“It’s definitely not been a typical year, that’s for sure,” Mittag said. “But we have some amazing loyal customers that when they were ready to work again or order again, we were the people they called.”
K&S Sportswear provides screen printing and embroidery for local businesses and organizations to create a multitude of products, including hats, T-shirts, mugs and koozies, Mittag said.
Mittag’s parents, Katy and Steve Weirich, opened K&S Sportswear in 1995, operating the business from their home until 2015. When they retired in 2017, Mittag and her childhood friend, Account Manager Sarah Otis, took over the business.
“[The business] is my parents’ pride and joy; it’s something that they built,” she said. “I was really happy for them that they got to retire ... and that they knew this business would continue to be a member of this community and be a productive business.”
Since taking over, one of both Mittag and Otis’ favorite projects has been working with Humble ISD during its Hurricane Harvey fundraiser. Mittag said K&S Sportswear designed a T-shirt saying “Humble ISD Strong” and helped the Humble ISD Education Foundation to sell more than 6,000, raising $33,000 for the district.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Mittag said the business has faced many challenges. Although the business was closed during the work-from-home order in Harris County, she said they were able to quickly pivot to printing branded face masks and hand sanitizers to supplement the loss of income from canceled events and closed schools.
“We’ve been lucky that we’re still here and ... we’re going to be OK,” she said. “That doesn’t mean there weren’t some sleepless nights.”
K&S Sportswear
5736 FM 1960 E., Humble
281-852-2918
www.ks-sportswear.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.
Correction: The print version of this article incorrectly stated K&S Sportswear sold 16,000 "Humble ISD Strong" T-shirts. The correct number of 6,000 has been added as well as clarification that the Humble ISD Education Foundation sold the T-shirts.
