Another Fort Worth Impressions Expo is officially in the books, and what an expo it was, with well north of 3,000 attendees and exhibitors taking part in this year’s event.
In addition to the more than 130 exhibiting companies that were on hand (staking out an impressive 14 percent more floor space than in the previous year) the 2024 expo included a happy hour on the first day of the show, sponsored by blank-apparel manufacturer Tee Styled; another Impressions live screen-printing booth with free T-shirts for all; many of the industry’s best and brightest sharing insights with the Ink Kitchen’s Rick Roth on the event’s Shop Talk stage; another live poster screen-printing booth raising money for the local charity Upspire; and another STAHLS’ Transfer Express live heat-pressing demonstration offering hats as big and bold and the Lone Star state itself.
Also bustling with activity was the four-day Impressions Expo educational conference series, offering everything from live screen-printing and heat-pressing demonstrations to discussions on outsourcing, better DTF design and the increasing importance of AI.
“It was another great Impressions Expo,” said Impressions Expo show director, Kayla McGarry. “Not only did we get a great turnout, but the energy out on the show floor was fantastic. The decorated-apparel industry is in a really great place right now, and it showed.”
Plenty of Leads for Decorated Apparel Suppliers
As for the event’s exhibitors, there was pretty much universal acclaim for the buzz of activity they experienced, the first couple of days of the show especially. Not only were exhibitors thrilled with the number of attendees coming to check out the industry’s latest and greatest but with the leads they obtained and the amount of business they were generating.
Looking ahead, next up on the Impressions Expo calendar is the brand’s flagship Long Beach, California, event, set for Jan. 23-25, 2025. As with Fort Worth, Impressions Expo Long Beach is set to be another record breaker, with 275 exhibiting companies having already reserved more than 120,000-square-feet of floor space. As with Fort Worth, look for the usual mix of events, activations and educational conference sessions as well.
More Impressions Expos to Come
And of course, don’t forget next year’s Impressions Expo, scheduled to take place October 2-4, in Dallas, Texas. That’s right, Dallas, not Fort Worth, as the convention center where the event has historically taken will be in the middle of an extensive upgrade.
For this who couldn’t make it to the 2024 Fort Worth Expo, especially, you won’t want to miss out. See you there, and keep on decorating!