Whether customers want 4,000 shirts for a school function or a new camouflage design on their vehicle, In The Wild Graphics in Leander makes it possible. The business specializes in customizing apparel; creating and applying vehicle wraps; and developing signs and banners for advertising.
Owner Larry Tischler, an emergency room nurse as well as a retired police officer and volunteer firefighter, opened the business in 2006.
His daughter Stephani McGirr said Tischler did not like large-scale camouflage patterns that looked as if they were meant to cover a much smaller area.
“Most of the camouflage on the market is made for clothing, which has a 2- to 4-foot repeat line because clothing has smaller cut lines,” she said. “So he developed 9-feet-tall-by-20-feet-wide patterns that had no repeat in them. He was going to market them to have other businesses sell [them] because he was a nurse, but he couldn’t get the deal that he wanted. So he just said, ‘You know what? I’ll do it myself.’”
Tischler started In The Wild specializing in vehicle designs using his custom graphic, the Camo-ramic. He opened the business in Dallas, but McGirr said he was still working as a nurse and did not have the time necessary to operate the business. Tischler then moved In The Wild to Liberty Hill in 2013, where McGirr and his other daughter, Michelle Hoad, began to operate the storefront.
Seeking more space, In The Wild moved to its current location on Old FM 2243 in Leander last year.
In its new 3,500-square-foot store, the business added screen printing, embroidery and engraving to its portfolio. In The Wild now customizes T-shirts, bags, pillows, jewelry and YETI products.
McGirr said In The Wild has hired seven employees in the past year.
“We are growing exponentially,” McGirr said. “Just the pure location change alone has helped us.”
The business accommodates both small orders from individuals and large orders from corporations, schools and sports teams.
“We are an approved [Leander] ISD vendor,” Hoad said. “That sends a lot of business our way.”
Jennifer Sabrsula, a teacher at Tom Glenn High School in Leander, said the business customized more than 4,000 T-shirts as well as merchandise for the school store, such as pencils, water bottles and lanyards.
In the Wild Graphics
11840 W. Old FM 2243, Ste. 200, Leander 512-964-8980 www.inthewildgraphics.com Hours: Tue.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
