Conversations with Nathan & Carolyn Snoke

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan & Carolyn Snoke.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Pataskala Customs started in 2018 with a simple idea and a relentless drive to design custom gear that people actually want to wear, and make the process easy and customized to each client. Our “Mom & Pop” business began in a small home office with a single heat press, a vinyl cutter and a whole lot of late nights, taking on local orders for schools, teams, and small businesses. By the end of 2020 we moved into our current shop and store front. What started as side hustle quickly grew into a full-service print and design company trusted by clients across central Ohio and beyond.

Over time, we expanded from basic vinyl and screen printing to DTG printing, DTF printing, embroidery, signage, promotional products, and even laser-engraving. What sets us apart is our commitment to personal service and creativity. We don’t just slap logos on shirts (We can if you want that) but we specialize in helping businesses build their brand through standout apparel and promotional products.

Today, Pataskala Customs is proud to be a local staple with a growing reach. Every shirt, banner, or custom item we make tells someone’s story, and it’s an honor to help bring those stories to life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a business comes with a lot of unexpected lessons, you don’t realize how much is involved until you’re deep in it. We just wanted to design cool shirts at first, but found out a lot more comes with that if you want to grow that into a business. Overall, it’s been a good ride, but it definitely had its challenges. Early on, Nathan was handling all the design, website, marketing, social media, admin and basically everything to get the business rolling and Carolyn was working a full-time job outside the home. After a long day and an even longer commute, she’d come home and jump straight into helping with production and order fulfillment. Those were some seriously long days.

The biggest hurdle by far was COVID. Orders slowed to a crawl, and the supply chain took a nosedive and something as basic as a black t-shirt or hat became nearly impossible to get enough of in the same brand and model to fulfill orders. But in that chaos came a silver lining: Carolyn’s job went remote, so she got to ditch the commute.

By 2021, she made the leap and quit her job to go all in on Pataskala Customs. Which had it’s own challenges as PC was now our family’s only source of income. Once the dust from COVID started to settle, staffing became the next big challenge and in some aspects is still a big challenge today. As of now, we’ve got a solid core team that backs each other up, and we’re ready for the next stage of growth.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At Pataskala Customs we use our creativity to design logos, t-shirts designs, posters, ads and more. But we also try to be creative with our marketing and operations as well, keeping up on apparel and promotional product trends to keep ahead of the competition.

We specialize in custom apparel, promotional products, signage, and laser-engraved items, all designed to help businesses, schools, events and teams tell their stories through high-quality, wearable art.

What sets us apart from others is our mix of that “Mom and Pop” small business hands on feel while providing big creativity and top quality products for our clients no matter the size of the business, team or event. We don’t just make things look good, we make them useful and try to produce the highest quality products we can so it helps our clients reach their goals, get them coming back to us and gets us those priceless word of mouth clients.

We’re most proud of helping small businesses look and feel legit, like they belong on the big stage. We’ve turned napkin sketches into branding, built entire apparel lines from scratch, and created designs that become conversation starters and hopefully grow their businesses.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Before starting PC Nathan was a Locomotive Engineer for a Class 1 Railroad and Carolyn was in charge of keeping ATM’s operating properly all across the US for one of the biggest banks in the country. Working for these giant corporations helped us realize how important that small business community connection is for people and that’s how we try to operate Pataskala Customs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Pataskalacustoms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pataskalacustoms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pataskalacustoms/
• Twitter: https://x.com/PataskalaC
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTW47DN03iTRX47cVWiJ5rw
• Other: https://linktr.ee/pataskalacustoms