Knotty Tie Co. launches website for custom neckties

Knotty Tie Co. launched its website on Oct. 10. Users can create their own ties virtually, then the company prints the fabric and makes them by hand.

"We're really happy with the way it came out," says Jeremy Priest, Knotty Tie's Co-Founder and Owner. "We have something like 41 patterns now -- everything from dots to dinosaurs. There's a lot of custom tie-makers out there, but nobody offers the customizable features that we have."

Customers click on the patterns and colors of their choosing, select the tie's length and width, and Knotty Tie makes the finished product from custom-printed organic cotton. The price tag is $45 a tie, and weddings and groups ordering in volume can get discounts.

After raising more than $23,000 on Kickstarter in spring 2013, Priest is in pursuit of capital to fund the purchase of printing equipment -- the cotton is currently printed in North Carolina -- that will ultimately allow Knotty Tie to enter peripheral markets such as bow ties.

Knotty Tie can design custom patterns beyond the stock patterns on the website. Priest says Kickstarter investors wanted all sorts of interesting imagery. "Somebody wanted bulldozers pushing hearts and backhoes lifting hearts," he says.

The four-employee company, now based in a 400-square-foot space in the Art District in Santa Fe, is also looking for a larger space -- and a flexible landlord. "We're trying to get out of here by the end of October," says Priest.

He says they need 1,500 square feet and lenience on the deposit until Knotty Tie's cash flow develops. Priest says he sees a lot of potential for sales. "We had orders for 40 ties come through the first day," he says. "We think in the next few months we're going to double in size. We've made about 1,000 ties now and worked all of the kinks out."

Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Eric Peterson with tips and leads for future stories at eric@confluence-denver.com.