitchen found a great photo to use; and while the Ink Kitchen worried at first Snoop’s people might not let it use his likeness on its posters, despite Duke’s having gotten permission to use the original image, Snoop’s people loved it and are now fully supporting the effort.
As it has been the case for the past five years, the Ink Kitchen, with the assistance of Impressions Expo, will once again be screen-printing the posters at the show, selling them at the show and forwarding the proceeds to Care Closet LBC to assist in its work helping the literally thousands of people on the street in Long Beach.
The original photo by Duke Givens that served as the basis for this year’s poster. Photo courtesy of Duke Givens
The poster was designed by designer Alyx Spurrier and will be printed at the show by the master printer and Squeegeeville founder Andy MacDougall. Both Spurrier and MacDougall are veterans of the Ink Kitchen’s poster-printing program at Expos past. For more on their efforts and the Ink Kitchen’s entire poster-printing program over the years, including examples of some of the other posters that have been produced, click here.
Companies from across the decorated-industry have also generously stepped up to help out with the Ink Kitchen’s efforts at this year’s Long Beach Impressions Expo, with over $10,000 already pledged before a single poster has even printed.
Kudos to all the generous contributors listed below. In addition to visiting the live poster-printing station, which will be located alongside the hallway connecting the convention center’s front and back halls, be sure and check out their booths as well. (For a floor plan of this year’s expo, click here.) Their efforts and the efforts of the Ink Kitchen speak volumes about the kind of people the decorated-apparel industry is made of!
- SanMar
- Stahls
- Chromaline
- Jerzees
- Easiway
- Los Angeles Apparel
- Avient Specialty Inks
- Howard Custom Transfers
- M&R
- SPSI
- Nazdar
- KIWO
- LAT Apparel
- Douthitt
- DGI Apparel
- Action Engineering
- Next Level Apparel
- Stretch Devices
- Albachem
- S&S Activewear
- Gildan
- Promohunt
- Hanes Printwear
- Royal Apparel
- Price-It
- Hirsch Solutions
- GSF
- Lotus-Holland
For more, including the latest news and updates on this year’s Impressions Expo in Long Beach, California, set to take place January 23-25, click here.
