When Kristine Shreve first dipped her toe into the apparel decorating world, it was not in a business owner capacity as so many others. It was actually many years later that she started her own business, but in between, she built her experience into a respected career.

Now the owner of Kristine Shreve Consulting and hostess of a weekly show called Women + Business, Kristine’s journey in the decorated apparel industry has been filled with many challenges and successes, but along the way, she has experienced self-discovery, a love for video, and some amazing mentors that have joined her along the way.

Where it all Began

When Kristine answered an advertisement for a marketing manager for an embroidery shop in 2006, she figured it was a little shop with a couple of heads. Little did she know what she was getting into. “It turned out to be a nationwide company with facilities in six states,” she says. The company was Ensign Emblem. “A year after I started there, I helped found EnMart, which was a subsidiary that sold embroidery and sublimation supplies,” she continues. “I was director of marketing for all the companies and basically ran EnMart.”

While that was the start of her professional career in the decorated apparel industry, Kristine says her journey as a professional woman is still ongoing. Today, she is very open about that, talking about it as well as sharing other women’s stories on her show, but it hasn’t always been easy. “I was raised with the idea that ‘nice’ women didn’t brag about themselves and were supposed to wait for others to promote them,” she says. “For a long time, I was afraid of what I wanted to do, afraid of what other people would think about what I wanted to do, afraid to fail, and afraid to own that I had ambition.”

Despite that, Kristine says she is now doing things that she never would have believed she would do. And a lot of that growth she attributes to friends and mentors around the decorated apparel industry. “I’m an outlier in a way, because I don’t do any decoration,” she notes. “One of the best things about the industry, for me, is the people who have been willing to educate me, to help me learn, and then to give me platforms so I could share what I’ve learned.”

Among her mentors are Nicole Rollender, who’s currently the CEO and chief storyteller of STRAND Writing Services, and Aaron Montgomery and Terry Combs of the 2 Regular Guys podcast. Having both men and women among her mentors is a point not lost on Kristine, who says that this industry is full of people of all walks of life that are wonderful and inspirational.

In fact, she feels the decorated apparel industry as a whole has made great strides when talking about women’s issues. “I think people are becoming more aware of the effort that needs to be made to increase diversity and representation,” she says. But that doesn’t mean we should stop pushing and helping each other grow. “I’ve seen more panels at shows and more shows themselves that are centered around women and women’s issues … [but] we all need to keep pushing if we want real change to happen.”

Having a Voice

As a woman who has had a journey of change and growth, Kristine wants to pass a message on to others going through the same thing: “Don’t be scared to let other people know what you can do. Don’t tone yourself or your ambition down to make other people comfortable.”

As part of what she’s built with her Women + Business show, as well as her Facebook group Women in Garment Decoration, she wants other women to not be afraid to find their own voices, even if that means asking for help. “Everyone has insecurities and worries and damage, but don’t let those things hold you back,” Kristine advises. “If you need help to deal with them, get that help, and then decide you’re going to be fearless and attack all your ambitions and dreams with gusto.”

Just as she gushes about the benefits of education and support this industry has given her, so now she enjoys being a part of that side of it for others. “I like being an educator,” she says. “I like the work I’m doing with telling women’s stories and spotlighting issues that impact women and diversity … I hope I’m putting good out into the world and helping others.”

If you want to connect with Kristine, feel free to reach out to her at shreve.kristine@gmail.com.